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Doppelmayr USA, Inc is an
aerial lift An aerial lift, also known as a cable car or ropeway, is a means of cable transport in which ''cabins'', ''cars'', ''gondolas'', or open chairs are hauled above the ground by means of one or more cables. Aerial lift systems are frequently employ ...
manufacturer based in
Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...
,
Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
, and a subsidiary of the worldwide
Doppelmayr Garaventa Group Doppelmayr/Garaventa Group is an international manufacturer of ropeways and people movers for ski areas, urban transport, amusement parks, and material handling systems. As of 2019, the group have produced over 15,000 installations in 96 countri ...
. The
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
company was formed in 2002 after the merger of Garaventa of
Goldau Goldau is a town in the community of Arth, canton of Schwyz, Switzerland. It lies between the Rigi and Rossberg mountains, and between lakes Lake Zug, Zug and Lake Lauerz, Lauerz. Well known attractions include the Natur- und Tierpark Goldau an ...
,
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
, and Doppelmayr of
Wolfurt Wolfurt is a municipality in the western Austrian state of Vorarlberg. Population References External links Municipal home page
Cities and towns in Bregenz District {{Vorarlberg-geo-stub ...
,
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
. Between 2002 and 2010, the company was named Doppelmayr CTEC. From 2011 the company has operated using the Doppelmayr brand name, in common with most other Doppelmayr Garaventa Group subsidiaries.


CTEC before merger

CTEC, which stands for Cable Transportation Engineering Company, was the successor to
Thiokol Thiokol (variously Thiokol Chemical Corporation(/Company), Morton Thiokol Inc., Cordant Technologies Inc., Thiokol Propulsion, AIC Group, ATK Thiokol, ATK Launch Systems Group; finally Orbital ATK before becoming part of Northrop Grumman) was an ...
, a company which built 41 ski lifts between 1971 and 1977. By 1977, Thiokol had decided to stop producing ski lifts and sold their designs to two employees, Jan Leonard and Mark Ballantyne. CTEC's first lift produced as an independent manufacturer was at Seven Springs Mountain Resort,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
, in 1978. Leonard oversaw engineering at the company's Salt Lake City facility while manufacturing was performed in
Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...
, where Ballantyne worked. CTEC slowly grew to become one of three major lift manufacturers in North America along with
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
an-owned Doppelmayr USA and Poma of America. In 1989, CTEC partnered with
Von Roll Von Roll Holding AG is a Swiss industrial group that operates worldwide. It was founded in 1803. As one of Switzerland’s longest-established industrial companies, Von Roll focuses today on products and systems for electrical applications such ...
to build its first
detachable chairlift A detachable chairlift or high-speed chairlift is a type of passenger aerial lift, which, like a fixed-grip chairlift, consists of numerous chairs attached to a constantly moving wire rope (called a ''haul rope'') that is strung between two (or ...
at
Solitude Mountain Resort Solitude Mountain Resort is a ski resort located in the Big Cottonwood Canyon of the Wasatch Mountains, thirty miles southeast of Salt Lake City, Utah. With 66 trails, and vertical, Solitude is one of the smaller ski resorts near Salt Lake Cit ...
, Utah. From 1990 onwards, CTEC used detachable grips built by the Swiss company Garaventa. In 1992, CTEC and Garaventa merged and the new company was named Garaventa CTEC. Prior to the merger, Garaventa had built only a few lifts in North America, including Aerial Trams at
Snowbird, Utah Snowbird is an unincorporated community in Little Cottonwood Canyon in the Wasatch Range of the Rocky Mountains near Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It is most famous for Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort, an alpine skiing and snowboarding area ...
, and
Squaw Valley Ski Resort Palisades Tahoe is a ski resort in the western United States, located in Olympic Valley, California, northwest of Tahoe City in the Sierra Nevada range. From its founding in 1949, the resort was known as Squaw Valley, but it changed its name in ...
,
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
. The combined company utilized the designs and manufacturing facilities of CTEC since Garaventa never had much of a presence in North America besides supplying parts to CTEC. CTEC's growing reputation combined with the European ownership and parts supply of Garaventa allowed it to win contracts for large lifts such as the Gold Coast Funitel at
Squaw Valley, Placer County, California Olympic Valley (historically or informally known as Squaw Valley) is an unincorporated community located in Placer County, California northwest of Tahoe City along California State Highway 89 on the banks of the Truckee River near Lake Tahoe. It ...
, gondolas at
Telluride Ski Resort Telluride Ski Resort is a ski resort located in Mountain Village, Colorado. The Telluride Ski Resort is located in the southwest corner of Colorado. The resort is in the northwestern San Juan Mountains, part of the Rocky Mountains, and is home ...
and
Vail Ski Resort Vail Ski Resort is a ski resort in the western United States, located near the town of Vail in Eagle County, Colorado. At , it is the third-largest single-mountain ski resort in the U.S., behind Big Sky and Park City, featuring seven bowls and i ...
, and Steamboat Springs Ski Resort in Colorado, and
Deer Valley Deer Valley is an alpine ski resort in the Wasatch Range, located east of Salt Lake City, in Park City, Utah, United States. The resort, known for its upscale amenities, is consistently ranked among the top ski resorts in North America. Deer V ...
, Utah.


