Intamin Amusement Rides is a design and manufacturing company in Schaan, Liechtenstein. It is best known for creating thrill rides and roller coasters worldwide. The Intamin brand name is a syllabic abbreviation for "international amusement installations". The company has offices throughout the world, including three in Europe, three in Asia, and two in the United States.
Intamin supplies numerous styles of roller coasters, vertical rides, water rides, immersive rides, swing rides, and observation attractions to amusement parks. The company has installed scores of roller coasters in several countries. Intamin designed and built the first river rapids ride, known as Thunder River, and marketed the first freefall ride (developed by Giovanola) and drop tower.
Intamin's product range spans two broad categories: rides and transportation.
Intamin created the first hydraulic launch system (known as the Accelerator Coaster), which catapults roller coaster trains from standstill to speeds upwards of in a few seconds before climbing to immense heights. Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure, for instance, is North America's tallest and fastest coaster, launching riders from 0– in 3.5 seconds.
Intamin is also known for its massive Mega and Giga Coasters, Intamin's terms for a hypercoaster. Intamin Giga and Mega Coasters currently occupy three of the top five Golden Ticket Awards with perennial favorites Millennium Force, Superman the Ride and Expedition GeForce.
Intamin uses computerized and industrialized engineering and manufacturing methods for its wooden coasters, rather than traditional on-site fabrication. Coasters such as Colossos at Heide Park, Balder at Liseberg and El Toro at Six Flags Great Adventure utilized this manufacturing technique. Unlike other traditional wood coasters, these rides use prefabricated track sections made of a high-strength wooden laminate that can be secured on-site when the superstructure is completed.