Leitner, Poma, Bartholet, Prinoth and Demaclenko are present in the world's leading ski resorts

It is finally ski season again and the HTI Group is once again focusing on technological innovation and sustainability with its ropeways, snow groomers and snowmaking systems during the coming winter season.

Vipiteno, November 2023 - In some places, like the Argentine Andes, the winter season including new ropeway innovations has already come to an end. In other regions, a total of 89 new ropeways from Leitner, Poma, Leitner Poma of America, and Bartholet will now accompany the upcoming start of the 2023/2024 ski season.

Hotspots this year are the ski resorts in the Alps and North America, which feature numerous novelties not only in classic winter sports countries such as Italy, France, Scandinavia, the Balkans, and Austria, but also at "newcomer destinations" such as Greece and Uzbekistan. In addition, the Group is still investing heavily in North America - particularly in the USA, where HTI after last year's success repeated the record for the American headquarters with 29 new ropeways systems.

Aside from the already operational new ropeways around the globe, Prinoth and Demaclenko are also preparing for the start of the winter season with the latest generations of snow groomers and snowmaking systems. 

"We invest significant amounts in research and development every year in order to make our winter technologies even more sustainable. Just before the new winter season starts, it is a major success and at the same time an important affirmation that numerous internationally renowned ski resorts have chosen us again," comments Anton Seeber, president of the HTI Group.

Italy, France, Scandinavia, the Balkans and Austria are those countries where most new HTI ropeways are opened. In Italy, for example, the winter premiere of the new gondola lift in the Brixen-Plose area is one of the eagerly anticipated highlights. In addition, the gondola lifts at the Campiglio Dolomiti di Brenta ski resort, in the Colere Ski Arena in the province of Bergamo, and in Andalo, Trentino, will also be put into service. In France, ten new ropeway systems in famous ski resorts such as La Plagne, Avoriaz, and the Pyrenees will provide the latest standards of transportation. In Kitzbühel, Austria, two more chairlifts with a significant focus on energy saving will be put into operation. The Austrian market will also be rounded out by two top-of-the-line 10-passenger gondola lifts, the "Galtbergbahn” in the Schlick 2000 ski resort and the "Wilde Krimml" in the Zillertal Arena, for the upcoming winter season. The Alpine picture is rounded off by the new installations in Switzerland, including the Alpine Crossing, which has been connecting Zermatt with Cervinia for a few weeks now, and the Ropetaxi gondola lift by Bartholet, which offers a real world first in Flims Laax: This is based on cabins that move autonomously in the station at a speed of 1 m/s.  This has resulted in a system that consumes up to 50 percent less energy than conventional gondola lifts. The 

Scandinavian countries also proved to be an important market this year, with new ropeways in Sweden, Norway, and Finland. But important ropeway projects were also realized in Southern Europe, such as in the Balkans, where Slovenia leads the way with six new installations. In Greece, after several years, investments were again made in new installations in the west of the Hellenic Peninsula and in Macedonia.

While Europe continues to be a key success factor for the HTI Group's winter business and Asia also continues to catch up with new installations in China, South Korea and Uzbekistan, important growth signals are also coming from North America in particular. 29 new installations clearly indicate that the ropeway boom is continuing, especially in the USA. A trend that already started last year and has intensified further in 2023. New ropeways have been implemented in some of the most renowned North American ski resorts - from Utah to New Mexico and Ontario to famous ski resorts such as Aspen, Winter Park and Breckenridge, among others.

The new winter season will see the launch of numerous new Prinoth snow groomers. Around 700 Prinoth snowgroomers, new and used machines, will be in operation at ski resorts on the various continents, with the Alps and North America once again playing a leading role. Also growing is the fleet of electric EMotion snow groomers, which were launched last year in the Scandinavian and French markets and will soon be in use on Swiss and North American slopes.

In the area of snowmaking, Demaclenko will open the new season with a total number of 2,500 snow guns. These include particularly extensive large-scale projects such as those on the Stubai Glacier in Austria and Myler Mountain Resort in Armenia.

To further optimize resources, more than 500 ski resorts around the world now rely on Skadii, the patented digital platform for ski resort management that makes processes and operations at ski resorts even more effective, efficient and clear.