In your eye who is the most successful coaster manufacturer?

[Superbatboy]

Is it Vekoma, with an insane amount of units installed world wide including the most successful clone (boomerang) ever?

 

Could it be Arrow? The true pioneer of steel coasters?

 

Intamin? The lone manufacturer capable of producing any ride in the catalogue??

 

Anton Schwarzkopf?? Leader of cult classic looping coasters?

 

B&M?? The leader of finely tuned and reliable machines? Is the inverted the biggest game changer ever?

 

GCI? Taking wooden "twisters" to new heights?

 

Mack? Huss? Gerstlauer? Zamperla? Zierer? PTC? CCI? RMC? TOGO?

[bonsaiisuperstar]

Arrow. They were habitual line steppers.

[tribar]

Arrow or B&M

[GnastyGnoric7]

B&M for steel

GCI for wood

[yankeeman311]

For steel I'm gonna throw Intamin's name in there because they have the most quality coasters regarded as the best in the world.

 

For wood I'm going to say RMC because they're defying the definition of wooden coaster and taking them to heights none of us ever thought it could go.

[DJeXeL]

Intamin for Steel

GCI for wood

[rcjp]

I think the most successful is B&M given that they have almost 100 rides built even though they only do high thrill roller coasters, as opposed to other manufacturers with greater variety.

[B&MBoy1982]

Quality over Quantity = B&M

 

I have said it before:

 

In 1907 Henry Ford said, "We don't want to make the most cars, we want to make the best cars."

[yankeeman311]

Quality over Quantity = B&M

 

I have said it before:

 

In 1907 Henry Ford said, "We don't want to make the most cars, we want to make the best cars."

 

How does that equal B&M? I would think if anything Intamin would be the quality. B&M has more coasters but Intamin's coasters are more regarded as the elite in the world.

[CPSFMMCW]

Intamin Innovates. GCI for successful, and heres why I chose them over RMC. RMC I believe is the more superior wooden coaster manufacturer, however it is still an early manufacturer and while it is successful, I think we need a few more products of the company to call it more successful than GCI, which not only has a lot of coasters out there, but they are also awesome. In time though, this could change. Depends on how many more parks decide to install RMC's.

[GayCoasterGuy]

Love this:

Arrow. They were habitual line steppers.

haha!

 

I would say B&M are the most "successful" in that they build rides that are reliable, stand the test of time, and they probably make good money.

 

But my personal opinion is completely opposite; I would vote for Anton. But he wasn't successful as a businessperson. B&M build very nice "rides," or flight simulators. They're technically coasters, but so much is lost in the translation (4 across seating pods, etc etc...) Don't get me wrong - some make great fun rides, but I much prefer stuff with more soul.

[glouthan]

Intamin for steel - If my memory serves me right, 6/10 of their rides are in my top ten.

RMC for wood - they keep pushing the limits of the wooden coaster and their rides are amazing.

Edited March 8, 2014 by glouthan

[WFChris]

In terms of 'success' translating into number of installation and therefore profit...I would say:

 

Vekoma...coasters all over the world in many many random countries...and generally gets the Disney contract

 

Hell on that note it might be Pinfari...and/or whoever is pumping out all of these Wacky Worms!

[gerstlaueringvar]

Intamin followed by RMC and PTC.

[Comeagain?]

I'd love to say RMC for wood, but I agree with the person who said they haven't been around long enough to be considered the most successful.

[Superbatboy]

I'm torn between B&M and Arrow, but leaning more towards Arrow. First corkscrew, first suspended, first hyper, first 4D, hard for me to argue against that.

[ArizonaGuy]

Quality over Quantity = B&M

 

I have said it before:

 

In 1907 Henry Ford said, "We don't want to make the most cars, we want to make the best cars."

 

How does that equal B&M? I would think if anything Intamin would be the quality. B&M has more coasters but Intamin's coasters are more regarded as the elite in the world.

 

I'd have to go with B&M on quality. Intamin does put out some pretty kick @$$ coasters but still B&M has my vote

 

Just my 2 cents

*plink plink*

[australianalex]

Quality over Quantity = B&M

 

I have said it before:

 

In 1907 Henry Ford said, "We don't want to make the most cars, we want to make the best cars."

