enrope GmbH/Skilift Péra SA: Customised solution

For the La Péra ski lift in Campliun near Trun/Graubünden in Switzerland, the 2021/22 winter means it can look back on 50 years of history. It became operational for the first time in the 1971/72 season. Just as it was back then, this lift still stands for skiing without stress and hectic rush or "skiing in a family environment", as you can read in the company's Articles of Association.

In order to be able to operate the lift over the years, investments have been made again and again, such as replacing the control system in 1992 or replacing the remote monitoring in 2017. To be able to guarantee the continued existence of the popular ski lift and being granted an operating concession by the Inter-Cantonal Concordat for Ropeways and Ski Lifts (IKSS) for at least another 25 years, extensive technical innovations were planned in 2021 or even a completely new building. "The evaluation of the submitted offers showed that a completely enrope GmbH/Skilift Péra SA Customised solution new system would exceed our budget and would not bring any particular added value.

Mere maintenance has always led us to the point that most components are still 50 years old after maintenance work has been carried out. It was uncertain whether the components would reach the set target of 25 years. This quickly resulted in considering the variant in the form of a partially new building which brought many advantages,” says Bruno Pfister, Vice President of Skilifte Péra AG, describing the results of the study and strategy process.

The contract for realising the partial new build went to enrope GmbH, which had developed the "partial new construction" variant. enrope could thus build the first LUIS type double T-bar lift in Switzerland. “Switzerland is a very interesting market for us. We hope that word of the quality of our work will spread and we will be entrusted with further modernisation projects,” says Peter Glasl, Managing Director of enrope GmbH. A total of 470,000 Swiss francs was invested which was raised by the lift company and numerous donations from communities, corporations, companies and private individuals. Acceptance of the lift took place in December 2021 which meant the ski lift could be put into operation in time for Christmas.

A fair offer makes it possible The bottom station and top/return station as well as the entire technical equipment were replaced as part of the partial new construction process. enrope supplied and installed the ropeway technology for the stations, roller batteries along with the rope and hangers. The control system was provided by the Swiss company Tscharner.

The bottom station at 920 m above sea level was smaller and more compact than the previous version and, through the new build, could therefore be re-positioned so that it is now much easier for users to enter the lift. The new construction of the return station at 1,050 m above sea level also made it possible to optimise the layout of the line.

Nevertheless, the existing supports could continue to be used whereby only one additional support had to be erected. All supports were provided with new roller batteries. The hydraulic tensioning station was installed in the valley whilst on the mountain it is tensioned manually which means it will not be necessary to shorten the haul rope in the years ahead. The drive has a performance of 37 kW and was positioned in the valley. Transportation capacity is 600 p/h at a speed of 3 m/s.

In addition, the haul rope as well as the 40 tow hangers were replaced whereby 5 different types from 3 manufacturers had been in use through purchase and replacement. The new, low-maintenance LUIS lift was uniformly equipped with new magnetic hangers. The innovative retraction device with integrated eddy current brake is used. This is a further development of the maintenance-free permanent magnet brake for towing plate retraction devices which enrope introduced at the end of the 1990s. Apart from the sophisticated technology, the new variant also focuses on sustainability.

Dripping brake fluid or fine dust from the brake pads are avoided, and the brakes can be adjusted very precisely. In this way, both the extension and retraction of the T-bar can be precisely adapted to meet onsite user requirements. “Our pull device can now prove that it offers a level of operational safety that is unrivalled anywhere in the world. A T-bar rollover is technically impossible meaning monitoring is unnecessary," says Peter Glasl, enrope GmbH.

After the first few weeks of operation, the people on site are very satisfied with the slopes and the new lift as a whole. Bruno Pfister adds: “The slopes are very gentle for the skiers in the approach. In the top station, the T-bars are pulled in very smoothly which eases the situation and the work of our employees. The system as a whole has worked flawlessly to this day and has consequently convinced us very much. With additional support provided by a range of positive feedback from our guests, we are very satisfied with our decision.” Lw

Bottom station: 920 m

Top station: 1,050 m

Altitude difference: 130 m

Inclined length: 723 m

6 towers with 2.8 m gauge

Speed: 3 m/s

Passenger capacity: 600 p/h

Drive performance: 37 kW

Position of drive in the valley

Tensioning system valley (hydraulic) and mountain (manual)