The Art and Science of Snow Grooming

PRINOTH, a world leader in snow grooming technology, has built its reputation for performance, sustainability and cost effectiveness upon a philosophy of innovation and courage – courage to explore new ideas moving forward into the future.

That vision continues as this year at the National Ski Area Association’s national conference, the company added two new products to its impressive line-up of snow grooming equipment.

Fine-tuning the versatility of the LEITWOLF

The company’s focus on customer value translates not only into the development of new products, but also for optimal solutions for business success, such as the recent introduction of the POSIFLEX tiller onto the alpha of snow groomers, the PRINOTH LEITWOLF.

Andreas Muigg, head of product portfolio management for PRINOTH said, “The POSIFLEX tiller has been the well-known tool of choice in North America for many years, allowing the customer to create a great surface and evening the slopes perfectly thanks to the unique snow chamber concept.” This chamber allows snow to build up and be used to increase the quality of grooming without having to dig deeper – an important approach to snow management and for efficient and clean slopes.

“The range of freedom in the center joint makes the tiller a great tool to adapt to edges and transitions,” said Muigg. “It comes down to offering the best grooming to the visitors, so the next logical step was to complete the product range on the LEITWOLF – part of the company’s strategy to offer the ski area the best tiller option for each grooming concept.”

For the first time, in the 2018-19 season, the POSIFLEX tiller became available for the powerful LEITWOLF snow groomer with its MTU six-cylinder diesel engine, 530 horsepower, 2,460 Nm/ft-lb torque, uniting strength, efficiency and reliability in the most extreme alpine situations. As this partnership proves its value on North American terrain, PRINOTH is already seeing the orders grow above expectations.

The HUSKY X is taking precision to a higher level

Available in three vehicle widths (including tracks): 98 inch/110 inch/122 inch, the new HUSKY X is the company’s smallest and most maneuverable snow groomer. Known as the “Park Version,” this vehicle has all the features of versatility and power that have made the original HUSKY model ideal for use at smaller ski resorts, parks and preparing snowmobile trails and cross-country ski trails.

With inclinometer and measurement tools on the blade, increased vertical blade movement, up to 19 inches more than the standard unit (eight inches up and 11 inches down) and adapted hydraulic pumps to ensure optimal blade response, the machine delivers the ultimate in
precision maneuverability.

“The whole idea for the HUSKY  X was born from two directions,” said Muigg. “First, the HUSKY became such a powerful and versatile tool, that to extend the application was the logical next step. Second, we understood the need of the market for a small machine to be able to build, but especially maintain the terrain and fun areas.”

Muigg notes that the maneuverability of the HUSKY X allows for creating and maintaining different layouts of those areas by building features according to the cat size; the smaller groomer means more efficient use of the area and the snow. Working within the company’s snow-groomer unified usability concept, design engineers kept close contact with the PRINOTH X community in the field as they tailored the Husky X range of movement to best fulfill customer needs.

The MTU OM 934 LA engine delivers a power output of 228 break horsepower and more than 650 ft-lb of torque that delivers optimal power while keeping exhaust emission levels at their lowest. This is in keeping with the corporation’s pioneering philosophy, CLEAN MOTION: creating efficient vehicles that deliver high performance and long service life along with technological solutions for low energy consumption and sustainable environmental protection.

The cost of the upgrade from a standard configuration depends on the final configuration, the blade movement, track width and addition of the new flexible Powertiller. However, as Muigg said, “In the end, it is about the value you get: the range of usage is increasingly flexible in terrain-based learning, terrain parks as well as those small grooming-free areas, entrance and exit areas of lifts and for tubing. The reaction from the market has been a strong confirmation of the product concept.”

Knowledge means cost reduction

The company offers comprehensive training and education programs for both operators and mechanics looking to further facilitate the efficient and environmentally friendly use of all snow groomers. Operator training is held on-site at the respective ski resort, regardless of the vehicles or manufacturers in use, but this training is not mandatory as all of their vehicles are developed for intuitive and user-friendly operation.

As part of its “After Sales Network,” the company provides individual training courses for beginner and advanced operators with in-depth theory and practice training adapted to the field of applications and individual working conditions.

At branch offices around the world, mechanic training specifically tailored to vehicles is open to all customers who have purchased or already own the respective snow grooming vehicle.

Furthermore, every year, the company organizes unique training sessions for service technicians working with clients and service partners. This advanced training not only involves technical training from experts and fault simulations on machines, but it also serves to bring together the community of service technicians from different areas and countries.

As for what might come in the future, Muigg knows Prinoth will continue looking for the next step that will help ski areas create a great visitor experience. “We are continuously working on our fleet regarding performance, efficiency and reduction of emission. The transition to the Stage V emission regulation has started and will help further reduce the emission footprint of grooming and the services on SNOW HOW with FLEET MANAGEMENT and SNOW MEASUREMENT help to improve quality, efficiency and saving costs.”

“This journey will go on – always searching for innovations to fulfill our goal: the perfect pistes.”