3 DECEMBER 2011 O.I.T.A.F. P a r t n e r

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Contrary to fears that the South Amer-ican venue could have a negative effect on theturnout, some 250 attendees from all over theworld converged on Rio and enjoyed a pro-gram comprising mainly first-class presenta-tions and the special atmosphere of one of themost beautiful cities of South America.For OITAF, the World Congress, which isheld every six years, is the most importantitem on the calendar of events, where the bigdecisions are taken on the organization’s rul-ing bodies and activities for the next six-yearperiod. At the OITAF General Assembly heldon October 24, the outgoing president JeanCharles Faraudo handed over to his successorMartin Leitner, and the long-serving Secre-

tary General Heinrich Brugger was followedby Markus Pitscheider, who – like his prede-cessor – is head of the Ropeway Authority inBolzano, Italy. The main thrust of the 2011 OITAF Con-gress was to offer full coverage of the subjectof ropeways in the urban environment. Notonly were most of the presentations on thefirst day devoted to this topic; urban rope-ways also played a part in several papers pre-sented in the working sessions on “Trans-portation by Rope and Tourism”, “Sustain-ability of Transportation by Rope, Environ-mental and Social Aspects, EconomicEfficiency” and “Technology and Safety”.That pattern had been anticipated by ISR in

an OITAF Congress Special published in sixlanguages, with a keynote article on urbanropeways by Professor Josef Nejez, in whichthe ISR’s Technical Editor explained the rel-evant terminology and took a look at theropeway systems deployed.The excursion on the second day of the Con-gress was also directly connected with thetopic of ropeways for urban applications, andthe visit to Poma’s Aerial Tramway in Rio deJaneiro was an impressive experience. Withthe construction of this high-capacity rope-way link in the favelas area of Complexo doAlemao, comprising five consecutive stages ofa gondola system operating with 10-passen-ger cabins, Poma has produced a feat of rope-

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The 10th World OITAF Congress for Transportationby Rope was held in Rio deJaneiro on 24 - 27 October2011. The working sessionsand social program were botha big success.

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way engineering whose socio-economic im-pacts on a suburb that had previously had on-ly poor public transport cannot be overstated.On the third and last day of the Congress, at-tendees were treated to presentations on awide variety of subjects before it was time forthe representatives of the two big ropewaymanufacturing groups Leitner/Poma and

Doppelmayr/Garaventa to make their finalpitch, in which they presented the latest de-velopments in ropeway engineering for theurban environment and their innovations forski area operations. The social highlight of the Rio Congress wasthe gala dinner at the end of the event, atwhich the outgoing president Jean Charles

Faraudo and the newly elected Martin Leit-ner held their closing speeches. The buffet,good wine and an enchanting samba dancedisplay combined to generate a great atmos-phere and ensure that attendees would takehome fond memories of the 2011 OITAFCongress.

Josef Nejez

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Left to right: Michael Seeber (CEO Leitner Ropeways), Markus Pitscheider (newOITAF Secretary General) and Martin Leitner (new OITAF President)

Achille Bonini, design engineer for the Sugarloaf Cable Car with his wifein front of the James Bond cabin

Ellen Brink (star translator at OITAF) and Regis-Antoine Decolasse (of the Johnson Controls establishment)

Left to right: Ekkehard Assmann (Head of Marketing Doppelmayr), Jim Fletcher (E-S-G)with his wife and Christoph Hinteregger (Technical Director, Doppelmayr)

Left to right: Paulo Munoz Levasier (Leitner-Poma/Prinoth Chile), Francisco Sotomayor (Director Pro Andes) and Jean Souchal (CEO Poma)

Left to right: Matthias Stacher, Max Baumann (Sals Manager Fatzer) andBruno Longatti (Technical Director Fatzer)

