Styrian Lift Co Seminar Finishes With Positive Outlook
The Styrian cable car and drag lift companies met for the "summit meeting" in Graz. Prominent guests of honor and expert voices with news from the industry were also present. Conclusion: The season was surprisingly good - now it's important to continue to look positively to the future.
Full hall in the Aiola in St. Veit Castle: After the long compulsory Corona break, the "Who's Who" of the Styrian cable car operators finally met live again for the "Lifter Seminar". After a lively debut by the Quartetto Ornando, Fabrice Girardoni, chairman of the Styrian cable car companies in the WKO Styria, welcomed the numerous entrepreneurs, media representatives and a whole host of guests of honor from the Vice President of the Styrian Ski Association Karl Fischbacher and chairman of the Tourism and Leisure Industry Group Johann Spreitzhofer to the chairman of the association, Mag. Jürgen Roth, and motivational trainer Oliver Dreier. "It's about quality for us, about promoting young talent and about keeping the industry fit for the future," stressed Girardoni.
Respectable 2022/23 season
Fabrice Girardoni summarized the economic review of the past ski season as "respectable": "We are adaptable, we are assertive. Even if the mood was sometimes depressed, the reality looks positive." In particular, Girardoni firmly rejected the "media swan song to winter" that was often heard due to the weather: "We are well prepared." And now it's also about looking to the future in a targeted manner, investing wisely and also becoming more sustainable. He also thanked State Councilor Barbara Eibinger-Miedl for her many years of commitment to smaller ski areas in particular: "These funding programs are of great importance to us."
Cableways as a "boost"
Karl-Heinz Dernoscheg, WKO Styria director, looked back on the past "Corona years" and reported on the WKO's commitment to companies. "The times were difficult," he emphasized, "but we 'punched' and did everything for our members." He emphasized the importance of cable car and drag lift companies for Styrian tourism. They are an "economic pillar in turbulent times." He also quoted from the current economic survey by the IWS, which shows "a certain amount of thoughtfulness" in all sectors. "But we're on the right track," assured the director. As the biggest challenge next to the war "in our near-neighbourhood" he identified the blatant lack of labor and skilled workers. "
no more snow?
Climate change and the noticeable lack of snow are also among the major challenges for the industry. An example of this is the "Wimmerlifte" in Eggersdorf. The operators, Roswitha and Josef Wimmer, who are lifters and farmers with passion and conviction, stop operating their ski lifts after 50 years and accepted the 50-year certificate at the event. "If the weather continues like this, things won't look good for our industry," warned Josef Wimmer. It was only in the last ten years that the snow conditions had gotten so bad that operations could only be maintained with difficulty. Roswitha Wimmer added: "Before that, everything was wonderful for 40 years."
Energy transition with ideas from business
In his digression on the topic of e-fuels, the chairman of the energy trade association, Jürgen Roth, showed one way of reducing CO2 emissions and thus counteracting climate change. The climate-neutrally produced, synthetic fuels would make sense above all for heavy equipment such as snow groomers, since electric mobility would reach its limits there. In addition, according to the energy expert, existing infrastructure can simply continue to be used with e-fuels. This also includes the vehicle and equipment fleet of the ski areas. In general, the energy transition would not be possible without storage options, according to Roth. Only a combination of electric, e-fuels and renewable energy can bring us into a climate-neutral future. "The best ideas always come from business," he emphasized. " E-fuels are stored green electricity. Europe is not and will not be energy-autonomous in the future either," said the expert.
With hydrogen on the slopes
Andreas Muigg presented another possible milestone in climate-friendly slope infrastructure: the first hydrogen-powered snow groomer. The expert works at Prinoth, a company of the HTI Group, which is active worldwide in the business areas of ropeway systems, snow groomers and tracked utility vehicles, urban transport systems and wind energy. A prototype of the hydrogen device has been in test operation since 2022. A battery in the device, which acts as a buffer storage for the hydrogen energy, charges for two hours. The expert also presented the Husky, a fully electrically powered snow groomer. It has up to 245 hp and lasts three hours at full power. "
Always look positively to the future
The concluding motivational speech by Oliver Dreier gave courage and confidence. After a motorcycle accident he lost his right arm and since then the athlete has mastered his "life with left hands". He is a World Para-Triathlon Champion, Para-Duathlon World Champion and eight-time Ironman finisher. "Life can take an unexpected turn in a fraction of a second," says the speaker. "It is all the more important to live every day in such a way that you go to bed satisfied in the evening." Constantly re-exploring your limits and at the same time enjoying life to the fullest is the be-all and end-all in life. "I wouldn't trade a second hand for anything in the world," he says, "because that experience made me the person I am today."
