Hi-tech gets Oktoberfest moving

Who said hi-tech is only for nerds and cannot be fun at a down-to-earth level - or sort of down to earth! A media release we received last week from hi-tech company, Siemens, illustrates how hi-tech assists to get spirits 'hi' at Munich's famous Oktoberfest.

Construction of the rides at the 176th Munich Oktoberfest is nearly complete. Whether free-falling back to earth after being catapulted 70 metres into the air or hurtling five times head-over-heels on the giant roller coaster or shooting through raging waterfalls in a dugout canoe or simply quietly admiring the fantastic view of the Oktoberfest grounds from 50m up - millions of visitors will soon again be enjoying the numerous fairground rides turned and controlled by Siemens technology.

Not only do Siemens products guarantee fun and safety, they also safeguard the environment.

The giant Ferris wheel, the white-water ride, the five-loop roller coaster, the power tower and the wave glider - these are just five of the largest Oktoberfest rides that are fully equipped with Siemens hi-tech drives, controls, hydraulics, energy supplies and running-light systems.

Requirements are tough at the world's largest public festival: systems have to be reliable. On sunny weekends, the rides are in continuous operation, since every idle minute means losses for the operators.

"On such days, operation simply has to be trouble-free," says Ewald Schneider, manager of Power Tower 2. "I'm completely satisfied with Siemens' products and service. That's why I'm also using them in my new free-fall tower."

And whether on the free-fall tower - with Formula-One-like acceleration driven by 1 300hp Siemens motors - or in complex carousel rotations or on gentle gliding rides, safety is always a top priority: all systems have been TÜV-tested.

For 30 years, Siemens has been supplying products for fairground rides around the world. Environmental aspects have become increasingly important in recent years.

Today, the latest Osram LEDs (light-emitting diodes) on fairground rides are reducing the energy requirements of the lighting systems installed by up to 90%. The more lights, the greater the savings.

For example, the Distel Company has reduced the total energy consumption of its bumper cars by 20% at one stroke by retrofitting the system's lighting display - comprising 60 000 luminous points - with LEDs.

On the wave glider, a further development of the wave swinger, the Siemens system automatically measures, for example, the total weight of the passengers entering the ride to ensure that the hydraulics are supplied with just the right amount of energy.

And, the latest generation of Siemens drives saves so much energy that procurement costs are already amortised within about a year.

Consequently, many of the products and solutions implemented are part of Siemens' Environmental Portfolio, which generated sales of nearly €19 billion - or about one quarter of the company's entire revenue - in fiscal 2008 to make Siemens the largest infrastructure supplier of environmental technology in the world.