Doppelmayr USA before merger

Doppelmayr was a world-renowned Austrian ropeway manufacturer that began exporting surface lifts to North America in the 1950s under the name "Alpine Lift." The first Doppelmayr chairlift in North America was installed at
Marmot Basin Marmot Basin is an alpine ski area located on Marmot Mountain in Alberta's Jasper National Park. It has 91 named runs on four mountain faces with 3,000 vertical feet of drop. The area has a lift capacity of close to 12,000 skiers per hour on se ...
,
Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
, in 1968. Doppelmayr's first North American manufacturing facility in Saint-Jérôme, Quebec, opened in 1978. Unlike its competitors, Doppelmayr used exclusively European designs in North America. The company built the world's first detachable high speed quad chairlift in 1981 at
Breckenridge Ski Resort Breckenridge Ski Resort is an alpine ski resort in the western United States, in Breckenridge, Colorado. Just west of the Continental Divide in Summit County, it is perennially one of the most visited ski resorts in the western hemisphere. Breck ...
in Colorado. In 1996, Doppelmayr's European holding company purchased the ropeway department of
Von Roll Von Roll Holding AG is a Swiss industrial group that operates worldwide. It was founded in 1803. As one of Switzerland’s longest-established industrial companies, Von Roll focuses today on products and systems for electrical applications such ...
, a Swiss manufacturer which had been making lifts in North America since the mid-1980s. Von Roll owned
Hall Ski-Lift Hall Ski-Lift Company was an American manufacturer that built and installed rope tows, t-bar and chair lifts for the ski and resort industry. It was established in Turin, NY in 1954 by Victor E. Hall. Over 800 ski lifts were installed throughout th ...
, an American company that produced more than 400 lifts from 1960 to 1985. Doppelmayr now controlled all the spare parts sales for Doppelmayr, Von Roll, and Hall brand lifts.


Merger of Doppelmayr and Garaventa CTEC

In 2002,
Garaventa Doppelmayr/Garaventa Group is an international manufacturer of ropeways and people movers for ski areas, urban transport, amusement parks, and material handling systems. As of 2019, the group have produced over 15,000 installations in 96 countri ...
of Switzerland merged with
Doppelmayr of Austria Doppelmayr/Garaventa Group is an international manufacturer of ropeways and people movers for ski areas, urban transport, amusement parks, and material handling systems. As of 2019, the group have produced over 15,000 installations in 96 countri ...
, forming the world's largest aerial lift manufacturer. The new company would be known as the Doppelmayr Garaventa Group in Europe and Doppelmayr CTEC in North America. Starting in 2003, Doppelmayr CTEC produced a new line of products that combined the best designs of Doppelmayr and CTEC. The Uni-GS detachable chairlift terminal design was specifically designed for the North American market and incorporated elements of Garaventa CTEC's Stealth line and Doppelmayr's Uni line. Many of CTEC's fixed-grip designs were kept. Today, manufacturing of fixed-grip chairlift terminals and all tower tubes and chairs is done at Doppelmayr CTEC's Salt Lake City factory, while all line equipment and detachable terminals are made in the Quebec plant.


