Poma 5620914 216693501 2008-06-02T20:07:07Z EncMstr 551385 revert tester [[special:contributions/83.45.185.144|83.45.185.144]] ([[user talk:83.45.185.144|talk]]) to last version by Mangostar :''For the village, see [[Poma, Bangladesh]].'' [[Image:Poma logo.gif|right]] '''Poma''' or '''Pomagalski SA''' is an international corporation, headquartered in [[France]], which builds passenger conveyances using cable systems, including fixed and [[detachable chairlift|detachable]] aerial [[chairlift]]s, [[gondola]]s, [[funicular]]s, [[aerial tram|aerial tramways]] and [[surface lifts]]. Poma has installed more than six thousand systems in fifty-four countries which transport eight million passengers each hour.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.poma.net/ | title = Poma group website | accessdate = 2006-09-17 }} </ref> While the term '''Poma lift''' technically refers to any Poma installation, it is mostly commonly used as a nostalgic term for a [[platter lift]] or [[T-bar]], as it was the company's first and most popular system. The majority of Poma systems are in [[ski area]]s, but can also be found at [[amusement park]]s and in scenic locations as skyrides and [[peoplemover]]s. It mainly operates in [[Europe]] and [[China]]. == History == The founder, Jean Pomagalski, of Polish descendants, began building ski lifts in 1935. The first systems used detachable technology in a surface lift. In 1953, Pomalift Inc. established itself in the U.S. In 1958, they built their first chairlift in the U.S., followed in 1960 with chairlifts at [[Squaw Valley]] for the [[Winter Olympics]]. In 1981 they established manufacturing capability in [[Grand Junction, Colorado|Grand Junction]], [[Colorado]] at their [[North America]]n headquarters. They build the first detachable quad chairlift in 1981, installed at [[Sept Laux, France]] (in the [[Dauphiné Alps]]). In 1984, Poma installed the world's highest gondola lift towers at 358 ft (109 m) for the [[Mississippi Aerial River Transit]] across the [[Mississippi River]], in [[New Orleans, Louisiana]]. == Industry == Poma is one of only a few remaining lift manufacturers in North America. With the recent demise of [[Riblet]] and [[Lift Engineering]] (popularly known as ''Yan''), their only major competitor is [[Doppelmayr CTEC]]. Poma's market share has recently been decreasing. Poma currently holds about 40% of this market, while Doppelmayr holds the other 60%.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.skilifts.org/install_na2006.htm | title = Ski Area Management Magazine 2006 Lift Construction Survey | accessdate = 2007-04-19 }} </ref> Poma merged with Leitner in 2002 to form Leitner-Poma of America. == Well-known lifts == Some famous Poma lifts include the [[Silver Queen Gondola]] in [[Aspen, Colorado]], the [[Mount Roberts Tramway]] in [[Juneau City and Borough, Alaska|Juneau]], [[Alaska]], The Village Gondola in [[Whistler-Blackcomb]] in [[British Columbia]], [[Canada]] and the third generation [[Magic Mile]] at [[Timberline Lodge ski area]] on [[Mount Hood]], [[Oregon]]. == See also == * [[Ski lift]]s * [[List of aerial lift manufacturers]] * [[Telemix]], a type of hybrid lift developed by Poma * [[Maokong Gondola]] == References == <!-- ---------------------------------------------------------- See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Footnotes for a discussion of different citation methods and how to generate footnotes using the <ref>, </ref> and <reference /> tags ----------------------------------------------------------- --> <div class="references-small"> <references /> </div> == External links == * [http://www.poma.net/ Poma website] * [http://www.leitner-poma.com/ Leitner-Poma of America website] {{US-company-stub}} [[fr:Poma]]