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OITAF CONGRESS

OITAF under new management

Following the opening address by JeanCharles Faraudo and determination of a quo-rum, proceedings continued with approvalof the minutes of the last General Assemblyin Oslo and the finances, which included aproposal for a 10% increase in the member-

ship fee. The assembly also approved anamendment to the statutes providing for asubstitute for every member of the Manage-ment Committee. President Jean Charles Fa-raudo then presented a brief overview of thelast few years’ activities of OITAF and espe-

cially of the Work Committees and of the rec-ommendations made by the Work Commit-tees and implemented during his term of of-fice. He expressed thanks for the trust thathad been placed in him and for the excellentclimate in which all the working sessions hadbeen held. He expressed his special gratitudeto the outgoing Secretary General HeinrichBrugger, who had run the OITAF secretariatto the satisfaction of one and all for no fewerthan 27 years. Elections were then held forthe seats on the Management Committee onthe basis of a list of candidates submitted bythe outgoing committee, and also for the au-ditors. At the subsequent meeting of theManagement Committee, Martin Leitnerwas elected President of OITAF, with JörgSchröttner and Laurent Reynaud as his twoVice-presidents. Martin Leitner expressed histhanks for the trust placed in him andstressed that he hoped to be able to further intensify the international orientation ofOITAF. In this context the New Presidentsaid he felt that the choice of Rio as the venuefor the Congress was a symbolic step in thatdirection. In the election held for the Execu-tive Committee, to which the President, histwo Vice-presidents and the Secretary Generalbelong ex officio, Francesc Cullerè was electedto represent the authorities, Sandro Lazzarithe operators and Werner Inderbitzin themanufacturers. Following the election of thenew members of the Executive Committee,Dr. Ing. Markus Pitscheider of the RopewayOffice of the Autonomous Province ofBolzano (I) was appointed as the new Secre-tary General, and Dr. Ing. Claudio Canessa,of the same organization, was confirmed inoffice as Treasurer.

For the members of the Management Commit-tee and auditors of OITAF, see box on page 42.

In the framework of the 10th World OITAF Congress for Transportation by Rope in Rio de Janeiro, the organization also held its 21st General Assembly and elected its officers for the next six-year term up to 2017.

Left to right: The new OITAF leadership Secretary General Markus Pitscheider and President Martin Leitner withformer Secretary General Heinrich Brugger

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Cableway oscillation problemsOscillations in ropeways are a frequent cause of operating problems and sometimesdamage. For this reason, ISR published a series of articles on the subject in its German-language editions 1/2010 to 3/2011. In response to the keen interest shown by ourreaders, we have now decided to provide the articles in English and French, too.

Since dynamicproblems encoun-tered on ropeways re-quire a much morecomplex responsethan static systems,ropeway engineerstend to restrict them-selves to a quasi-stat-ic approach. In rope-way operations, how-ever, the laws of

physics cannot be ignored, and dynamic phe-nomena in the form of various types of oscil-lations are very much a reality.Over the years,“oscillation problems in rope-ways” have been a frequent topic of researchat the relevant universities and institutes,starting with an initial paper on the subjectwritten by Professor Otto Zweifel of whatwas then the Institute of Construction andTransport Engineering at the Swiss FederalInstitute of Technology in Zurich and pub-lished in ISR in 1972. In the abstract to hisarticle, he wrote, “The purpose of this intro-ductory paper is to recall some of the basicfacts of oscillation theory which engineershear about in varying degrees of detail duringtheir training but afterwards tend to forget,and then to address some specific oscillationphenomena as they affect ropeways.”In the context of this research focus at theZurich institute – in the meantime renamedthe Institute of Lightweight Structures andRopeways – various oscillation processes en-countered in ropeways were made the subjectof scientific research by Professor GaborOplatka and his team (Reto Canale, GeorgKopanakis, Gabor Kovacs, Willi Müller andThomas Richter) in the 1980s and 90s. The subject of oscillations has lost none of itsrelevance for ropeway operations today, andGeorg Kopanakis and Reto Canale kindlyagreed to write a series of articles to familiar-ize the ISR readership with the basics of oscil-lations in ropeways in the spirit of the intro-duction to the subject provided by ProfessorZweifel, and to indicate the solutions available

for oscillation problems. The articles cover themain ropeway oscillation phenomena (ropeoscillations, effects on towers and stations,and oscillations caused by wind, passage overthe towers, system start-up and braking, andload shedding including ice release).The basics of oscillation theory are so clearlystated in Professor Zweifel’s initial article thatwe have decided to quote directly from hiswork here (source: O. Zweifel: “Schwingung-sprobleme bei Seilbahnen”, English and Ger-man, ISR 3/1972, p. 159).

