# Von Roll Holding

Von Roll Holding AG is a Swiss industrial group that operates worldwide that was founded in 1803. As one of Switzerland's longest-established industrial companies, Von Roll focuses today on products and systems for electrical applications such as power generation, transmission, and storage as well as e-mobility and industrial applications. It made gondola systems, monorails, and funicular systems at attractions in various countries.

## History

Von Roll has its roots in the Eisenwerke der Handelsgesellschaft der Gebrüder Dürholz & Co. (Ironworks of the commercial firm of the Brothers Dürholz & Co.) which was established in 1803. This firm was then taken over in 1810 by Von Roll & Cie, newly formed by Ludwig Freiherr von Roll (1771–1839) and Jakob von Glutz. In May 1823, Ludwig von Roll founded the Gesellschaft der Ludwig von Roll'schen Eisenwerke which benefited from industrialization and railroad construction that demanded a lot of iron.
Von Roll participated in the construction of the Wetterhorn Elevator in 1908.
The business developed into one of the most important industrial groups in Switzerland with more than 10,000 employees in the 1970s. Like other Swiss companies, Von Roll suffered during the oil crisis of 1973. The company underwent financial restructuring after financial restructuring, seemingly without end. As recently as 2003, Von Roll had to fight for its survival. At the end of 2002, following the accumulated losses of previous years, Von Roll's equity capital had shrunk to 10.3 million. In 2004 the company initiated a new strategy to focus on the insulation business, beginning its turnaround.
The main shareholder is in early 2019 August von Finck Jr. family with above 65% of the quotes. After the conversion of some convertible bonds in December 2018 the composition of shareholders became unclear. In 2019 the company is involved in law case for some salaries paid in euro (€).

## Von Roll Seilbahnen AG

Von Roll Seilbahnen AG was the aerial tramway and cableway division that was sold to Austrian manufacturer Doppelmayr in 1996.

### Products

Perhaps Von Roll's best-known product was the type 101 sky ride or simply "VR101" that operated in many amusement parks. A total of over 100 were installed. As of 2008, only ten remained operational. On 30 December 1954 Felseneggbahn was opened. It was built by Von Roll in seven months for one million Swiss francs. It still runs, and on 31 March 2010, it carried its 10 millionth passenger. The Disneyland Skyway was Von Roll's first aerial ropeway in the United States. It opened on 23 June 1956 and closed on 9 November 1994. The first Von Roll VR101 was built in Flims, in 1944, and replaced in 1986.

### Operating Von Roll Type 101s

| Ride name | Opened | Park name | Location | Notes |
| Krupka-Komáří Sky Ride | 1952 | Lanová Dráha Krupka | Krupka, Czech Republic | The last VR101 Sidechair lift in the world, not to be replaced for a long time. Received historical status. The oldest and longest-serving detachable monocable ropeway in history. |
| Skyride | 1962 | Cedar Point | Sandusky, Ohio | Uses former Frontier Lift cabins. |
| Skyride | 1962 | Superland | Rishon LeZion, Israel | |
| Skyride | 1964 | Minnesota State Fair | Falcon Heights, Minnesota | |
| Bayside Skyride | 1967 | SeaWorld San Diego | San Diego, California | Round-trip ride. |
| Skyfari | 1969 | San Diego Zoo | San Diego, California | |
| Skyride | 1974 | Busch Gardens Tampa | Tampa, Florida | |
| Sky Lift | 1974 | Taman Safari | Bogor, Indonesia | |
| Aeronaut Skyride | 1975 | Busch Gardens Williamsburg | Williamsburg, Virginia | 3 stations, all one-way. |
| Delta Flyer / Eagle's Flight | 1976 | California's Great America | Santa Clara, California | |
| Skyride | 1980 | Washington State Fair | Puyallup, Washington | Originally built for the 1962 Seattle World's Fair. |
| Cableway | 1995 | National Coffee Park | Quindío Department, Columbia | Combination ride of Bronx Zoo and Knoxville World's Fair rides. |

