Winter sports: It's always downhill, only more diverse.

At the end of the year, I would like to thank all our suppliers and customers. It was once again a difficult year of constant new challenges. 

The Covid pandemic is still showing effects in different countries around the world. Thanks to many years of good cooperation with our suppliers, our supply chains are solid. This has also allowed us to cushion the constant price increases and the cost of inflation for our customers. 

It is always a pleasure to meet our long-time customers at the many, worldwide trade fairs and to chat with them about how successfully the installed systems work with our Skitrax dry slope technologies. The idea that sports or leisure activities that originate on snow can also be carried out in summer on our mats is gaining more and more acceptance worldwide. Many new customers on different continents are looking forward to the installations in the new year. 

Outstanding are installed tubing tracks and freestyle water jumps all over Europe, Emirates and USA, which set new accents in the countries. In the spring of 2022, the grand opening of the 5-star sports hotel with the largest alpine dry ski slope and tubing track in the world in Lviv (Ukraine) took place very quietly, as the effects of the Russian war of aggression did not spare the west of the country. Through on-site training, I know most of the employees (see picture above) who have been working to complete it every day for almost a year in sun, rain, storms and snowfall since the spring of 2021. Most of the workers are now deployed as soldiers in the war in the East. Hopefully this madness will soon come to an end. 

The year 2023 will be challenging again. Defying the sluggish global economy and ever-changing political circumstances and their changing economic opportunities, we are expanding and offering our products with our own booths on four continents in 2023. We are determined to expand our global position as a provider of "where snow is missing" solutions. 

We show that sports and leisure activities can be sustainable even without permanent snow production using electricity. The 70m long ice slide at the Christmas market in Kassel (GER) presents a perfect slide with comments from children "as fast as on ice". Other extraordinary uses are under development and will be presented in 2023!

Ski jumpers train and compete throughout the year, more on mats than on snow. National alpine ski associations are considering sustainable use of alpine dry slopes for junior skiers in the summer as an alternative to glacier training. "In this way, ski training could also be carried out in the summer at affordable conditions," according to one of the officials. 

We are looking forward to a firm grip and excellent gliding through the new year 2023, which will be more sustainable, forward-looking, climate-neutral and even more diverse. 

Thank you for an exciting 2022 and best wishes for a happy and healthy 2023.

Yours

Wolfgang Schmidt

CEO