Fundamentals

For oscillations to occur there must be an os-cillation system. A pendulum, for example,constitutes a simple oscillation system, whichis capable of oscillating in the gravitationalfield. Ropeway cabins and ropes can also per-form oscillatory movements like a pendulumin the gravitational field. A spring-suspendedmass is another form of a simple oscillationsystem. Like a spring-suspended mass, aropeway cabin suspended from a track ropecan oscillate up and down. The overall rope-way system, comprising a wide range of elas-tic members and mass bodies, is an extreme-ly complex oscillation system that is capableof oscillating in innumerable ways.The presence of an oscillation system, howev-er, does not necessarily mean that oscillationwill occur. That requires some form of excita-tion; oscillation energy must be introduced in-to the system. The excitation must also occurin a specific way for oscillation to be triggered.This can be demonstrated by the case of amass suspended from a helical spring. If theupper end of the spring is moved up anddown very rapidly, the mass remains immo-bile. If the end of the spring is raised and low-ered extremely slowly, the mass follows themovement of the operator’s hand but no os-cillation occurs. But there is also a frequency– known as the natural or resonant frequen-cy – at which the mass will oscillate of its ownaccord. If the excitation is delivered at thisfrequency, even small movements in the end

of the spring will generate pronounced oscil-lations. This is resonance.

In Fig. 1 this situation is illustrated with ref-erence to a vehicle with a suspension systemtraveling over bumps in the ground with anamplitude a0. The amplitude of vehicle oscil-lation is a and vehicle speed is v. In the graph,the amplitude ratio a/a0 is plotted on the y-axis over the speed ratio v/vk, where vk is thecritical speed at which the bumps in theground contact the wheels of the vehicle atthe vehicle’s natural frequency. The graphshows that the amplitude for the resonancecase (v/vk = 1) is in fact very large. Curves areplotted for different degrees of damping (D= 0 no damping, D = ∞ infinite damping).It is because of resonance phenomena that itis so important to be aware of the natural fre-quency of an oscillation system. In the case ofropeways, it is essential to know the naturalfrequencies of the ropes oscillating transverse-ly and longitudinally with or without addi-tionally oscillating masses. Account must al-so be taken of the natural frequencies of thetowers, cabins, drives, tension weights, etc.

Josef Nejez

Fig. 1: Resonant oscillations in a vehicle passing overbumps in the ground. Where the bumps contact thewheels at the vehicle’s natural frequency, the amplitudeof the oscillation is very large.

Josef NejezTechn. Editor of ISR

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The world is con-stantly in motion. Asa simplification,“movements” relat-ing to the subject ofoscillation can be di-vided into two cate-gories depending onwhether somethingmoves back and forthrelative to a fixed lo-cation or whether it

travels from one point to another.

The first group comprises such movements asvibrations in a body, the movement of a pen-dulum, the oscillation of an electrical oscilla-tor circuit and so on. In such cases we speakof “oscillations” and often, in the case of me-chanical oscillations, of “vibrations”. Move-ments in the latter category include such phe-nomena as the movement of the surface of thewater in swell, the movement of a wave alonga guitar string or a rope, and the propagationof sound, etc. Here we speak of “waves”.

Oscillations and vibrations

A body will oscillate when it is disturbedfrom a position of stable equilibrium and“subsequently forced” to return to the initialposition by “restoring force FR”(Fig. 1).

The simplest types of oscillating systems arethe “spring-mass system” and the “oscillatingpendulum”. Their movement processes canbe described in simple mathematical terms;the resulting movement is called a simple har-monic oscillation. In the case of a “simpleharmonic oscillation”, the various positionsof the body can be plotted over time as a sinewave (Fig. 2).

In the oscillation process, kinetic energy iscontinuously converted into potential ener-gy and vice-versa. At the highest point of de-flection “o” and the lowest point “u”, veloc-ity and momentary kinetic energy are zero,while potential energy is greatest in keepingwith maximum spring extension and com-pression. In the mid position “m” (equilibriumpoint), velocity and momentary kinetic en-ergy in the system are at a maximum, whilepotential energy, in the presence of the un-loaded spring, is zero. The “period” of timethat elapses before the oscillating mass pass-es the same position in the same direction isthe “time period” “T”.

