Poma marks 90 years in business

Poma, a French company founded in 1947, is celebrating its 90th anniversary and today achieves over 500 million euros in revenue, 70% of which is exported to 30 countries. The company, one of the two global leaders in cable transport systems, is known for its egg-shaped gondolas, which have become an icon in winter sports.

Poma's global reach and diverse projects

Poma's equipment, including ski lifts, gondolas, and cable cars, has been used in various locations around the world, with 8,000 installations currently in operation. The company's models have evolved significantly since its first ski lift at Alpe d'Huez in 1947, becoming more modern and larger, used by many ski areas in France and abroad.

Expansion into new markets and industries

Poma has gradually diversified into new markets such as tourist cable cars in Vietnam, entertainment and urban cable cars in Toulouse, New York, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and Mongolia. The company's expertise in manufacturing cable transport systems is evident in its production of the cabins of the London Eye Ferris wheel in London. The company also produces industrial cable transport systems for moving materials from mines.

In-house manufacturing and unique production

Poma's manufacturing process involves producing everything in-house, from R&D in its engineering office to machining parts, assembly, painting, and deliveries. The company operates four industrial sites in France, all located between Savoie, Haute-Savoie, and Isère, and has a production unit in the United States, the only one abroad to be close to its many American clients. The group produces 2,500 cabins per year, with each project being unique and not in mass production.

Urban cable transport and environmental benefits

Poma has also ventured into urban cable transport systems, with 60% of its activity today concerning urban and tourist cable cars compared to 40% for the mountains. The Valéen elevator in Saint-Gervais in Haute-Savoie, which connects the SNCF Fayet station to the village and the village to the ski area, is an example of such a project. The equipment, launched in 2025, transports more than 600 people per day in the low season and up to 5,700 in the high season, significantly reducing road traffic and pollution.

Challenges and future projects

Despite the success of the Valéen elevator, neighbors sometimes mention visual pollution, which often leads to legal challenges when projects are launched. Poma intends to win the tender launched for the Winter Olympics in the Alps in 2030, notably to access M La Plagne with a Valéen elevator connected to the railway station. The company will bid for three access projects that benefit from a 124 million euro envelope from the State and the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region in the context of the organization of these Games.

Innovation in Poma's new cabin model

Poma has unveiled the first prototype of its new "Pure" cabin, a premium 10-seat equipment that concentrates quite a few innovations, including large windows, heating, Focal speakers to play music, customizable elements, and lightweight materials. The model rides on the strategies of "upgrading" of some stations, and Poma already reports a strong demand for the new cabin.