spieldiener reinhold spieldiener alfons saiko headquarters wollerau switzerland number of locations 7 area served worldwide products amusement rides roller coasters transportation divisions intamin amusement rides intamin transportation website www.intaminworldwide.com intamin worldwide is a designing and manufacturing company in wollerau switzerland . it is best known for creating thrill rides and roller coasters worldwide . the u.s. division of the company is located in glen burnie maryland and is headed by sandor kernacs . the intamin brand name is an abbreviation for international amusement installations . the company distributes approximately 5 7 roller coasters from their workshops in switzerland and glen burnie each year . intamin is a major player in the amusement park attractions industry supplying some 22 different styles of rides to a variety of parks . their first roller coaster installation was jr. gemini a roller coaster at cedar point in 1979 . since then they have installed a total of 70 coasters in several countries around the globe . they designed and built the first river rapids ride known as thunder river based on the idea supplied by bill crandall a past general manager at the now defunct astroworld . intamin also marketed the first freefall developed by giovanola experience and the first drop tower . contents 1 products and technologies 1.1 amusement rides 1.1.1 roller coasters 1.1.2 ferris wheels 1.2 transportation 2 safety incidents 3 notable intamin rides 4 see also 5 references 6 external links products and technologies edit intamin s product range is in two broad categories rides and thrill rides and transportation . amusement rides edit roaring rapids river ride at six flags over texas 2007 roller coasters edit this section does not cite any sources . please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . august 2015 learn how and when to remove this template message intamin was amongst the first to create a magnetic propulsion system linear induction synchronous motor and remains one of only a handful of manufacturers continuing to use such technology on roller coasters . intamin also created the first hydraulic launch system also known as the accelerator or rocket coaster which is now being used to catapult roller coaster trains from standstill to speeds upward of 240 kilometres per hour 150 mph in a few seconds before climbing up immense heights . furius baco at portaventura for instance is europe s fastest operating coaster launching riders from 0 135 km h 84 mph in 3.5 seconds . intamin is also known for their massive mega coaster intamin s term for a hypercoaster with a height or drop over 200 ft 61 m ; giga coaster a roller coaster with a height or drop over 300 ft 91 m ; and strata coaster any coaster over 400 ft 122 m tall . citation needed there are currently only two strata coasters in existence top thrill dragster at cedar point and kingda ka at six flags great adventure both manufactured by intamin . giga & mega coasters currently occupy the top 2 spots of the golden ticket awards with millennium force and superman the ride respectively . 1 also drawing much praise is the company s recent foray into the wooden roller coaster business with their plug and play models such as balder at liseberg colossos at heide park and el toro at six flags great adventure which opened spring 2006 . unlike other traditional wood coasters these rides use prefabricated track sections made of a high strength wooden laminate that can be secured on site when the superstructure is completed . this design enables the coaster to reach speeds and navigate course elements smoothly like a steel roller coaster while retaining the look and some of the traditional feel of common wooden coasters . kirnu the first zacspin opened in 2007 another recent roller coaster development by intamin is the zacspin a type of 4th dimension roller coaster that was first seen in 2007 . the green lantern at six flags magic mountain in valencia california is the first zacspin in the united states and opened july 1 2011 . it has individual cars each with 8 seats arranged in two pods coming off the sides of the car each with 2 seats facing forward and two facing backward . this car is either lifted to the highest point by a conventional chain lift or propelled around the course at a constant speed by a linear motor system . maverick at cedar point the company is known for being the original home to the famous within the coaster world bolliger & mabillard b & m . the two engineers worked for giovanola who in turn were frequently contracted by intamin for their early stand up roller coasters giovanola eventually started producing roller coasters independently . b & m broke away from giovanola to form their own company which now supplies roller coasters as well . similarities between the two companies are often obvious such as the style of track used by b & m which was used in a number of early giovanola installations which were contracted by intamin . ferris wheels edit giant wheel a double wheel at hersheypark sky whirl a triple wheel at six flags great america california screamin a custom intamin looper at disney california adventure intamin brokered a number of rides that were manufactured by waagner biro . these included a series of rides for marriott corporation each comprising a vertical column supporting multiple horizontal arms with each arm supporting a ferris wheel . the first was giant wheel which operated at hersheypark in hershey pennsylvania from 1973 until 2004 . similar intamin supplied waagner biro wheels included zodiac kings island mason ohio and scorpion parque de la ciudad buenos aires argentina . all are now defunct . sky whirl the world s first triple ferris wheel which debuted at both marriott s great america parks now six flags great america gurnee illinois and california s great america santa clara in 1976 was also manufactured by waagner biro and brokered by intamin . also known as a triple ferris wheel 2 triple giant wheel 3 or triple tree wheel it was 33 metres 108 ft in height . 