The distance between equilibrium point “m”and maximum displacement points “o” and“u” is the amplitude “A” of the oscillation.

The number of time periods (wave cycles)that can occur in a unit of time is “frequen-cy” “f”. Frequency is the reciprocal value ofthe time period: f=1/T.

Waves

In a “medium” like water, the string of a gui-tar or a rope, waves are also triggered by a dis-turbance introduced at some point in themedium. In this case, however, we are nottalking about the behavior of a completebody but about the behavior and interactionof the individual particles of which the medi-um is composed and which are involved inthe formation and propagation of the wave.

It should be underscored that in the case of apropagating wave, each individual particleperforms a harmonious movement around afixed position (equilibrium point) as in thecase of the oscillation of a spring-mass sys-tem. The perceived movement of the wave ismerely a change in the shape of the medium;no mass flow takes place! (Fig. 3).

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Fig. 3: Running wave: When the wave moves in the direction of propagation, each particle moves aroundits own equilibrium point. That is illustrated here bythe “yellow particle”, which performs a harmoniousoscillation between the two maximum deflectionpoints during wave propagation.

Fundamentals on the subject of oscillations and waves (recapitulation of the basics of oscillation theory for oscillation problems encountered on ropeways).

Oscillations in ropeways,part 1

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When the direction of movement of the in-dividual particles is transverse to the directionof propagation of the wave, we speak of a“transverse wave”; when it is parallel to the di-rection of propagation, it is a “longitudinalwave” (Fig. 4).

The wave produced in a guitar string or arope following excitation (plucking) is anexample of a transverse wave; sound wavesare a typical example of longitudinalwaves.

The distance between two successive particleswith the same value on the y axis and thesame direction of movement is “wavelength”“l”. Time period “T” is the time required bythe wave to travel a wavelength.

In the case of waves, too, the distance be-tween the equilibrium position and the max-imum displacement points of a particle is“amplitude” “A”.

The number of wavelengths that pass a fixedpoint during a unit of time is again „frequen-cy” „f ”.

When a wave travels along an infinitely longmedium, e.g. the surface of the sea, we speakof a “running wave”. The characteristic fea-tures of a running wave are the constant di-rection of travel and the infinite variety ofpossible wavelengths (Fig. 3).

When a wave travels along a finite medium,it is reflected at the end of the medium, i.e.the direction of travel is reversed after everyreflexion.. In this case, only certain wave-lengths can occur depending on the length ofthe field line. Such waves are known as“standing waves” (Fig. 5).

Damping

Theoretically, i.e. in a frictionless environ-ment, a body that has been caused to oscillateas a result of a single disturbance will contin-ue to oscillate ad infinitum, as the above-mentioned energy conversion will continueinfinitely without energy loss. A real system,i.e. a system in an environment to which thelaws of friction apply, on the other hand,eventually returns to a state of rest followinga single disturbance because some of the en-ergy is constantly dissipated in the form offrictional losses. This process, involving con-tinuously declining amplitudes, is known as“damping”. Real systems are always subject todamping; they differ only in the degree ofdamping (Fig. 6).

Free and forced oscillations andnatural frequency

A real system caused to oscillate by a singledisturbance and nothing more performs a“free oscillation”. As mentioned above, how-ever, energy is constantly released to the en-vironment so that the system returns to theequilibrium position after a certain length oftime or number of cycles. The frequency of a

freely oscillating system depends on the massand stiffness of the system itself. This fre-quency is characteristic of the system and re-mains constant. It is known as the “naturalfrequency”.

If a real system is to continue to oscillate, ad-ditional energy must be introduced fromwithout. A repeated source of disturbance,known as the “exciter”, keeps the system sup-plied with energy and the oscillation is main-tained. In this case we speak of “forced oscil-lation” (Fig. 7). Most types of oscillation andwave phenomena in the field of ropewaysthat we will be looking at are forced oscilla-tions.

Initiation and intensity of oscil-lations and types of exciter

Oscillations occur when we have both an “os-cillatable system” and an “exciter” capable ofsupplying the system with energy on a one-off or continuous basis.

