Reinhold Spieldiener, CEO of Intamin Transportation Ltd and president of Ride Trade International, passed away peacefully away in his sleep on September 4, 2007.
Born in Austria in 1941, he will be remembered as a loving husband, devoted brother, caring father, and a wonderful mentor and friend to all that had contact with him.
Spieldiener’s charismatic personality along with his ambition resulted in the founding of his company Intamin with his brother Robert and partner Ali Saiko. What began as a small venture to produce and create amusement and theme park attractions, developed into a global enterprise.
By sheer hard work and relentless travel, Reinhold expanded the company’s sales to the point where separate companies in the USA, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and China were necessary to handle the exponentially expanding workload. Under his presidency, the companies became one of the largest suppliers to the amusement and theme park industry, with over 1,000 major amusement rides built and delivered worldwide.
With his “can do” attitude, trustworthy character and eloquent words, Reinhold captivated clients who believed and continually bought the rides that were considered to be at the cutting edge of ride development. Many of these rides earned world records and awards for innovation, scope and engineering.
Spieldiener’s legacy of the sale of amusement attractions included the first river rapids ride, the first freefall, the first Flying Island, the first cinema-based simulator and the first monorail system. Prevailing over difficult challenges, he took pride in the fact that every attraction sold by him was delivered on time.
Reinhold’s reputation and warm-hearted character proceeded him. His customers knew him for his calm, composed and pragmatic approach to all matters, affording him the ability to find a compromise for any issue that could arise. With great determination, he took every opportunity to provide innovative solutions tailored specifically to the needs of each one of his clients. Within the company, he was better known for his entrusting manner of running the business, always leading by example.
Reinhold Spieldiener touched the lives of everyone he met personally and in the business world, but also his achievements in the amusement industry will continue to influence those that follow. He is survived by his wife Trudy, his son Patrick, who has assumed the role as CEO, his two daughters, Brigitte and Alexandra, and his brother Robert, who all also work within the companies.
