Leitner-Poma of America, known simply as Leitner-Poma, is a

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

aerial lift An aerial lift, also known as a cable car or ropeway, is a means of cable transport in which ''cabins'', ''cars'', ''Gondola lift, gondolas'', or Chairlift, open chairs are hauled above the ground by means of one or more Wire rope, cables. Aeria ...

manufacturer based in Grand Junction, Colorado. It is the American subsidiary of French-based

Poma Poma, incorporated as Pomagalski S.A., and sometimes referred to as the Poma Group, is a French company which manufactures cable-driven lift systems, including fixed and detachable chairlifts, gondola lifts, funiculars, aerial tramways, peo ...

, which is owned by the Italian company HTI Group. The North American company was formed in 2000 when the Seeber Group, owner of Leitner, bought Poma and merged both companies' North American subsidiaries. Leitner-Poma of America operates a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

subsidiary based in

Barrie Barrie is a city in Central Ontario, Canada, about north of Toronto. The city is within Simcoe County and located along the shores of Kempenfelt Bay. Although it is physically in the county, Barrie is politically independent. The city is part ...

, Ontario called Leitner-Poma Canada Inc. Leitner-Poma's only major competitors are

Doppelmayr USA Doppelmayr USA, Inc is an aerial lift manufacturer based in Salt Lake City, Utah, and a subsidiary of the worldwide Doppelmayr Garaventa Group. The United States company was formed in 2002 after the merger of Garaventa of Goldau, Switzerland, and ...

, based in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

, and Doppelmayr Canada. Leitner-Poma also supplies lifts to Australia and New Zealand.

Poma of America before merger

Beaver Run SuperChair competition terminal

Jean Pomagalski invented the detachable Pomalift surface tow in 1935, and first brought it to

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

in 1952. The first North American Poma brand chairlift was installed in 1958 in Squaw Valley, California, for the

1960 Winter Olympics The 1960 Winter Olympics (officially the VIII Olympic Winter Games and also known as Squaw Valley 1960) were a winter multi-sport event held from February 18 to 28, 1960, at the Squaw Valley Resort (now known as Palisades Tahoe) in Squaw Valley ...

. Poma's Grand Junction, Colorado, manufacturing facility was opened in 1981 in order for Poma to better serve the North American market. In 1973, the company built its first Gondola in the United States at

Big Sky Resort Big Sky Resort, known Colloquialism, colloquially as Big Sky, is a ski resort within Big Sky, Montana. It is about 50 mi (80 km) from Bozeman, Montana, Bozeman. The resort takes its name from Montana's nickname as the "Big Sky Country". Opened ...

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

(removed in 2008). In the following years, Poma built gondolas at

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; Squaw Valley, California (replaced by North America's only

funitel A funitel is a type of cableway, generally used to transport skiers, although at least one is used to transport finished cars between different areas of a factory. It differs from a standard gondola lift through the use of two arms attached to ...

);

Stowe Mountain Resort Stowe Mountain Resort is a ski resort in the northeastern United States, near the town of Stowe in northern Vermont, comprising two separate mountains: Mount Mansfield and Spruce Peak. The lift-served vertical drop of Mount Mansfield is , the ...

, Vermont; and Stratton, Vermont, among others. In total, the company built 205

chairlift An elevated passenger ropeway, or chairlift, is a type of aerial lift, which consists of a continuously circulating steel wire rope loop strung between two end terminals and usually over intermediate towers. They are the primary on-hill tran ...

s, surface lifts, and gondolas before merging with Leitner.

Designs of Poma of America

*Detachable **Terminals ***Alpha evolution ***Performant ***Gondola Tripode ***Competition ***Challenger ***Competition Gondola ***Omega **Grips ***TB-41 ***Double TB-41 ***TB-50 (Double) ***Omega **Carriers ***Arceaux ***Competition ***Omega *Fixed Grip **Terminals ***Delta ***Alpha **Carriers ***Arceaux

Leitner Lifts before merger

Leitner had a limited history in North America prior to its merger with Poma of America. Between 1997 and 2001, it installed 21 lifts in the

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. Customers included

Fernie Alpine Resort Fernie Alpine Resort is a ski resort, located on Lizard Range, near the town of Fernie, British Columbia in Canada. The resort also operates a mountain bike park, hiking, guided hikes, and sightseeing in the summer months. The resort has 10 l ...

Kimberley Alpine Resort Kimberley Alpine Resort is a ski resort in southwestern Canada, located in Kimberley, British Columbia. In the Purcell Mountains on the northeast face of ''North Star Hill'', Kimberley's vertical drop is with a summit elevation of above sea le ...

, and Big White in

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

; Mount Norquay and Lake Louise in

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

; Granby Ranch, Colorado; and Jay Peak, Vermont.

