Jean Pomagalski, born in 1905 in Poland, arrived in France with his family at the age of two. Fleeing Polish repression, Jean Pomagalski’s family found refuge in the Grenoble region, where his father quickly found a job in industry, which was booming during this period.
Jean Pomagalski adapted perfectly to his life in France, so much so that he chose French nationality. He was an exemplary student at “Vox”, the Vaucanson vocational school in Grenoble, in the “Building” section.

The first company, the first ropeway transport systems

In the 1920s, he created his own masonry company, “Entreprise Générale de Travaux Jean Pomagalski” and carried out the structural works for buildings in Isère.
An inventor at heart, he created his first ropeway in 1927 on one of his construction sites. Long before transporting skiers to the top of the slopes, this first aerial conveyor was used to transport materials more easily to the site of a hard-to-reach chalet in Saint-Hilaire-du-Touvet (France).

The creation of POMA

Passionate about skiing, Jean Pomagalski designed a new way of operating a “ski lift”.
In February 1934, after several years of research and testing, the first surface lift with a tow rod was installed in Alpe d’Huez (France), on the slopes of Eclose. It didn't look anything at all like today’s surface lifts! It was made using telegraph poles, an old truck deck and a used Ford engine. A system that looked wobbly but which nevertheless worked, marking an important milestone in the world of ropeways.

Jean Pomagalski worked to make the tow rods detachable so that they could be stored in the station and made available on request. In 1944, after several years and several stages of improvement, the engineer developed the bushing fastener, based on the principle of an elongated ring locked in line by lever effect. He then filed the patent “Improvements to traction or ropeway systems using endless cable”. This efficient system became popular and is still used today on most surface lifts with detachable tow rods.
Following the success of his invention, Pomagalski refocused the activity of his public works company on the assembly and marketing of his fixed and detachable surface lifts.
Faced with growing demand, on 11 December 1947, he created the public limited company Pomagalski, named after himself (which would become POMA in 2014).

The first chairlifts

In 1955, he embarked on the creation of a new, rather unusual system: a single-seat chairlift that could take skiers to the top of the Vioz slope, on the Planpraz plateau in Chamonix (France). Until the late 1970s, this system was the only way to access the Altitude 2000 restaurant from the Planpraz cable car station.
With the help of the army, two test chairlifts were installed in Les Arcs (in Savoie) before Pomagalski delivered his first two-seater chairlifts for the general public in Chamonix in 1960 at the Bossons Glacier.

The first gondola lift

Driven by innovation, he installed the first gondola lift in Val d’Isère (France) six years later, in collaboration with SIGMA Plastics, a manufacturer of polyester cabins (now a subsidiary of the Group). This first version of the gondola lift opened by hand. 50 years later, the Daille became the first gondola lift to be fitted with Symphony cabins in France during its renovation. It was not until a year later, in 1967, that POMA unveiled its first automatic gondola lifts in Les Menuires, in Savoie (France).

Pomagalski did not stop with the conquest of the French peaks. His first inventions quickly generated interest around the world, and many other countries began to order ropeway transport systems.
In the 1960s, Pomagalski SA was the leading supplier of surface lifts and chairlifts in Europe and generated 82% of its turnover through exports: United States, Canada, Middle East, North Africa, but also New Zealand, Australia and South America were turning to POMA inventions.

His business was only at the start of its rise to prominence when Jean Pomagalski passed away on 8 July 8 1969 at Grenoble hospital, in a room with, at his request, a view of the Bastille de Grenoble and its aerial ropeway. A few years later, in 1976, the ropeway was renovated by POMA.

Jean Pomagalski left the reins of his company to Gaston Cathiard, an athlete and mountain lover, just like him. As the new face of POMA, the latter continued its development by following the same vision as its founder: an innovative company that works for the benefit of users and remains resolutely international. In 1977, POMA became the world leader in ropeway transport with 80 gondola lifts, 300 chairlifts and 3,500 surface lifts installed in 39 countries. In 1980, he was succeeded by his son Jean-Pierre Cathiard.

