Atomic Skis

Atomic Austria GmbH

File:Logo-with-device01.jpg
Type	Subsidiary of Amer Sports
Industry	Snowsports
Founded	1955
Headquarters	Altenmarkt, Salzburg, Austria
Products	Ski equipment, Ski apparel
Revenue	371 of the 1.533 billion EUR (2009) Amer Sports Turnover
Number of employees	600
Parent	Amer Sports
Website	www.atomic.com

Atomic (officially Atomic Austria GmbH) is an Austrian company that manufactures and sells skiing equipment (skis, ski boots, bindings, helmets, ski poles, goggles and protective equipment) under different brand names. Atomic is also a well-known manufacturer of alpine skis.

Background

Alois Rohrmoser founded Atomic in 1955. Rohrmoser initially employed four members of staff, and the company produced around 40 pairs of skis a year. Annual production grew 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, the company produced approximately 17,000 pairs of skis, 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 majority of their 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. Atomic continued to expanded its range, and in 1989, it 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 faced financial difficulties due to high products rejection when transitioning to the Schalenski technology, and to failures in the booming snowboard market. In 1994, the BAWAG requested Atomic to be put under insolvency procedure. In November 1994, the Amer Sports Group (which also includes Wilson, Suunto, Precor, Volant and Salomon) acquired Atomic for 918.7 million schillings (66.8 million euros), and in March 2006 the insolvency procedures were lifted.
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 developed 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 has recently developed Memory Fit, a heat fitting technology that adapts the boot to the users foot, which can be found on two of the market's top selling boots.

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 ski racing, freestyle skiing, touring skiers, Nordic combined skiers, biathlon racers, and long distance Nordic skiers.