4 the santa clara ride renamed triple wheel in post marriott years closed on 1 september 1997 . the gurnee ride closed in 2000 . 5 the orlando eye which opened in april 2015 was designed and built by intamin . 6 transportation edit this section does not cite any sources . please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . april 2016 learn how and when to remove this template message outside the amusement realm intamin supplies monorail transportation systems which are used in both public transport networks and at tourist attractions across the world . intamin was responsible for the design and building of the moscow monorail system . the moscow monorail russian is a 4.7 kilometres 2.9 mi long monorail system located in the north eastern administrative okrug of moscow russia which runs from the timiryazevskaya metro station to sergeya eisensteina street . the monorail line has 6 stations . planning of the monorail in moscow started in 1998 . in 2016 was opened ashgabat monorail in turkmenistan . 7 safety incidents edit see also amusement park accidents intamin has been in the news for a number of safety related incidents . in february 1978 a young man was killed and his wife seriously injured when a sky ride gondola on eagle s flight at magic mountain detached from the cable and fell 50 feet to the ground . state engineers traced the accident to a loose clamp that held the gondola on its cable . 8 in 1984 three passengers riding the edge at six flags great america were injured and briefly hospitalized . the ride experienced a malfunction that caused it to fall backward down the wrong shaft . 8 on june 9 1991 32 year old candy taylor of toledo ohio fell to her death from flight commander an intamin flight trainer located at kings island . investigators determined that a design flaw in the seat divider could allow a rider to slide into an unoccupied seat and become free from the restraint . a coroner s report later revealed that the victim had a blood alcohol level of 0.30 which may have also contributed . speculation suggests the rider lost consciousness during the ride and slid out from the restraints . 9 10 on may 16 1999 a 365 lb 166 kg guest was unable to close his lap bar on the ride of steel roller coaster at six flags darien lake . as a result he was ejected fell approximately 9 feet as the ride went over a camel hump hill and suffered serious injuries . he sued the park and the ride manufacturer for negligence and was awarded us 3.95 million . 11 in august 1999 a 12 year old mentally disabled boy fell from the drop tower scream zone at california s great america and died . the victim s family claimed his harness was not locked properly . an investigation was inconclusive and no charges were filed . 12 13 in september 2001 a 40 year old woman fell from the perilous plunge attraction at knott s berry farm into the water was hit by the boat and died . an investigation showed that the 300 lb 140 kg woman had loosened the safety restraints so she could fit more comfortably into the ride . 14 on april 16 2004 a 16 year old girl from pontypool was killed after falling approximately 30 m 100 ft from the top of the hydro now called drenched ride at oakwood leisure park narberth pembrokeshire . 15 during a trial brought by the victim s family against oakwood a jury returned a narrative verdict stating that the victim died due to being improperly restrained . 16 the second incident of 2004 was on one of intamin s mega coasters superman ride of steel at six flags new england in massachusetts . the ride again with lap bar restraints was dispatched with a cerebral palsy sufferer in the front seat who died after being ejected from his seat . according to an investigation 17 the ride operators were primarily to blame for not ensuring the rider was properly secured . intamin was also partially blamed because the ride s safety system allowed the train to be dispatched without all the restraints properly secured . the third incident of 2004 happened on july 14 and involved one of intamin s launched stratacoasters . four people were injured while riding on cedar point s top thrill dragster . the riders were struck by metal debris that sheared off the coaster s launch cable during launch . they were treated at the park s first aid station . two were further treated at firelands regional medical center . 18 in june 2007 a 13 year old girl lost both feet at the ankles on superman tower of power at six flags kentucky kingdom when a ride malfunction caused a cable to snap . she was brought to the hospital in critical condition 19 but survived and doctors were able to re attach her right foot . the park was later fined 1 000 for not properly maintaining the ride . a settlement was later reached with six flags kentucky kingdom that will provide for her throughout her life . 20 on september 16 2009 two guests were injured when a cable snapped on the xcelerator roller coaster at knott s berry farm . the 12 year old victim had lacerations on his leg while the adult victim complained of back injuries . 21 on april 29 2010 a ride train on expedition geforce partially derailed from the track fully