Gérald Maillot, president of CINOR, laid the foundation stone in the presence of the mayor of Saint-Denis, Gilbert Annette, and the president of the Region, Didier Robert.

With a length of 2.68 kilometers, the gondola lift will link the Chaudron district, located east of downtown Saint-Denis, to the neighborhood of Bois de Nèfles north of the city via the Moufia district. A 14-minute trip with 3 intermediate stations.
The 46 cabins with 10 seats will ensure a capacity of 1,200 people per hour and per direction. Perfectly integrated into the existing public transport network, the gondola lift will be in intermodality with the future Guided Regional Transportation Network (RRTG) project and with the Integrated Modern Transport Network (RITMO) project supported by the City.

Developed in perfect consultation with the local population and elected officials, the ropeway received a strong support during public consultations. 84.9% of those surveyed said the project was useful and 74.9% said they would use the cable car to work and play.

The project will be completed by 2021. The budget of the operation amounts to 54 million euros, including 11 million euros spent on operation and maintenance for 5 years.

In Saint-Denis of Reunion already a second line is under study, to accompany the construction of a tramway and thus complete the public transport offer of the city. The President of CINOR also speaks of a global network of 5 lines for the city of Saint-Denis.

It is strategically positioned on Bluewaters (Meraas' sophisticated island destination in Dubai, United Arab Emirates) at 500 meters (1,600 ft) off “The Beach”, the laid-back beachfront destination by Meraas, located opposite JBR and near Dubai Marina which includes entertainment and retail zones. The Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Installation (EPCI) subcontract work scope incorporates the provision of 48 high tech capsules for Ain Dubai. Project management, engineering and procurement work has already commenced.

For many years POMA has been chosen to provide capsules for observation wheel projects, such as the London Eye in London or the High Roller in Las Vegas, delivering engineering expertise and strong project execution.

This latest award further demonstrates the ability of the company to innovate and design the right engineering solutions that ensures a safe, effective and cost-efficient project delivery. The world's tallest observation wheel will peak at 250 meters (doubling London Eye’s height) and will offer a tremendous panoramic view on the Dubai landscapes.

American Eagle

Copper Mountain, located 120km from Denver, is one of Colorado's favorite resorts.  With naturally divide piste rankings helps keep skier abilities separated in zones.  Unlike most ski resorts, Copper offers beginner terrain far West, intermediate in the middle and expert and open bowl skiing to the East. With a summit elevation of 3,753m Copper ranks in with the highest ski terrain in America. The American Eagle is Leitner Poma's first Telemix lift.  Six place chairs and eight place Sigma gondolas, services gentle slopes and the Solitude Station restaurant. The Eagle is one of three Direct Drive ropeways provided in America this year. The new lift increases capacity by 33% to 3200 pph.  The gondola operation is a favorite with the passengers heading to lunch at the Solitude restaurant.

TECHNICAL DATA

• Lenght : 1905 m
• Capacity : 3200
• Vertical rise : 452 m
• Number of cabins : 26
• Speed : 5 m/s
• Number of passengers per seats: 6

American Flyer

The American Flyer, located at Copper Mountain Colorado, may well be the longest bubble chairlift in the world.  Its impressive slope length of 3009 meters and its 182 six place blue bubble chairs makes it among the largest ever. It replaces an aging 1986 POMA 4-seater detachable chairlift and it is equipped with one of America's first Direct Drive models. At a very high top elevation of 3541 meters, subjects passengers to very cold and windy weather conditions.  The bubble enclosures are very popular with Coppers guests.  The string of blue bubble chairs places a very visible signature on the mountain unlike any other major resort.

