Atomic Skis

ATOMIC Austria GmbH

File:Atomic logo.png
Company type	Subsidiary of Amer Sports
Industry	Snowsports
Founded	1955
Headquarters	Altenmarkt, Salzburg , Austria
Products	Ski equipment, Snowboard equipment
Revenue	1.533 billion EUR (2009) (Amer Sports Turnover)
Number of employees	400 (2007)
Parent	Amer Sports
Website	www.atomicsnow.com

Atomic (officially Atomic Austria GmbH) is an Austrian company which manufactures and sells skiing equipment (skis, ski boots, bindings, helmets, ski poles, goggles and protective equipment).

Background

Atomic was founded by Alois Rohrmoser in 1955. To begin with he employed four members of staff and the company produced around 40 pairs of skis a year. Annual production had grown to 5,000 by the beginning of the 1960s, and industrial ski production began with the expansion of the Wagrain site in 1966. In 1967 some 17,000 pairs of skis were produced, rising to 36,000 in the following year and 72,000 in 1969. In 1971 the company increased its production capacity by building a second factory in Altenmarkt im Pongau, where the lion's share of ski production still takes place. In 1981, Atomic started production in the Bulgarian city of Chepelare, becoming the first west-block company to open a plant in the eastern-block countries. At the same time Atomic expanded its range and in 1989 became the first one-stop supplier for skis, bindings, boots and poles. Ski production peaked at 831,000 pairs in 1991 and 1992.
However, Atomic was facing financial difficulties due to high products rejection when transiting to the Schalenski technology, and to failures in the booming snowbaord market. In 1994, the BAWAG requested Atomic to be put under insolvency procedure, that was lifted in March 2006. In November 1994), the Amer Sports Group (which also includes Wilson, Suunto, Precor, Volant and Salomon) acquired Atomic for 918,7 Million Schilling (66,8 Millionen Euro).
Today Atomic manufactures around 600,000 pairs of skis per year.

Technology

Atomic regards itself as a technological pioneer in the ski sport industry, and its aim is to "make every skier a better skier". Atomic's milestone innovations include the Bionic System (1979), the HY-Vitronic construction (1980) and the Doubledeck (2008), the first technology to automatically adapt the radius and flex to the style of the skier and skiing conditions. Atomic's latest innovation is the LiveFit (2009) – a ski boot which automatically adapts to the shape of the foot. Since 2009 Atomic's skis have also been available with various Rocker technologies.

Atomic is also committed to the development of more environmentally-friendly production methods: the factory in Altenmarkt uses a wood pellet heating system during the manufacturing process. The "Renu" line comprises skis and boots largely made of recyclable and renewable materials.

Sponsorship

Atomic currently sponsors male and female athletes in downhill ski racing, freestyle skiing, touring skiers, nordic combined skiers, biathlon racers, and long distance nordic skiers.

External links

• Atomic's website
• ATOMIC Company Information