A system is considered to be oscillatable whenit has both mass and elasticity. Since all real-life systems are neither without mass nor per-fectly rigid, they can all be caused to oscillatein the presence of a suitable exciter. ■ In the case of a single excitation, the ampli-tude of the oscillation diminishes at a ratethat depends on the degree of damping (Fig. 6).■ A system can be subjected to multiple, butrandom excitation. In this case we speak, notof periodic but of stochastic (random) excita-tion.■ Finally, if the excitation is harmonious, thesystem will respond with a harmonious oscil-lation at a frequency corresponding to that ofthe excitement.The most important point in the case offorced oscillation is the fact that the ampli-tude of the oscillator depends on the frequen-cy of the exciter. If, in the case of an un-damped oscillation, exciter frequency is iden-tical with the natural frequency of the oscil-

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Fig. 5: Standing wave (only certain wavelengths possible)

Fig. 6: Damping

Fig. 4: Transverse and longitudinal waves

Fig. 7: Forced oscillation

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lator, its amplitude increases infinitely, a statethat is known as “resonance”. For a real sys-tem this means that, in the case of resonance,the system’s amplitude – especially if there islittle damping – can become very large andthe system will be subjected to correspond-ingly greater loads (Fig. 8).

Solutions to oscillation prob-lems

The first approach to tackling an oscillationproblem is to “eliminate the cause”, i.e. theexciter, regardless of whether one-off or peri-odic excitement is involved. As we shall seelater, however, this is rarely possible. Thismeans that alternatives normally have to besought, and although they may not com-pletely eliminate the oscillation, it will bepossible to reduce the intensity of the oscilla-tion to a level at which it no longer has anysignificant impacts (excessive loads on struc-tural components, noise, reduced quality ofthe ride, etc).

Unfortunately, the following potential solu-tions are not effective in all cases or applica-ble to all oscillation phenomena and must beinvestigated separately in the individual case.

■ Changing exciter frequency or the naturalfrequency of the oscillator in order to miti-gate the resonance effect is an effective solu-tion, but it may involve operating restrictionsor significant re-engineering. ■ Damping the oscillations is only effective inthe case of oscillations above a “certain ampli-tude”.■ Isolating the exciter (i.e. interrupting theenergy flow from the exciter to the oscillator)has the disadvantage that the stability and/orgeometry of the system could be compro-mised.■ Superimposing a counter-oscillation, amethod known as active oscillation damping,requires continuous intervention within thesystem.

In the next chapter we will be looking at theoscillations caused in the structural compo-nents of a ropeway installation by passage ofthe rope over the sheaves and bullwheels. To close, I should like to express my sincerethanks to Dipl.-Ing. ETH Reto Canale (Di-rector of the IKSS intercantonal authority)and Dipl.-Ing. ETH Istvan Szalai (CEO Gar-aventa AG) for their critical review of themanuscript and helpful suggestions.

Georg A. Kopanakis

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Fig. 8: Resonance: The graph shows the amplitude ofthe oscillator as a function of the frequency of theexciter. The x axis (frequency of the exciter) is “normalized” to the resonant frequency of the oscil-lator (f0), i.e. the value “1” corresponds to the valuefor the resonant frequency of the oscillator. The y-axis (amplitude of the oscillator) is “normalized” tothe amplitude of the exciter (A0), i.e. the value “1”corresponds to the value for the amplitude of theexciter, and the oscillator performs exactly themovement determined by the exciter. The closer ex-citer frequency, starting from lower values, comes tothe resonant frequency of the oscillator, the greaterthe amplitude of the oscillator. Once exciter fre-quency exceeds resonant frequency, the amplitude of the oscillator gradually declines again. When ex-citer frequency is high enough, the system will finallycome to a stop. “κ” is the “amping constant”.

