Lift Brands

joshua_segal

Nelsap’s recent posting on Tenney’s Poma brings up the question:

How many manufacturers have there been of lifts and what kind of lifts did they make?

This is a subject about which I know very little, so I’ll sit on the sidelines and provide periodic summaries of the inputs.

newman

I’ll start with carpets I know. Sun Kid and Magic Carpet. George at Bouquet also had two built by a conv. belt company named Kaiser. He had them custom made. I don’t know if that maker he contracted ever made any more for other areas or not.

ceo

Off the top of my head:

Doppelmayr: everything

Poma: everything 

Leitner: everything, acquired by Poma

CTEC: fixed-grip and detachable chairlifts, successor to Thiokol, merged with Garaventa

Thiokol: fixed-grip chairlifts (I think), sold that business to CTEC

Garaventa: some gondolas etc. in US, merged with CTEC, then acquired by Doppelmayr

Hall: fixed-grip chairlifts and T-bars, acquired by Von Roll

Von Roll: aerial tramways and gondolas, acquired by Doppelmayr

Constam: T-bars 

And there’s lots more but I should be working.

newpylong

Partek

Bruckschlogl (tow lifts)

Riblet

Roebling

Skytrac

SLI

Lift Engineering aka YAN

Carlevaro & Savio

Mueller

Borvig

Heron

Stadeli

obienick

Von Roll also built fixed grip lifts and at least one detachable triple (former Adirondack Express at Gore)

LiftGuy

Off the top of my head:

Doppelmayr: everything

Poma: everything 

Leitner: everything, acquired by Poma

CTEC: fixed-grip and detachable chairlifts, successor to Thiokol, merged with Garaventa

Thiokol: fixed-grip chairlifts (I think), sold that business to CTEC

Garaventa: some gondolas etc. in US, merged with CTEC, then acquired by Doppelmayr

Hall: fixed-grip chairlifts and T-bars, acquired by Von Roll

Von Roll: aerial tramways and gondolas, acquired by Doppelmayr

Constam: T-bars 

And there’s lots more but I should be working.

</blockquote>

Poma: everything. Acquired by Leitner… Leitner: Everything…

lotsoskiing

Valar- surface lifts (Mittersill, for one)

ciscokid

http://www.skilifts.org/old/install_survey.htm

joshua_segal

Wow!  I had no idea how many there were.  It may take me a bit of time to consolidate this thread into a reasonable summary.  In the meantime, keep ’em coming.

casual_weekday

That list only goes back to 55 too. Quite a few manufacturers that built ski lifts before then were primarily in other industries like American Steel & Wire who built the single at MRG. 

ciscokid

<blockquote class=“Quote” rel=“joshua_segal”>Wow!  I had no idea how many there were.  It may take me a bit of time to consolidate this thread into a reasonable summary.  In the meantime, keep ’em coming.</blockquote>

I doubt you never saw that list Josh.(lol)

I like finding out about guys this Tbar maker at Tenney ( Tehu or terhu or however spelled) who worked with Stadelai( spelled wrong)

Then there was that long story of Larry Jump, Jean Pomagalski, and the Carlevaro Savio , Telecar, discovery a while back.

I’d like to hear and learn more of these “wars” of lift history discoveries and evolution and consolidation

joshua_segal

<blockquote class=“Quote” rel=“ciscokid”><blockquote class=“Quote” rel=“joshua_segal”>Wow!  I had no idea how many there were.  It may take me a bit of time to consolidate this thread into a reasonable summary.  In the meantime, keep ’em coming.</blockquote>

I doubt you never saw that list Josh.(lol)

I like finding out about guys this Tbar maker at Tenney ( Tehu or terhu or however spelled) who worked with Stadelai( spelled wrong)

Then there was that long story of Larry Jump, Jean Pomagalski, and the Carlevaro Savio , Telecar, discovery a while back.

I’d like to hear and learn more of these “wars” of lift history discoveries and evolution and consolidation </blockquote>

No. Never did see that list and honestly - a subject about which I know very little.  

NewEnglandSkier13

<blockquote class=“Quote” rel=“lotsoskiing”>Valar- surface lifts (Mittersill, for one)</blockquote>

Valar is the name of the lift. LST makes that t-bar and will be supplying the one at Waterville. LST manufactures all types of lifts and is just starting to enter the North American market. SkyTrans has manufactured a few new chairlifts.

newpylong

SkyTrans might be a stretch as they do not manufacturer new lifts from scratch per se. They rebuild lift components and reinstall them as a new installation. For instance, the NYS Fair Syracuse was built from components from Sugarloaf’s Bucksaw. The relos at Waterville, Whaleback, etc.

