Information AboutBolliger And Mabillard |
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Bolliger and Mabillard (short: B&M) is a notable Roller Coaster manufacturer based in Switzerland . The company was started in the 1980s . The company, named after Walter Bolliger and Claude Mabillard, pioneered the inverted rollercoaster. They are well known among enthusiasts for their "glass smooth" rides. Some argue that being too smooth detracts from being on a roller coaster. Bolliger and Mabillard originally worked for Intamin AG before they created their own company. During their time at Intamin they helped the company design their first Stand-Up Coaster as well as contributions to other parts of Intamin’s projects. Feeling they had enough ideas and know-how to start their own company. Since their first coaster, at Paramount 's Great America and Paramount's Carowinds, Alpengeist and Apollo's Chariot , at Busch Gardens Williamsburg , Great Bear at Hersheypark , Medusa at various Six Flags parks, Nitro at Six Flags Great Adventure , Raging Bull at Six Flags Great America , Hulk Coaster at Universal's Islands Of Adventure , Nemesis at Alton Towers , Silver Star at Europa Park and many others. The company also built the trains for Psyclone , a Wooden Coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain . B&M was the first company to produce a coaster with a vertical drop with Oblivion at Alton Towers , England . This type of coaster is called a "dive machine" and there are only three in the world; the other two are G5 at Janfusun Fancyworld in Taiwan and SheiKra at Busch Gardens in Tampa , Fl. They also created their own version of Vekoma's flying coaster with AIR at Alton Towers and 'Superman - Ultimate Flight' at several Six Flags parks. Their latest flying coaster, Tatsu , is set to debut in spring of 2006 at Six Flags Magic Mountain. B&M is a leader in developing new technologies and new concepts. They are also masters at taking existing concepts and expanding on the ideas to further enhance and perfect the idea. B&M works closely with engineering great Werner Stengel to bring a lot of their ideas to life. They currently have seven different ride styles to choose from: Stand Up, Inverted, Floorless, Flying, Mega Coaster, Dive Machine and Sit-down coaster. These styles come in many shapes and sizes and can be found in parks across the globe. They are known for their reliability, low maintenance and perfect safety record. It is very rare for a B&M coaster to stall. A legend says that when Nemesis at Alton Towers was testing, the owner of the park asked Walter Bolliger, "What if the coaster stalls? How will we get the riders out?" Bolliger replied, "Our coasters never stall. They always work perfectly the first time." Many roller coaster enthusiasts praise B&M for their twisted yet incredibly smooth track designs. One feature of B&M coasters that is almost universal throughout their product line, and almost exclusive to B&M, is an element known as a pre-drop. This is a short drop after the top of the lift hill and before the start of the first drop, designed to reduce tension on the lift chain. The flat section between the pre-drop and the first drop serves as a shelf to carry the weight of the train, reducing related stresses on the chain. By comparison, on most coasters without a pre-drop, the weight of the train as it begins its descent tends to pull on the lift chain, as the latter half of the train is still being lifted by the chain at this point. Currently B&M has four rides in the Amusement Today Golden Ticket Awards Top Ten list which is a testament to their designs and concepts. Many supporters speculate that they will be a force to be reckoned with in the future and will help keep the roller coaster industry on pace in this Golden Age of amusement rides. EXTERNAL LINKS
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