After the merger

In 2003, the company installed its first UNI-GS detachable chairlift, the Panorama Quad, at
Gunstock Mountain Resort Gunstock Mountain Resort, originally known as Belknap Mountain Recreation Area, is an outdoor recreation complex located on Gunstock Mountain in Gilford, New Hampshire. Constructed by the Works Progress Administration, it was completed in 1937 a ...
in
Gilford, New Hampshire Gilford is a town in Belknap County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 7,699 at the 2020 census, up from 7,126 at the 2010 census.United States Census BureauAmerican FactFinder 2010 Census figures. Retrieved March 23, 2011. Situat ...
. In 2003, the company was selected to design, fabricate, install and maintain the
Portland Aerial Tram The Portland Aerial Tram or OHSU Tram is an aerial tramway in Portland, Oregon, that connects the city's South Waterfront district and the main Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) campus, located in the Marquam Hill neighborhood. It is one ...
at a cost of $57 million. In 2005, the company purchased
Partek Partek Ski Lifts, commonly known as Partek, is a chairlift manufacturer based in Pine Island, New York Pine Island is a hamlet in the town of Warwick in Orange County, New York, United States. It is the largest community in the Black Dirt Regio ...
, a small chairlift manufacturer based in
Pine Island, New York Pine Island is a hamlet in the town of Warwick in Orange County, New York, United States. It is the largest community in the Black Dirt Region, which is famous for its "black dirt onions." It gets its name from its slight elevation over the surro ...
. Also included in the purchase were Partek's rights to Borvig lifts. Jan Leonard stepped down as president of the company in October 2007 to start a new company, Skytrac Lifts. He was replaced by VP Mark Bee. In 2007 and 2008, Doppelmayr CTEC constructed two notable lifts at
Jackson Hole Jackson Hole (originally called Jackson's Hole by mountain men) is a valley between the Gros Ventre and Teton mountain ranges in the U.S. state of Wyoming, near the border with Idaho, in Teton County, one of the richest counties in the Unite ...
, Wyoming, and
Whistler Blackcomb Whistler Blackcomb is a ski resort located in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada. By many measures it is the largest ski resort in North America and has the greatest uphill lift capacity. It features the Peak 2 Peak Gondola for moving between ...
,
British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
. The new tram at Jackson Hole cost $31 million and replaced the iconic original Jackson Hole Tram. Whistler-Blackcomb's
Peak 2 Peak Gondola The Peak 2 Peak Gondola is a tricable gondola lift at Whistler Blackcomb Resort in Whistler, British Columbia, linking Whistler Mountain's Roundhouse Lodge with Blackcomb Mountain's Rendezvous Lodge. It is the first lift to join the two side-by ...
is the largest lift of its kind in the world, breaking multiple world records and costing CDN $52 million.


Notable failures

In February 2021, the new Pucci chairlift which went into service in 2020/2021 season at the
Timberline Lodge ski area Timberline Lodge ski area is the ski and snowboarding area of Timberline Lodge, a National Historic Landmark in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is one of a few ski areas in the United States with most of the skiable terrain below the main lodge. I ...
in
Mount Hood, Oregon Mount Hood is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Hood River County, Oregon, United States, about northeast of Parkdale on Oregon Route 35. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 286. Mount Hood is the termi ...
furnished by Doppelmayr USA broke down due to an electronic failure causing 42 people to become stranded. The Doppelmayr USA chairlift's auxiliary motor failed to bring down the passengers stranded and they had to be rescued with ropes.


See also

*
List of aerial lift manufacturers This is a list of the current and former aerial lift manufacturers. This list includes surface lift manufacturers. Current *Aarconinfra Ropeways & Future Mobility Pvt Ltd , India {{cite web , title=Aaarconinfra Ropeways , url=https://aarconin ...


External links


''The Oregonian'' video of people being rescued from broken down Doppelmayr chairlift


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Doppelmayr Ctec Aerial lift manufacturers Manufacturing companies based in Salt Lake City 2002 establishments in Utah American subsidiaries of foreign companies Doppelmayr/Garaventa Group