NewEnglandSkier13

<blockquote class=“Quote” rel=“newpylong”>SkyTrans might be a stretch as they do not manufacturer new lifts from scratch per se. They rebuild lift components and reinstall them as a new installation. For instance, the NYS Fair Syracuse was built from components from Sugarloaf’s Bucksaw. The relos at Waterville, Whaleback, etc.</blockquote>

A few years ago they built two new doubles at Detroit Mountain, MI.

newpylong

No. I’ve worked with them extensively, been to their shops, etc. The towers, chairs from those triples (not doubles), etc came from previous installations. I believe the chairs were Hall or Poma, the towers came from some amusement park. They do some fabrication, and some lifts certainly seem like new, but they do not start from the ground up on the steellike other manufacturers. The designs are new though using the existing components.

But I guess this may be splitting hairs as they do enough to make the list? I guess I was thinking in the traditional sense of a true manufacturer and not an installer.

joshua_segal

Summary to date: Chairlifts as per http://www.skilifts.org/old/install_survey.htm supplemented by SJ inputs

Alpine AG American Cable Link American Steel & Wire (single at MRG) Barrett Blue Mountain Borvig Brandle Bruckschlogl (tow lifts) Carlevaro/Savio Constam (Mostly T-Bars, but made 4 chairs between 1955 & 1964) COSMOS CTEC (fixed-grip and detachable chairlifts, successor to Thiokol, merged with Garaventa) CTEC/VonRoll Doppelmayr (More than just Chairlifts) Doppelmayr CTEC Garaventa (some gondolas etc. in US, merged with CTEC, then acquired by Doppelmayr) Garaventa CTEC Gifford Wood Goforth Hall (fixed-grip chairlifts and T-bars, acquired by Von Roll) Habegger: See VonRoll Harusch/Trans Heron Engineerng Heron - Hopkins Hjorth Bros. Hopkins Kaiser: (custom built two conveyor belts for Bousquet) Larchmont (Rail car) Leitner (More than just Chairlifts – acquired Poma) Leitner – Poma Link Belt Lift Engineering (aka: Yan) LSI surface lifts (Mittersill’s Valar T-Bar) Magic Carpet: (Carpet lifts) Miner Denver Mohawk Mueller Murray Latta Partek Pullman Berry Pohlig (e.g. Black Chair at Magic Mtn., VT) Poma - Telcar Poma (More than just Chairlifts) Heron - Poma Partek Poma - Canada Ramsey-Dearborn “Rice, B.A.” Riblet Robins & White Roebling Samson Ski Lift Int’l (SLI) Skyway Skytrac Sneller Stadeli Stearns-Roger St. Lawrence Sun Kid: (Carpet lifts) Tebru (e.g. T-Bar at Tenney Mtn.) Telecar Thiokol (fixed-grip chairlifts, sold that business to CTEC) Tiegel Timberland-Ellicott United Tram Unknown VonRoll (Habegger) (aerial tramways and gondolas, acquired by Doppelmayr) Wilamette Yan (See: Lift Engineering)

Additions or corrections?

ciscokid

Wow <blockquote class=“Quote” rel=“NewEnglandSkier13”><blockquote class=“Quote” rel=“newpylong”>SkyTrans might be a stretch as they do not manufacturer new lifts from scratch per se. They rebuild lift components and reinstall them as a new installation. For instance, the NYS Fair Syracuse was built from components from Sugarloaf’s Bucksaw. The relos at Waterville, Whaleback, etc.</blockquote>

A few years ago they built two new doubles at Detroit Mountain, MI.</blockquote>

Where is this Detroit mountain in Mich? I Believe it is in Minnesota or Wisconsin if I had to guess almost positive it would be Minnesota If I was a betting man

conrad

<font face=“Arial, Verdana”>Here’s the list of manufacturers which have at least one report on Remontees-Mecaniques:</font>

<font face=“Arial, Verdana”>https://www.remontees-mecaniques.net/bdd/liste-6.html</span></font><br/></div><div style=""><font face=“Arial, Verdana”>Many international manufacturers that haven’t built in the United States.</font>

Treilly

<blockquote class=“Quote” rel=“ciscokid”>Wow <blockquote class=“Quote” rel=“NewEnglandSkier13”><blockquote class=“Quote” rel=“newpylong”>SkyTrans might be a stretch as they do not manufacturer new lifts from scratch per se. They rebuild lift components and reinstall them as a new installation. For instance, the NYS Fair Syracuse was built from components from Sugarloaf’s Bucksaw. The relos at Waterville, Whaleback, etc.</blockquote>

A few years ago they built two new doubles at Detroit Mountain, MI.</blockquote>

Where is this Detroit mountain in Mich? I Believe it is in Minnesota or Wisconsin if I had to guess almost positive it would be Minnesota If I was a betting man </blockquote>

Pine Knob is the only hill I know of that has installed a new in the past 10 years or so in Metro Detroit