…“We would only have a few minutes to say hello and for a few basic questions”, messages the man who runs Salomon Nordic when we agree to meet at Atomic/ Amer Sports factory in Altenmarkt in Pongau where the French company produces its cross country skis.
….After an hour of ( very intense) conversation that covers just about every aspect of Salomon business in & around skiing , the conversation that several other staffers, responsible for race skis eventially join in, Nicolas Stamos finally says that the meeting he was actually coming for can’t be delayed no more…
Which is a massive pity – what Stamos & his team have managed to achieve in the last decade is nothing short of fascinating.
But now everything makes perfect sense: they are the people who are really passionate about what they are doing – and it shows.
….Like most unscripted conversations, our interview lacks somewhat in smoothness – which is compensated by sheer amount of info Nicolas provides.
Here it is, illustrated with our photos of ski production – and some of the Salomon’s best athletes using them.
We have been in boots production for decades – but expanded into making skis only about ten years ago Top level skiers would have about 15-20 pairs of each of two styles to cover every situationThe Salomon Carbon skis are very specific in a sense that they have fantastic properties with a super thin layering. The mechanical properties are determined by 100% carbon structure. Atomic also has full carbon skis , but no other brands Carbon is a material that keeps its physical properties practically indefinitely – for instance, extreme torsional rigidityThe new classic boot, S/LAB Carbon classic, are being launched this fall for wide public audience.They are the latest evolution of the carbon concept, contain unique shell and liner construction for fantastic flex, incredible fit and stability. It has been successfully validated by world cup athletes last season. Skating boots are soon to follow the Classic onesS/LAB poles were received well by the market – thanks especially to their re-worked Clic system SNS are fully granted for 2 more winters with a strategic line in classic, skate, combi and junior boots covering all needs. Yet it is for sure migrating to Prolink for simplicity reasons within the stores. Jessie Diggins has decided for this season to move to Prolink. She was our last athlete on SNS PilotSkin skis represent up to 75% of the classic skis sales, especially in the training segment and we continue to invest for the credibility of the concept All in all, we as a company are currently growing in a sustainable and pleasant way in all business zones and for all product lines: skis, bindings, boots as well as poles