### Former Von Roll Type 101s

| Ride Name | Opened | Closed | Park Name | Location | Notes |
| Alpine Swiss Skyride | 1963 | 1994 | Aquarena Springs | San Marcos, Texas | Closed in 1994, removed in 2013. |
| Jennerbahn | 1953 | 2017 | Berchtesgaden National Park | Berchtesgaden, Bavaria, Germany | Replaced by a modern 10-passenger gondola. The second-to-last VR101 in Europe. Original chairs replaced in the 1970s - 1980's with gondola cabins. |
| Astrolift | 1967 | 1981 | Six Flags Over Georgia | Austell, Georgia | Cabins used for Sky Buckets. |
| Astrolift | 1961 | 1981 | Six Flags Over Texas | Arlington, Texas | Removed over safety concerns. |
| Astroway | 1968 | 2005 | Six Flags AstroWorld | Houston, Texas | Demolished along with the park. |
| Brussels World's Fair Skyride | 1960 | 1976 | Lakeland | Memphis, Tennessee | |
| Delta Flyer / Eagle's Flight | 1976 | 1984 | Six Flags Great America | Gurnee, Illinois | Cabins moved to Six Flags Great Adventure. |
| Frontier Lift | 1968 | 1985 | Cedar Point | Sandusky, Ohio | Cabins used on Skyride, removed for Iron Dragon. |
| Gondola Skyride | 1982 | ???? | World's Fair 1982 | Knoxville, Tennessee | Relocated to Parque Nacional del Café. |
| Lake Louise Gondola | 1959 | 2019 | Lake Louise | Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada | Built in 1959. |
| New England Sky Way | 1973 | 2014 | Six Flags New England | Agawam, Massachusetts | Built in 1963 at Coney Island (Brooklyn, NY); removed to build Wicked Cyclone. |
| Ocean Skyway | 1958 | 1967 | Pacific Ocean Park | Santa Monica, California | Relocated to Legend City (Phoenix, AZ) as Sky Ride. |
| Tucson Mining Company Ore Buckets | 1960 | 1964 | Freedomland USA | Bronx, New York | Towers are used at Great Adventure, Jackson, NJ; believed that the buckets were from the 1958 Brussels World's Fair. |
| Satellite | 1968 | 1983 | Legend City | Phoenix, Arizona | |
| Sky Buckets | 1968 | 2020 | Six Flags Over Georgia | Austell, Georgia | Cabins moved to Six Flags Great Adventure. |
| Skyfari | 1972 | 2009 | Bronx Zoo | Bronx, New York | Relocated to Parque Nacional del Café. |
| Skyride | 1964 | 1999 | Brackenridge Park | San Antonio, Texas | Closed in 1999, removed in 2002 due to maintenance costs. |
| Skyride | 1965 | 1971 | Coney Island | Cincinnati, Ohio | Relocated to Kings Island. |
| Skyride | 1968 | ???? | Hemisfair '68 | San Antonio, Texas | Continued operation after fair closure. |
| Skyride | 1972 | 1979 | Kings Island | Mason, Ohio | Relocated from Coney Island (Cincinnati, OH). |
| Skyride | 1967 | 1996 | La Ronde | Montreal, Quebec, Canada | Built for 1967 World's Fair, demolished; only boarding-station platform remains. |
| Skyride | 1972 | 1997 | Opryland | Nashville, Tennessee | Parts moved to Six Flags New England. |
| Skyride | 1966 | 1975 | Pirates World | Dania, Florida | |
| Skyride | 1965 | 2023 | Tulsa State Fairgrounds | Tulsa, Oklahoma | The Tulsa Skyride ran from 1971 to 2006 at Bell's Amusement Park. After Bell's closed, it was then run by the county during state fairs until 2019. In 2023 it was dismantled and sold to GT Amusement Service, an Iraq based company who states they plan to refurbish and re-open it in the United Arab Emirates |
| Skyway | 1956 | 1994 | Disneyland | Anaheim, California | Removed due to stress cracks in Matterhorn battery. |
| Skyway | 1971 | 1999 | Magic Kingdom | Lake Buena Vista, Florida | |
| Skyway | 1983 | 1998 | Tokyo Disneyland | Urayasu, Chiba, Japan | |
| Skyway | 1974 | 2024 | Six Flags Great Adventure | Jackson Township, New Jersey | Originally built for the 1964 World's Fair in Queens. |
| Sky-Way | 1971 | 1981 | Six Flags St. Louis | Eureka, Missouri | Accident on 26 July 1978 killed 3 and seriously injured 1. Cabins moved to Six Flags AstroWorld. |
| Southern Cross | 1977 | 1983 | Six Flags Great America | Gurnee, Illinois | Cabins moved to Six Flags Great Adventure. |
| Space Ride | 1963 | 1967 | Riverview Park | Chicago, Illinois | |
| Swiss Skyride | 1964 | 1979 | Fair Park/State Fair of Texas | Dallas, Texas | Removed after accident, 1 killed. |
| Union 76 Skyride | 1962 | 1980 | Century 21 Exposition | Seattle, Washington | Ran at Seattle Center, relocated to Washington State Fair. |
| Sky Hi | 1973 | 1987 | Worlds of Fun | Kansas City, Missouri | |

### Monorail

The Mk II and Mk III monorail automated people mover (APM) systems were installed in a variety of locations before the technology was sold to Adtranz (later Bombardier), which continues to supply the parts for the monorail systems.
AirTrain Newark opened in 1996 and is a Von Roll system. The AirTrain Newark system was extended to connect with Amtrak and NJ Transit in 2001.
The monorail cars at Alton Towers theme park in England were built for Expo 86 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Von Roll also manufactured the old Sentosa Monorail in Sentosa Island, Singapore, in 1982, which closed down in March 2005.
The Jurong Bird Park Panorail in Jurong Bird Park, Singapore is a four-car straddle-beam monorail that began operation in 1991 and ceased operations in 2012.
Australia has had a total of four Von Roll Monorail systems, currently one is still in operation. A Von Roll MkII system is in operation at Sea World theme park on the Gold Coast (first monorail in Australia which opened in 1986). A MkIII Monorail system in nearby Broadbeach linking Oasis Shopping Centre to Jupiter's Hotel & Casino opened in 1989, but closed on 29 January 2017 due to life-expired equipment and declining patronage. Another MkIII Monorail system, the Sydney Monorail, operated in Australia linking the City Centre to Darling Harbour, began operation on 21 July 1988 and due to a lack of spare parts it ceased operation on 30 June 2013. A MkII Monorail system was also in operation during World Expo 88 held in Brisbane, Australia, with a loop around the expo site at Southbank. After Expo it was dismantled and three of the four trains were sold back to Von Roll for use at Europa-Park in Germany; the fourth train and some of the track was sold to Sea World.

### Space Towers

Cedar Point's Space Spiral, Astro World's Astro needle and Coney's Space Tower were built by Willy Bühler Space Towers Company of Berne, Switzerland, with cabins by Von Roll. In 1971 Intamin started marketing these towers and contracted these same companies to build them. Willy Bühler Space Towers was eventually acquired by Von Roll.

## Funicular systems

* Falls Incline Railway, Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, 1966