Designs of Leitner in America

*Detachable **Terminals ***Automatic ***Quintessential ***Plan de Gralba **Grips ***LA48-95 *Fixed Grip **Terminals ***N/A

Merger of Leitner and Poma

In 2000, the Seeber Group of Italy purchased Pomagalski, S.A. of France. Although the two remained separate in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, the North American operations of each were combined. While it was announced as a merger of Leitner Lifts USA/Canada and Poma of America, Leitner's operations were mostly folded into Poma's. The last Leitner designed lifts were installed in 2001, and since 2002, all lifts produced by the company have been of Poma's design. In 2010, Leitner-Poma adapted the LPA detachable grip, which is cosmetically slightly different from the Omega T-Grip. The terminal design also changed with the introduction of the new grip. The first lift in the United States with the new grip was the High Noon Express at

Vail Ski Resort Vail Ski Resort is a ski resort in the Western United States, western United States, located near the town of Vail, Colorado, Vail in Eagle County, Colorado, Eagle County, Colorado. At , it is the third-largest single-mountain ski resort in the U ...

. In 2012, Leitner-Poma adapted a new retro tower design that is a cross of the design of tower heads on Poma chairlifts built in the late 1970s and early 1980s with the design used since 1994.

After the merger

In 2009, Leitner-Poma of America moved into a new headquarters in Grand Junction along with other companies owned by Leitner Technologies, including Leitwind, a manufacturer of wind turbines, and Prinoth, a maker of snow groomers. Colorado Governor

Bill Ritter August William Ritter Jr. (born September 6, 1956) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 41st Governor of Colorado from 2007 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the district attorney for Denver before his ele ...

attended the grand opening ceremony, which took place during the

2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...

at which Leitner-Poma promised to create 100 new jobs. The company recently won the contract to build the replacement

Roosevelt Island Tramway The Roosevelt Island Tramway is an aerial tramway that crosses the East River in New York City, connecting Roosevelt Island to the Upper East Side of Manhattan. The tramway is the first commuter aerial tramway in the U.S., having opened on May 1 ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, and is also the supplier of the passenger capsules for both the

London Eye The London Eye, originally the Millennium Wheel, is a cantilevered observation wheel on the South Bank of the River Thames in London. It is the world's tallest cantilevered observation wheel, and the most popular paid Tourist attractions in the ...

Ferris wheel A Ferris wheel (also called a big wheel, giant wheel or an observation wheel) is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating upright wheel with multiple passenger-carrying components (commonly referred to as passenger cars, cabins, tubs, gondola ...

in England and the

High Roller A high roller, also referred to as a whale or cheetah, is a gambler who consistently wagers large amounts of money. High rollers often receive lavish " comps" from casinos to entice them onto the gambling floors, such as free private jet transfe ...

Ferris wheel to be built on the

Las Vegas Strip The Las Vegas Strip is a stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada, that is known for its concentration of resort hotels and casinos. The Strip, as it is known, is about long, and is immediately south of the Las Vegas city limits ...

. As both Poma and as Leitner-Poma, the company has built some of the most notable lifts in America, including, among others, the only double-loading chairlift in North America (Quicksilver Super6) and the highest chairlift in North America, Imperial Express SuperChair (topping at ), both located at

Breckenridge Ski Resort Breckenridge Ski Resort is an alpine ski resort in the western United States, in Breckenridge, Colorado. Recognized for acres of skiable terrain across five mountain peaks, it welcomes thousands of skiers and snowboarders each season. Just we ...

in Colorado. In 2016 Leitner-Poma had acquired Skytrac, a Utah-based competitor.

Designs after the merger

Immediately following the Leitner-Poma merge, there were no noticeable aesthetic changes in the designs of the chairlifts, as all lifts built until 2010 utilized the Omega T-Grip and terminal. The first noticeable changes were when the LPA grip and terminal were introduced in 2010, replacing the Omega grip. Also, a new tower design was introduced in 2012, replacing a design used since 1994. *Detachable **Terminals ***Omega Terminal (19982011) ***LPA Terminal (2010current) **Grips ***Omega T-Grip (19982011) ***LPA Grip (2010current) **Carriers ***Omega Carrier (rarely used as of 2015. examples: Northern Express @ Hunter Mountain (installed in 2018) and Hudson @ Gore (installed in 2024)) ***LPA Carrier *Fixed Grip **Terminals ***Alpha Terminal (Drive) ***Z-Type (Return) ***N/A (Return) **Carriers ***Omega Carrier

Skytrac

Skytrac Lifts, Inc, known as Skytrac, is an American aerial ropeway engineering, manufacturing and installation company located in Salt Lake City, UT. Since its founding in 2010, Skytrac has focused on the North American majority market of new fixed-grip installations. They also provide modification and retrofitting services to the aging chairlift segment of the ski, chairlift transportation and amusement ride industries. Leitner-Poma purchased Skytrac in April 2016. This acquisition gives Leitner-Poma a stronger presence in the fixed-grip and retrofit market in North America.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Leitner-Poma's websitePoma's websiteLeitner Group's website
on skilifts.org
Skytrac website
Grand Junction, Colorado Manufacturing companies based in Colorado American subsidiaries of foreign companies Aerial lift manufacturers