Giovanola
| Industry | Amusement rides, roller coasters |
|---|
Giovanola Frères SA was a prominent steel manufacturing company based in Monthey, Switzerland. It was known for building electrical
Giovanola built several submarines: the Auguste Piccard, the Ben Franklin and the F.-A. Forel.[2]
Amusement rides
In the 1980s Giovanola entered the ride market serving as a subcontractor to Intamin, providing structural steel and parts for its roller coasters and other rides such as swinging ships.[3] Giovanola also fabricated entire rides such as the FreeFall which was also marketed by Intamin.
In the mid-1980s two Giovanola engineers, Claude Mabillard and Walter Bolliger, developed a new type of roller coaster track system utilizing a box beam spine. The new-style track first made its appearance on a production-model coaster sold by Intamin as a Space Diver. However, only one was sold to Six Flags Great America. It opened in 1985 as Z-Force. A year later Shockwave at Six Flags Magic Mountain, a stand-up coaster, opened utilizing the same box-beam track.[4] In 1987 Bolliger and Mabillard left the company and founded their own business, Bolliger & Mabillard.[3]
In 1998 Giovanola Amusement Rides Worldwide (GARW) was founded to sell amusement rides built by Giovanola Frères SA. Both companies were based in
GARW filed for bankruptcy protection in 2001 after the completion of Titan at Six Flags Over Texas which ended the roller-coaster-building business. In 2000 a hydraulic penstock at the Bieudron Hydroelectric Power Station, which was manufactured by Giovanola Frères, failed, rendering the power station inoperative. That incident caused more financial problems for the already weakened company. In 2003-2004 the company filed for bankruptcy and ceased operation.[1] The factory was purchased by the municipality of Monthey and is currently managed by Gessimo, which sub-leases the space to multiple tenants.[6]
List of roller coasters
Giovanola is credited with building three roller coasters independently.[7] Giovanola served as the subcontractor on 22 roller coasters around the world.[7]
| Name | Model | Park | Country | Opened | Status | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anaconda | Inverted Coaster | Gold Reef City |  South Africa |
1999 | Operating | [8] |
| Goliath | Hyper Coaster | Six Flags Magic Mountain |  United States |
2000 | Operating | [9] |
| Titan | Hyper Coaster | Six Flags Over Texas | United States |
2001 | Operating | [10] |
Ropeways
Giovanola manufactured
See also
References
- ^ a b "L'histoire de l'entreprise "Giovanola"" (in French). Retrieved May 8, 2020.
- ^ Dubuis, Etienne (10 June 2011). "A la découverte du Léman". Le Temps (in French). Geneva. Archived from the original on 2019-04-21. Retrieved 2014-11-01.
- ^ a b "GIOVANOLA: THE MISSING LINK BETWEEN B&M AND INTAMIN" (in French). 7 March 2018. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
- ^ Marden, Duane. "Shockwave (Six Flags Magic Mountain)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
- ^ "Six Flags - Goliath
- ^ "Site industriel et artisanal". Retrieved May 8, 2020.
- ^ a b Giovanola - rcdb.com
- ^ Marden, Duane. "Anaconda (Gold Reef City)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
- ^ Marden, Duane. "Goliath (Six Flags Magic Mountain)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
- ^ Marden, Duane. "Titan (Six Flags Over Texas)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
- ^ a b "Giovanola". remontees-mecaniques.net (in French). Retrieved 31 August 2020.
- ^ "Giovanola-Dernière? Seilbahn Les Marécottes - La Creusaz". YouTube (in German). Seilbahn TV. 19 January 2020. Archived from the original on 2021-12-13. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
