German Federal Cross of Merit for Werner Stengel

In October last year, Werner Stengel, the uncrowned “rollercoaster king”, was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit by German President Horst Köhler upon nomination by the Bavarian prime minister and at the initiative of Wolfgang Schneider (Holiday Park).  In late January, Bavaria’s Minister for Economic Affairs, Martin Zeil, presented Stengel with the medal during a ceremonial act. In his laudation, the minister honoured Stengel’s decade-long, unusually successful work for the international leisure industry:  “With your technical engineering solutions, you have made a decisive contribution to increasing the quality and safety of flying constructions, thus strengthening the market position of German and European manufacturers. Your office in Munich has become the top address for amusement park companies. Around two-thirds of all large-sized rides at amusement parks on every continent have originated on your drawing board.” (eap)