IMPRESSUM/IMPRINTMedieninhaber (Verleger) ● Owner: Bohmann Druck und Verlag, Gesellschaft m.b.H. & Co. KG, A-1110 Wien, Leberstraße 122, Tele fon: +43(1)740 95-0, Telefax: +43(1)740 95-537, DVR 0408689Herausgeber ● Pu b li sher: Komm.-Rat Dr. Rudolf BohmannGeschäftsleitung ● Managing directors: Mag. Dr. Gabriele Ambros, Gerhard MilletichVerlagsleitung: ● Management: Mag. Dr. Gabriele Ambros, Mag. (FH) Patrick Lenhart Redaktion ● Editorial staff: Chefredakteur Mag. (FH) Josef Schramm (JS); Leitender Redakteur Mag. Christian Amtmann (CA); Fachtechn. Redakteur Univ.-Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Dr. techn. Josef Nejez (JN); Redaktions assistenz & Anzeigenverwaltung Birgit Holzer; E-Mail: isr.zv@bohmann.at, Internet: www.isr.atAnzeigenverkauf ● Advertisement sales: Mag. (FH) Josef Schramm, Dietrich KopsLayout & electronic Publishing: Markus FrühwirthUmwelt ● Environment: Dipl.-Ing. Dr. Maria Nejez, LandschaftsarchitektinAutoren und Mitarbeiter ● Authors and Contributors: Burgi Triendl-Schwetz, Innsbruck; Dr. Ing. Heinrich Brugger, Bozen; Dr. Gabor Kovacs, Zürich; Ing. Reijo Riila, Helsinki; Resham Raj Dhakal, NepalFrankreich ● France: Alain Soury-Lavergne, 40 chemin de Malanot, F-38700 Corenc, Tel. +33/(0)476 88 03 10, E-Mail: a.soury-lavergne@experts-judiciaires.orgItalien ● Italy: Dr. Ing. Heinrich Brugger, Claudia de Medicistr. 19, I-39100 Bozen, Tel. +39/0471/300 347, Mob.+39 347 5907305, E-Mail: h.brugger@alice.itUSA – Canada: Beat von Allmen, 2871 South 2870 East, Salt Lake City, Utah 84109, Tel. +1/801/468 26 62, E-Mail: beat@alpentech.netTschechien, Slowakei und Polen ● Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland: Dipl.-Ing. Roman Gric, Has kova 14, CZ-638 00 Brno-Lesná, Tel. +420/5/41 637 297, E-Mail: gric@seznam.czGUS ● CIS: Dr. David Pataraia, Shertavastr. 18/16, Tbilissi-1060, Georgien, Tel. & Fax +995/32/373785, E-Mail: david.pataraia@gmail.com; Maya SemivolosovaRumänien und Bulgarien ● Romania and Bulgaria: Dipl.-Ing.Petre Popa jr., str. Lunga 53 c/7, RO-500035 Brasov, Tel. & Fax +40/268/5436 98, E-Mail: petre.popa@gmail.comChina ● China: Dr. Ou Li, Dr. Schober Str. 84 199, A-1130 Wien, Tel. +43/1/889 74 10, Fax+43/1/889 87 19, E-Mail: unicom@aon.at; Autorisierte Übersetzer ● Translation: Dr. Chris Marsh (E), Andrée Pazmandy Lic. ès. L. (F), Federico Dalpiaz (ES), Mag. Hubert Rinner (IT) Vertriebsleitung ● Dispatch manager: Angelika Stola, Tel.: +43/1/740 95-462, Erscheint 6 mal jährlich/published 6 times a yearAbonnementverwaltung ● Subscriptions: abo@bohmann.atInland ● Austria: Einzelpreis: € 19,95; Jahres be zugs preis: € 109,90 (inkl. 10 % MwSt), Ausland ● Other countries: Einzelpreis/single issue: € 23,30; Jahres bezugs preis/6 issues/year: € 130,00 (inkl. MwSt, inkl. Porto u. Ver sandspesen), Die Abonnementgebühr ist im Voraus zu ent richten. Das Abonnement ist spätestens 30 Tage vor Bezugsjahresende schriftlich kündbar.Bankverbindungen ● Bank accounts: Bank Austria Creditanstalt AG 653-092-700; Österr. Postsparkasse 1732.755Druck ● Print: AV + Astoria Druckzentrum, A-1030 Wien, Faradaygasse 6, Druckauflage 1. Halbjahr 2011 ● Circulation 1st half-year 2011: 6.500

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SNOWMAKING

Technology that caresfor snowThe Polish Supersnow company has again had a successful year, with systemsinstalled not only in Poland and other European countries but also in Asia.

