Variety of construction systems and product development is of utmost importance to Ski-Line, the cooperation project of Peter Riedel and REHAU AGPeter Riedel, we are midway through the world cup season, the Nordic ski world cup in Val di Fiemme is only a few weeks away – and no matter whom of the athletes you ask, they are all raving about your inrun systems. So please, let us talk about your company. How did everything start?“It started sooner than expected. Admittedly, the company was established in 2003 but I fed and still feed upon my father Eberhard’s treasure trove of experience, who not only was a highly gifted alpine skier but who was also training ski jumpers later. He also contributed to Jens Weißflog becoming a world champion.
We have been working together with REHAU since 2005, and it is a very successful partnership! The company acts internationally and it has a name that makes you sit up and take notice. REHAU plays a very important role in our system and I am glad that we will continue our joint path in the years to come.
But what characterizes Peter Riedel GmbH most of all is the fact that we are investing a lot in research and development on the part of operations and therefore, we are always able to offer the latest manufacturing technologies. Ultimately, we have also become an internationally acting and renowned company which commits specialists from all over the world. For example, for our Data and Media-Track, that is our measuring plate system, we are cooperating with the Department of Sport Science and Kinesiology at the University of Salzburg. It is important to me that we bring everything into question, and that we deal openly and critically with the suggestions, recommendations and opinions of others.”
Data and Media-Track, which attracted media attention at the Four Hills Tournament in Garmisch-Partenkrichen are the latest developments of your company…“
That is correct. They can be integrated into any ski jump system which was co-built by us. But above all, we offer a variety of track systems. The Mobile-Track for mobile mini and small ski jumps, the Junior Track, a training track for the work with young talent of clubs, the Double-Track, at which summer and winter track are next to each other, the Track-in-Track, where summer and winter track are arranged in a single track, and the Double-Track plus, an expandable version of the Double-Track. In addition, there is an ice mill with a sophisticated cutter system which has the advantage of being linked to our running track system. Therefore, if there are height differences in the track, our system is the only one able to mill accurate to the millimetre in the profile. The winch systems for the mill, the covers for the winter and the summer track, and the heating and cooling systems are also made by us: if you rely on our products, you will get everything from a single source! Of course, all products are in compliance with the FIS and of course, all corresponding licenses are available. And there is even more: because the EU legislation provides that cooling systems have to be maintained, we are automatically also offering maintenance and service – and the operators of the ski jumps like to accept this offer!”
You mentioned heating and cooling systems. How about energy efficiency and environment protection?“These are very important issues to us! Of course, we comply with environmental standards – not only in Europe but worldwide – at any location where we are involved in the construction of ski jumps – and in the interest of our customers, we want and have to keep the follow-up costs as low as possible. This is why Peter Riedel GmbH has introduced this quality seal for itself: ‘Energy-efficient. Resource-conserving. Economical.’ We want to achieve maximum cooling performance while reducing energy consumption.
”Peter Riedel, what does the future hold?“
Well, we already have a development advantage because we are working with pure ice while our competitors are building snow tracks. Hence, on our track, the athletes are running-in on a 7.5 cm thick, solid ice block while it is only about 2.3 cm on other tracks. But we are far from finished with our developments. For example, let’s talk about the nubs which are integrated in the summer tracks or mixed tracks. In this area, we started with various plastic materials and then we used the plastic-ceramic nub. Today, we are using pure porcelain in order to come as close as possible to the structure of snow, and at the moment, this is impossible to top.
Ultimately, the concern of my company is to further establish as a specialist for winter sports. Like the ski suits of the jumpers are changing, we also want to support and accompany the developments in ski jumping. Especially the interaction between inrun and inrun speed is an issue which is not completely exhausted yet. As we demonstrated in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, the inrun speed can be significantly increased with the best milling technology.What is important to me personally: the work with young talent. This is why we support the Four Hills Tournament for children which takes place in July and September in Hinzenbach, Bischofshofen, Reit im Winkl and Berchtesgaden. Last year had seen approx. 200 participants!”
Thank you very much for the talk and good luck for the future!Read at the end of February, 2013: Ski jumps making history: Trondheim (NOR) and Nizhny Tagil (RUS)
