Europe And North America As Hotspots: Leitner, Poma, Bartholet, Prinoth And Demaclenko Present In The World's Leading Ski Resorts
It's finally ski time again and the South Tyrolean group HTI is once again focusing on technological innovation and sustainability in the coming winter season with cable cars, snow groomers and snowmaking.
In some places, such as in the Argentine Andes, the winter season and new cable car innovations have already ended. In other regions, a total of 89 new cable cars from Leitner, Poma, Leitner Poma of America and Bartholet are now accompanying the upcoming start of the 2023/2024 ski season.
The hotspots this year are the ski resorts in the Alps and North America, which offer numerous innovations in classic winter sports countries such as Italy, France, Scandinavia, the Balkans and Austria, but also in “newcomer destinations” such as Greece and Uzbekistan. In addition, North America is also keen to invest - especially in the USA, where Leitner Poma of America was able to repeat the record with 29 new systems after last year's success.
In addition to the new cable cars that are already ready for use around the globe, the companies Prinoth and Demaclenko are also preparing for the start of the winter season with the latest generations of snow groomers and snowmaking systems. "We invest considerable sums in research and development every year to make our winter technologies even more sustainable. Shortly before the start of the new winter season, it is a great success and at the same time an important confirmation that many of the most renowned international ski resorts have once again chosen our products "comments Anton Seeber, President of the HTI Group.
From the Alps to Scandinavia, the Balkans and Greece
Italy, France, Scandinavia, the Balkans and Austria are the countries where most new HTI cable cars are opening. In Italy, one of the hotly anticipated highlights is the winter premiere of the new gondola lift in the Brixen-Plose area. In addition, the cable cars will also go into operation in the Campiglio Dolomiti di Brenta ski area, in the Colere Ski Arena in the province of Bergamo and in Andalo in Trentino. In France, ten new facilities will provide state-of-the-art transport quality in famous ski resorts such as La Plagne, Avoriaz and the Pyrenees. In Austria, two more chairlifts are being put into operation in Kitzbühel with a clear focus on energy saving. In addition, the Austrian market will receive two ultra-modern flagship cable cars for the coming winter season: the two 10-seater gondola lifts “Galtbergbahn” in the Schlick 2000 ski area and “Wilde Krimml” in the Zillertal Arena. The Alpine picture is rounded off by the new facilities in Switzerland, including the Alpine Crossing, which has been connecting Zermatt with Cervinia for a few weeks now, and the first two sections of the Ropetaxi cable car from Bartholet, which offers a real world first in Flims Laax: This is based on cabins moving at a speed of in the station at 1 m/s. This resulted in a system that uses up to 50 percent less energy than conventional cable cars.
The Scandinavian countries have also proven to be an important market this year with various new cable cars in Sweden, Norway and Finland (the country's first 8-seater chairlift was built here). But important cable car projects have also been implemented in southern Europe, such as in the Balkans, where Slovenia is a leader with six new systems. In Greece, after several years, investments were made again in new facilities in the west of the Hellenic peninsula and in Macedonia.
The North American boom continues
While Europe continues to be a key success factor for the HTI Group's winter business and Asia is also continuing to catch up with new plants in China, South Korea and Uzbekistan, important growth signals are again coming from North America in particular. 29 new systems clearly indicate that the cable car boom, especially in the USA, is continuing. A trend that began last year and will continue to intensify in 2023. New cable cars have been implemented in some of the most renowned North American ski areas - from Utah to New Mexico and Ontario to famous ski resorts such as Aspen, Winter Park and Breckenridge.
Slope preparation, snowmaking and ski area management
Numerous new Prinoth snow groomers will be launched in the new winter season. Around 700 Prinoth snow groomers, between new and used, will be in use in ski areas on various continents, with the Alps and North America once again playing a leading role. Also growing is the fleet of electric EMotion snow groomers, which were introduced to the Scandinavian and French markets last year and will soon also be in use on Swiss and North American slopes.
In the area of snowmaking, Demaclenko will open the new season with around 2,500 snow guns. These also include particularly comprehensive large-scale projects such as those on the Stubai Glacier in Austria and Myler Mountain Resort in Armenia.
In order to further optimize resources, more than 500 ski resorts around the world now rely on Skadii, the patented digital platform for ski resort management, which makes the processes and procedures in the ski resorts even more effective, efficient and clearer.