TECHNICAL DATA

• Lenght : 3009 m
• Capacity : 2400
• Vertical rise : 580 m
• Number of seats : 182
• Speed : 5 m/s
• Number of passengers per seat : 6

Winter Park is one of Americas oldest ski resorts, it opened in 1939. Train service from Denver makes this one of Colorado's favorite ski resorts. Very popular with Denver and the Front Range skiers, Winter Park is among the largest resorts in America. Exclusively, Leitner Poma has provided all their lifts since the early 1980's. The Zephyr DCL4, which is named after the trans-continental train connection that travels through the base area, was replaced this summer. The new 10-passenger gondola lift is a significant upgrade for the resort and provides day and night access to the mountain top “Sunspot” restaurant.The gondola, which uses Sigma 10 place cabins, is 1714 meters in length and 3600 pph in both directions.

TECHNICAL DATA

• Lenght : 11714 m
• Capacity : 3600
• Vertical rise : 489 m
• Number of cabins : 75
• Speed : 5,5 m/s
• Number of passengers per seats: 10

American Eagle

Copper Mountain, located 120km from Denver, is one of Colorado's favorite resorts.  With naturally divide piste rankings helps keep skier abilities separated in zones.  Unlike most ski resorts, Copper offers beginner terrain far West, intermediate in the middle and expert and open bowl skiing to the East. With a summit elevation of 3,753m Copper ranks in with the highest ski terrain in America. The American Eagle is Leitner Poma's first Telemix lift.  Six place chairs and eight place Sigma gondolas, services gentle slopes and the Solitude Station restaurant. The Eagle is one of three Direct Drive ropeways provided in America this year. The new lift increases capacity by 33% to 3200 pph.  The gondola operation is a favorite with the passengers heading to lunch at the Solitude restaurant.

TECHNICAL DATA

• Lenght : 1905 m
• Capacity : 3200
• Vertical rise : 452 m
• Number of cabins : 26
• Speed : 5 m/s
• Number of passengers per seats: 6

American Flyer

The American Flyer, located at Copper Mountain Colorado, may well be the longest bubble chairlift in the world.  Its impressive slope length of 3009 meters and its 182 six place blue bubble chairs makes it among the largest ever. It replaces an aging 1986 POMA 4-seater detachable chairlift and it is equipped with one of America's first Direct Drive models. At a very high top elevation of 3541 meters, subjects passengers to very cold and windy weather conditions.  The bubble enclosures are very popular with Coppers guests.  The string of blue bubble chairs places a very visible signature on the mountain unlike any other major resort.

TECHNICAL DATA

• Lenght : 3009 m
• Capacity : 2400
• Vertical rise : 580 m
• Number of seats : 182
• Speed : 5 m/s
• Number of passengers per seat : 6

The line connects the tourist hub of Zlatibor to Tornik’s summit, which peaks at an altitude of 1,496 metres. Zlatibor, also known as Kraljeve Vode (‘King’s Water’), has been a renowned Serbian tourist resort since the 19th century, particularly prized for its climate, its setting and its snowy slopes.
This new gondola lift is part of the overall drive to strengthen and diversify the region’s tourist attractions. Around the downhill resort in the centre of Zlatibor, the municipality is planning to build the biggest adventure park of the Balkans (1,000 m²); it will offer numerous leisure activities, such as zip wires, hanging bridges, tobogganing and climbing.

The middle station at lake Riničko, halfway between both terminals, will accommodate the forthcoming high-end tourist resort of ‘Gold city’, which will provide water-based activities, sports and recreational facilities to the 1 million European tourists expected over the next 10 years. Zlatibor is setting its sights on becoming Serbia’s top tourist destination.

Lastly, the resort at the terminal located on Zlatibor’s highest peak will not only offer outstanding views of the surrounding landscape and mountains from its scenic view-point, but will also invite visitors to hit the ski slopes in winter, such as mountain biking in the summer, and test their limits in an extreme-sport environment.

POMA supported Zlatibor in its efforts to respect the local environment in particular, designing and building the gondola lift to satisfy numerous ecological standards. The municipality of Čajetina aims to become the first Serbian municipality to reach European ecological standards by 2020.

Opting for a gondola lift was fully in line with this approach, since it is currently one of the ecological means of transport available. It will reduce the number of vehicles travelling to Tornik and therefore cut CO2 and greenhouse gas emissions.