SKI WAX HISTORY

HOLMENKOL is best known for being the oldest ski wax manufacturer in the world. Dr.
Fischer established the company “Vereinigte Wachswarenfabrik AG, Hornung u. Dr.
Fischer“ in 1922 in Ditzingen, Germany. At that time, Max Fischer, Doctor of Chemistry,
and himself an enthusiastic ski jumper, was mainly involved in the development of floor
waxes, floor stains and household candles. It soon became clear to Dr. Fischer that his
professional knowledge could also be beneficial to his hobby – and so he mixed parafins
and other waxes in his laboratory and used them on his skies.

The result was remarkable, the wooden skies no longer became soaked in water, their
gliding was superior and Dr. Fischer was able to derive even more pleasure from his ski
jumping. In the very year when the company was established, the second product group
was born – the ski wax range, named after the founder of the company’s favourite ski
jump in Oslo – the “HOLMENKOLLEN“. By 1948, the company had already achieved a
pioneering breakthrough. A wax system was developed on the basis of synthetic raw
materials, whereby the colours (silver/red/blue) of the ski wax characterized the respective
area of use. The blue wax was used for cold temperatures, the red for warmer
temperatures and the silver wax was applied to the skis if the snow was wet, dirty or
slushy. The market standard had been set. The meteoric development of ski coatings,
particularly since the 1970’s, has obviously also had an effect on ski wax technology. In
close collaboration with the ski and raw materials industries, new waxes were developed,
which were regularly tested and assessed by internationally experienced racers, wax teams
from different ski manufacturers and national teams.

The HOLMENKOL product philosophy is to achieve the highest standards of ski wax to suit the requirements of the racing world. In 1989, the very first fluoro waxes were introduced. Further developments,
such as ski wax additive systems, were successfully introduced into the market. At the
beginning of the 1990’s, the TopSpeed finish products – 100% hybrid fluorocarbon
mixtures – were developed. This top product range made it easier, particularly in the
racing field, to choose the correct wax mixture, thereby helping the world’s skiing elite to
secure numerous victories. In 2001, the TriMaxx range from HOLMENKOL marked a
milestone in flexible structural technology and, in 2002, the largest breakthrough was
achieved with the nanotechnology-based Nanowax-Cerax range. On 01.09.2002, the
company HOLMENKOL Sport-Technologies GmbH & Co. KG was established. This
provided the basis for combining exclusive access to the latest technologies and patents
on the one hand, with more than 80 years of knowledge and experience in the field of ski
wax development on the other, to achieve new success in the future and set even higher
standards.

Hi-tech product developments in the field of nanotechnology were further strengthened
through the joint venture with Nanogate and the collaboration with research partners
Sustech and ITCF.

In the future, HOLMENKOL will not be involving itself in textiles, ski sticks and other
hardware, but will channel all its innovative strength into the development of chemical
sports coatings for top sport. Finally, HOLMENKOL aims to continue to set new
technological standards and to remain the forerunner in the ski wax market: a guarantee
for "the license to win”.