GMD Mueller was a Swiss aerial lift manufacturing firm. Founded by Gerhard Mueller, who is credited with the invention of the modern chairlift, in the late 1940s, it was one of the most prolific and respected aerial lift manufacurers in skiing history. The company was bought out in 1985.
GMD stands for Gerhard Mueller Dietlikon.
In the late 1920s, Gerhard Mueller, a mechanical engineering student, was a newcomer to growing sport of skiing. At the time, there were no user-friendly ski lifts in Switzerland.
At a resort hotel outside Zürich, Mueller revolutionized skiing by creating the first usable ski lift in Switzerland. Consisting of a 1’’ hemp rope, and some old motorcycle parts, Mueller built the forerunner of the modern ropetow.
Naturally, being a ropetow, guests regularly complained about sore hands and torn clothes resulting from using the lift. Mueller, inspired by, Laplanders’ practice of, whilst being towed on skis by reindeer, would loop the reins around their hips, allowing them to rest their hands, created the first modern chairlift.
After World War II, Mueller founded Gerhard Mueller Engineering, which would go on to be one of the most prolific and respected aerial lift manufacturers in skiing history.
