Blizzard Sport
| Subsidiary of Tecnica Group | |
| Industry | Snowsports |
| Founded | 1945 |
| Headquarters | Mittersill, Salzburg, Austria |
| Products | Ski equipment |
| Website | www.blizzard-ski.com |
Blizzard is a division of the Tecnica Group and is specialized in the manufacturing of Austrian alpine ski, based in Mittersill, Salzburg, Austria.
Blizzard was established in 1945 by Anton Arnsteiner ("der Toni"), as he returned home from the second world war, in the family joinery workshop, and started producing skis besides wooden furniture.
The Blizzard brand was registered in 1953. In 1954, Blizzard became the first manufacturer to mass-produce polyethylene ski bases. Blizzard's first expansion occurred in 1957 as well as the introduction of metal and fiberglass as new materials. 1963 saw a great part of the factory burned down. In 1970, as production reached 500,000 skis per year, company name was changed from "Blizzard Skifabrik Anton Arnsteiner" to "Blizzard GmbH". In 1976 a second production site was opened near Munich.
In 1980 Blizzard introduced the "Thermoski", after 6 years of development. In 1996 Blizzard introduced its first Carving ski, but it also applied for insolvency and was bought-up by US company SCOTT Sports.
It was sold to Karl Hofstätter (33.3%) and Anton Stöckl (66.6%) in 2005, who sold it to the Tecnica Group in 2006 and 2007, respectively. Sales of Blizzard skis are now completely integrated in the sale organization of Tecnica Group.
Blizzard's presence on the FIS Alpine World Cup circuit is represented by several racers, including Austrian Reinfried Herbst and Japanese racer Akira Sasaki.
Throughout the years, Blizzard can be proud of great results awarded by its skiers team:
As of February 25, 2007, Blizzard placed 10th in the overall World Cup points standings.
In March 2007, Blizzard announced that former World Cup racer and US Pro Tour champion Bernhard Knauss would be taking over as Blizzard's race manager.
In 2010, Reinfried Herbst wins on the new Blizzard Ski the Slalom World Cup and gets the small crystal globe.
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Wikipedia