Impressive balance

Fully automatic snowmaking systems, severalhundred snow guns sold, many thousands ofmeters of pipeline installed, and several differ-ent types of pumping station – that is theyear’s impressive record for the first and onlyPolish company with snowmaking know-how.

The company

Supersnow was established in 2000 in theBialka Tatrzanska ski area in south Poland. Inthe early years, the company offered a snowgun repair and maintenance service. Simulta-neously, work started on the development aproprietary snow gun, with the prototypebased on the company’s experience of runninga ski resort, which became a test bench for Su-persnow. Most of the components are madeentirely in-house, which allows for effectivequality controls at every stage of production.In 2004 the Supersnow snow gun waslaunched on the market, and the first com-plete snowmaking system was installed in2006. Today Supersnow is the Polish leader in“technology that cares for snow” – from theplanning stage to the turnkey installation.

The philosophy

The Supersnow team put all their heart intotheir work. The company prides itself on awork ethic based on mutual respect, honesty,sincerity and security for every employee.“There is always room for improvement” isthe motto of a company in pursuit of the bestpossible solution and full customer satisfac-tion. That is supported by a policy of closecooperation with clients for customized solu-tions that make snowmaking the foundationof a successful skiing area operation.

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For the love of snow

Supersnow already has an impressive portfo-lio of successful projects to show for its efforts,but the company is not resting on its laurelsand has a strong commitment to ongoing de-velopment work. It also continues to expandis operations, for example with the establish-ment of Supersnow agents in such countriesas Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary,Ukraine, Romania, Russia, China and SouthKorea. Fully automatic snowmaking systems,lifts and snow guns of the highest quality, andextensive snowmaking know-how – that is allthe result of a love of snow engrained in everymember of the Supersnow team.

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In the trade show, which was attendedby over 50 exhibitors from 14 countries (witha strong presence from France, Switzerland,Austria and Canada) including Leitner-Po-ma, and Prinoth, Roger McCarthy (ex-Pres-ident of Vail Resorts and Mont Trémblant),MDP Consulting and Groupe MND, visi-tors were shown the latest technologies andtrends in such areas as transportation by rope,the management of natural hazards, andequipment for mountain resorts and busi-nesses with similar problems.The main actors from the South Americanworld of snow and mountains were present ina total of 700 professional visitors, includingthe ski resorts of Chile and Argentina, min-ing companies, the Ministry of Public Works- Mountain Roads, Border Crossings andMountain Armed Forces, mountain munici-palities and others. Expo Andes ended with a Mountain Devel-opment Symposium with panel discussionson international best practice and issues ofrelevance to the industry as a whole. During the event, Mr. Raúl Torrealba (May-or of Vitacura and President of the Associa-tion of Chilean Municipalities) and FelipeGuevara (Mayor of Lo Barnechea and Presi-dent of the Chilean Association of MountainMunicipalities) signed a cooperation agree-ment between Chilean and French mayors,with the latter represented by Vice-PresidentJacques Guillot (Mayor of Chamrousse,Winter Olympic venue in 1968). The agree-ment is targeted at knowledge sharing for thedevelopment and promotion of mountainpolicies.Expo Andes is to be held every two years as afocal point for professionals, companies andinstitutions in the Cordillera de Los Andes,thus strengthening its position on the inter-national stage of mountain destinations."As a country with 83% of its territory in themountains and the world's longest mountainrange, Chile was a logical host for the meet-ing. That is confirmed by sales negotiationsworth more than 4 million euros held duringthe show,” says Francisco Sotomayor, Presi-dent of Expo Andes.

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EVENT

Swiss ropeway engineering is in keen demand inSouth America, as Oliver Goyeneche from Bartholetreports.

IDM offers a wide range of ski area equipment.

With their Pistenbully groomers, Kässbohrer havelong been at home on the South American market.

Andreas Moser (right) reports that pipes and fittingsfrom Duktus are also a high-grade solution for delivering water to the mining industry.

Poma has an impressive track record for excitingropeway projects in South America – and Prinoth forperfectly groomed trails.