 

How does that equal B&M? I would think if anything Intamin would be the quality. B&M has more coasters but Intamin's coasters are more regarded as the elite in the world.

I have to disagree. Most of B&Ms coasters are quite consistent in quality - they may not all be amazing, but there are very few that are truly bad. Meanwhile, though Intamin has undoubtedly had some amazing rides, they've also had some really, really crap ones. For that, I have to say B&M have been very successful. Another bonus for B&M is that, out of their 90 coasters, none have been demolished - though Time Machine's fate hangs in the balance.

However, from an economic point of view, Vekoma have done extremely well. Over 280 coasters in countless countries all over the world. They've dominated the junior coaster market, and I'd say they're considered a top choice for looping coasters for a park on a smaller budget. They may not have the best reputation with enthusiasts, but they're definitely getting better. They seem to be doing extremely well.

[AusCoasterFan]

^ This pretty well hits the nail on the head for me. I'd also add in Arrow though as they were the true ground-breakers for over 3 decades in almost every department

[gerstlaueringvar]

^^Premier don't have a truly bad coaster as well, Buzzsaw Falls might be lame but isn't bad. Their wooden coaster trains, however, seem to have a terrible reputation.

[julioot]

I gues it all depends on how you would define Succes.

 

When I think of a successful coaster manufacturer, I would look mostly at the number of rides being sold throughout the lifespan of the company. I think Vekoma would win that race in this point in time. But you might also want to look at the number of "prototype" rides a manufacturer has put out that have actually become a part of roller coaster history. Also the quality or the number of high quality coasters a manufacturer has produced is important to me.

 

I think B&M would be the awnser for me.

[coasterbill]

I gues it all depends on how you would define Succes.

 

I was about to post the same thing.

 

It's hard to argue that Arrow was the most innovative though.

 

- They were the first people to have a coaster successfully go upside-down.

 

- They were the ones that developed tubular steel track, the innovation that made today's large steel coasters possible.

 

- They were the ones who developed Magnum XL 200, the first coaster to break the 200 foot barrier.

 

And it's not just coasters, though that is the title of the thread.

 

- They invented the log flume, the suspended coaster, the mine train, the 4th dimension coaster and built most of the original rides at DIsneyland. Many of these... like the flying saucers were completely new ideas.

 

Despite all this, they did declare bankruptcy so it's not easy to declare them the "most successful manufacturer" but they were by far the most innovative.

[Aceattack52]

^ I hadn't though about all that in regaurds to Arrow, I was thinking that Intamin was most sucessful only because of how quickly they are able to innovate and produce new models of their current product lines. Aditionally, Intamin has a much more diverse product line than many other manufacturers. They are known best for their coasters, but coasters are only a small part of their output; Intamin also manufactures rides such as observation towers, drop towers, monorails, ferris wheels, the list goes on.

[coasterbill]

^ I hadn't though about all that in regaurds to Arrow, I was thinking that Intamin was most sucessful only because of how quickly they are able to innovate and produce new models of their current product lines. Aditionally, Intamin has a much more diverse product line than many other manufacturers. They are known best for their coasters, but coasters are only a small part of their output; Intamin also manufactures rides such as observation towers, drop towers, monorails, ferris wheels, the list goes on.

 

It's hard to argue with Intamin, but my thought with Arrow is this...

 

Imagine you're going to amusement parks and all you have are flat rides, traditional wooden coasters and an occasional Miller Wild Mouse with flat, rough steel track. Then a company comes along and comes up with huge steel coasters that can do corkscrews and loops. I know it's hard to picture it now but imagine if you've been riding wood coasters for years and all of a sudden Cedar Point's Corkscrew is in front of you with 3 inversions, 2 corkscrews over the midway and a huge (at the time) loop. They totally changed the way people thought about coasters.

 

When you also consider the first hypercoaster (that must have been amazing) the success of the log flume which almost every park had at one point and countless other innovations they really were amazing innovators.

[Diamondbacker27]

If you think about it, every coaster manufacturer is successful in some way. But, I would have to go with Arrow and B&M. Maybe some Intamin also. They have created many firsts, but they have problems from time to time.