Sun Valley’s proposedFrenchman’s replacement would be a higher capacity detachable quad and River Run would be a six pack with the same capacity as the existing quad.
MND and ten associated individuals in France are fined €1.89 million for “late communication of inside information, insider trading and breaches of professional obligations.”
HTI, the parent company of Agudio, Bartholet, Leitner, Poma, LPOA and Skytrac, reports stable revenue of €1.4 billion and record R&D investment of €41 million.
Leitner teases “the exclusive launch of a groundbreaking new standard for monocable uni-directional ropeways” at Interalpin.
Leitner also nears completion of a material transport gondola that includes a 1,600 foot underground tunnel.
The next phase of the Bartholet RopeTaxi on demand gondola network is delayed to December.
Highlander Lift Services and Wasatch Peaks Ranch settle a lawsuit in which both parties sought close to $1 million in damages over a difficult and late lift install.
Doppelmayr’s latest customer magazine focuses on North America overtaking Europe as the company’s largest market and achieving more than 50 percent market share in our highly competitive region.
A prototype MND Orizon detachable is under construction at the factory and expected to be operational in early summer for testing. The first customer installation may be in Uzbekistan.
Plans show four major lifts at the planned Stagecoach Mountain Ranch near Steamboat.
Legoland New York’s new gondola appears mostly complete with the first Diamond EVO cabins in North America.
Quebec Ski Resorts Company says if it acquired the lease to Mont-Sainte-Anne, it would install a 10 passenger Doppelmayr gondola in 2025 and two detachable chairlifts in 2026. Resorts of the Canadian Rockies insists the mountain is not for sale.
Quebec Mountain Resorts Company, owner of Mont Grand-Fonds and Mont Lac-Vert, offers to buy Mont-Sainte-Anne and Stoneham from Resorts of the Canadian Rockies, says it would invest tens of millions in new lifts and snowmaking.
Vail Resorts reports skier visits were down 7.8 percent this season but revenue was up. Same story for 24-25 season pass sales with units pacing down but revenue up.
After years of dabbling in the detachable space, MND today unveiled its full range of next generation detachable lifts at Mountain Planet in Grenoble. The French firm known for its avalanche control and snowmaking products has invested more than €20 million developing the Orizon line, which includes both detachable chairlifts and gondolas. Orizon will offer all the premium features customers may want in a detachable lift including direct drives, bubbles, and modern gondola cabins seating 10, 16 or 20 passengers. More than 60 people worked on the development of Orizon and approximately 100 more will join MND in the coming year to support the new product line.
“With this innovating range of detachable, single-cable gondola lifts and chairlifts, MND is consolidating its position as a global player and aims to win new market share in a fast-growing sector,” the company noted in a press release. “The Orizon range equipment caters to the most demanding configurations: steep gradients, long distances, large vehicles and high flow rates.”
This is not the first time MND has dipped its toes in the detachable space dominated by Austria’s Doppelmayr and Italy’s HTI Group, owner of Leitner and Poma. In 2017, MND completed its first detachable lift at La Plagne, France. The Envers chairlift suffered problems from day one and was never duplicated but gave the company valuable experience to learn from. Later, MND pivoted to partner with Bartholet of Switzerland for detachable technology, building lifts around the world including at Waterville Valley, New Hampshire. That partnership proved successful but ended last year when HTI acquired a majority stake in Bartholet. With MND coming back to the market with its own product, three large European conglomerates will offer detachable lifts on a global scale.
MND’s chairs, gondolas and stations were crafted in partnership with the Stellantis Design Group. Americans know Stellantis for its car brands – Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram – but the company’s design arm also partners to develop products for other applications. The MND Orizon range is decidedly modern and designed to fit in both alpine and urban spaces. Orizon lifts will be geared toward demanding applications, capable of seven meters per second and up to 8,000 passengers per hour per direction. Two grips, P10 and P20, can accommodate up to 66 millimeter haul ropes.
The Orizon line will be produced in a new €10 million plant in Sainte-Hélène-du-Lac, France. MND did not reveal when or where the first Orizon lift may launch.
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