Snowmaking excellence courtesy of TechnoAlpin atExpo Andes in Santiago de Chile

The SunKid success story also continues in Chileand Argentina.

Expo Andes 2011 inSantiago de Chile

Expo Andes 2011, the first International Mountain Professionals Summit ofSouth America, was held atthe Equestrian Club of Santiago on 19 - 21 October.

Arcelor Mittal is a partner of choice with qualityropes for a wide range of applications, from ropewaysto offshore.

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SNOWMAKING

IDE is the world market leader in the design and constructionof seawater desalination plant and also supplies cooling systems for goldand diamond mines. For some years now, the Israeli company has beencausing quite stir with an international first by the name of IDE AllWeather Snowmaker for guaranteed snowmaking in above-zero temper-atures.

“White gold” from Israel

Two years ago the IDE company found a bold investor in the PitztalGlacier Resort management, who were quick to recognize the potentialof the All Weather Snowmaker. “Over a number of years, we had beenconfronted by increasing periods in which the conditions on the Pitz-tal Glacier were not right for normal snowmaking,” says Dr. Hans Ru-batscher, Manager of Pitztal Glacier Resort. “The IDE All WeatherSnowmaker was the perfect addition to our existing snowmaking facil-ities. We make careful use of it for our core business and have no inten-tion of trying to create a summer snow spectacular. We are committedto the principle of sustainability in the management of this unique skiarea.” The temperature on the glacier is well above freezing and yet ithas a perfectly groomed trail. This scenario, which had been consideredimpossible in the past, caused a sensation in 2009 among the tourismexperts and journalists who had converged on the Pitztal Glacier fromall over the world. At a temperature of plus 13°C at 2,840 m above sea-level, the “white gold” from Israel continues to be a big attraction as aforward-looking and environmentally friendly innovation.

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The All Weather Snowmaker manufactured by the Israeli IDE company has been insuccessful use on the Pitztal Glacier since 2009.

VIPs at Expo Andes: Francisco Sotomayor, Director and CEO of Expo Andes, withRoger D. Mc Carthy, one of the most successful ski-area managers, and Jean CharlesFaraudo, former President of OITAF.

Left to right: They guarantee successful ski area operations: Roger D. Mc Carthy withPaul and Linda Mathews from Ecosign.

With the IDE All Weather Snowmaker from Israel, it is now possible to make snow withoutchemical additives and without worrying aboutfactors like temperature, humidity or wind speed.

Snow withoutchemical additives

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Many major projects have been com-pleted during the year, confirming Neveplastas a benchmark for operators looking to offerentertaining sports activities in ski resorts andother environments.The company, which is located at the foot ofthe Alps in Bergamo near Milan, is increas-ingly diversifying into fields over and abovemountain operations and especially includ-ing amusement parks. Operating in thesenew sectors has given the Italian companyconsiderable experience in a variety of fields,which is very much to the benefit of clients.One new development, for example, is theTubby Evolution 2011, which was launchedat the Interalpin trade show in Innsbruck lastspring. Fast and easy assembly has made theupdated version a huge success. That isdemonstrated by the two big facilities in-stalled in Alytus (LT) and Kampung (INA),where eight slopes with an overall length ofmore than one kilometer were installed injust one week.

Neveplast’s engineers do not just work onproduct improvements; they are also con-stantly looking for new ideas, especially inline with the principle of one product, mul-tiple applications. Take the various TubbyJump installations: this is the most excitingTubby concept ever, with a straight TubbyEvolution slope provided with a kicker tolaunch the snow tubes into the air for a safelanding on an air mattress.

In addition to entertainment facilities, Neve-plast’s business also has a focus on developingnew ski slopes and upgrading existing ones.As proof of the quality of the product, thereis the slope built in Serravalle, in the Repub-lic of San Marino, which is being used moreand more to train ski instructors and is alsopopular with the general public, who use itfor recreational skiing, training and fun.

As with natural snow installations in winter,the trend in the last year has been for ski re-sorts in Europe and America to install smallterrain parks and build freestyle areas, wheresafe jumping is assured with the help of airmattresses.

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SNOWTUBING

2011 has been a year of further momentum rather than consolidation.

Lots of major projects

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