Moving in the Right Direction

There were plenty of smiles and cheers recently at the Hochzillertal Kaltenbach Skiing Centre in Kaltenbach, Austria, as Sunkid GmbH marked the installation of its 4,000th moving carpet.

“The owners and managing directors of the Hochzillertal ski area (Maximilian Schultz and Heinz Schultz) as well as the responsible operations managers Daniel Steinlechner and Christian Knapp were present at the handover of the 4,000th Sunkid Moving Carpet,” said Emanuel Wohlfarter, CEO, Sunkid GmbH. “Together with my colleague Herbert Zopf, we were able to officially hand over the system. The mood was, of course, very positive, and the good weather [added to the positive atmosphere].”

Maximilian says the new moving carpet has enabled the resort to further increase value in the children’s and beginners’ areas near the mountain station and raises them to a new level.

“The system integrated well into the present terrain and the slope and now directly connects to the mountain station exit of our feeder train on one level,” said Maximilian. “The first few months of the main season and the Christmas weeks have already shown that this was the right step towards improving our overall offering and increasing quality, most of all for beginners and newcomers.”

At a length of 142 meters, the conveyor belt in Hochzillertal Kaltenbach was implemented with the latest Type N generation technology. It offers roofed-over entry and exit areas with five emergency exits in the form of easy-to-open, self-rolling tarpaulins and sports a custom design.

The cameras installed on the gallery arches provide a great overview for the lift personnel, who can check on the facility. The new conveyor belt generation has an output of 22 kilowatts, which enables a throughput of up to 1,650 persons per hour.

Wohlfarter adds that the Moving Carpet allows a large and ideally located ski beginner area to be further developed in the mountain station area. This development represents the first stage and will be followed by Sunkid Swisscord rope lifts. This means that beginners benefit from different levels of difficulty and can develop quickly.

The 4,000th moving carpet marks a significant accomplishment in the company’s history and has significantly changed the way resorts are operated. The advantages of moving carpets are the ease of use, the enormous flexibility, the high level of safety, the simple operation and maintenance as well as the high conveying rates (up to 6,000 people per hour, for example, with double conveyor belts). Lengths of up to 1,312 feet (400 meters) are possible.

Before the 1990s, instructors and novice skiers spent more time and energy climbing uphill than learning to ski.

“Our conveyor belts can now be found in beginner areas worldwide and ensure an easy introduction to snow sports.… We can proudly say that tens of millions of new skiers have been ‘born’ on our facilities in recent years.”

Emanuel Wohlfarter, Sunkid GmbH

In 1996, a working group of leading ski schools in Austria formed to solve the problem. Leading the charge was Dieter Zimmermann, who served as a manager at several German aerospace and engineering companies. This group developed their version of the moving carpet and introduced the first prototype in the fall of 1996.

The first tests proved successful and by 1997, more than 70 moving carpets were installed in Europe as well as the U.S., Japan, New Zealand and Australia. Two years later, Sunkid merged with Bruckschlögl GmbH, headed by Max Bruckschlögl, who became the CEO of the new entity.

In the following years, Sunkid continued to expand and the moving carpet became standard infrastructure at not only the beginner ski areas, but in other parts of the resort. It was soon moving tobogganers and those using tubing tracks. It also found a home at golf courses, water parks and other recreational areas.

“At the beginning of the development of the Sunkid Moving Carpet, there was a need for a child-friendly climbing aid for learning to ski. Our conveyor belts can now be found in beginner areas worldwide and ensure an easy introduction to snow sports. Our ski school customers, in particular, confirm to us that ski school lessons have been revolutionized as a result. We can proudly say that tens of millions of new skiers have been ‘born’ on our facilities in recent years,” said Wohlfarter.

Management transition

Wohlfarter joined the company in 1997, along with Herbert Zopf, and the duo helped shape the company’s technical and commercial operations. In 2013, Bruckschlögl retired with Wohlfarter and Zopf succeeding him as equal owners.

Today, Sunkid is a leading global year-round provider of leisure attractions for the whole family. The company offers a wide range of products and services ranging from individual selected attractions to individual overall conception, production and turnkey implementation. It has eight subsidiaries, more than 130 employees, over 45 sales and service partners and has completed more than 9,000 projects.

“Over the last 20 years, we have developed Sunkid into a provider of year-round leisure attractions for children and families. It has always been important to us that we offer interactive attractions that move our customers (both physically and emotionally). This is where our slogan comes from: ‘We move. You smile,’” said Wohlfarter.

One of the keys to the company’s success has been its research laboratory, where the entire product, individual components and innovations are tested under extreme conditions prior to market launch. Its conveyor belt systems must operate in dry and temperature-controlled facilities such as trade shows or factories, but also in -20 degrees Celsius weather on the side of a mountain.

“At our company, innovation is at the top of the agenda. We develop new attractions every year and existing products are constantly being further developed. Especially when it comes to moving carpets, we recently brought a revolutionary generation onto the market with the new Type N, which has also been sold in North America since this year,” said Wohlfarter.

He adds that while the 4,000th Sunkid Moving Carpet installation is a milestone for the company, it also serves as motivation as they continue pursuing business goals. This number is a confirmation of the relevance of moving carpets in ski areas both for classic winter applications as well as for all-season applications in bike parks, summer tubing or similar.

“Of course, we are very happy about milestones like the 4,000th Moving Carpet. But what is much more important to us is the satisfaction of every customer. Customer support and after sales are very important principles for us worldwide. Especially in North America, we can rely on the support of our subsidiary Star Lifts USA Inc., which provides our customers with perfect on-site support.”