Commissioning and maintenance work on the start ramp systems of Peter Riedel GmbH completed worldwide

RASCHAU 20.11.2014 - The opening of the ski jumping season 2014/2015 is just around the corner — accordingly, operators of jumping ramps from all over the world have been busy in recent weeks. The facilities had to be made ready for winter. Not only the competitions but also the important training sessions of the teams were in focus.

For the team of the Ore Mountain start ramp manufacturer Peter Riedel GmbH, the winter preparation since September meant a full calendar. Next week, with the final maintenance work in Japan and France, the worldwide work will be completed. "Maintenance of the facilities is indispensable for a smooth season start and is clearly regulated by relevant EU regulations. My team has done a great job and I can guarantee full competition readiness for my facilities in the coming season," says managing director Peter Riedel. "Important is that the maintenance takes place in good time, during the snow-free period, from September to October."

Because of their northern location, the operators in Trondheim were once again the first to guarantee training on the ice ramp. In the following autumn weeks, the jumps in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Hinzenbach, Chaux-Neuve, Tschagguns and the Ramsau speed race were serviced.

The only sour note is currently the starting ramp in front of their own doorstep, as Riedel says: "In Oberwiesenthal internal structural problems meant we could not lay an ice ramp yet. Making sport a political issue saddens me. For the ramp operator this means revenue losses of up to 10,000 euros. It is also a missed opportunity for the location to offer local as well as international ski jumpers and teams a first-class training site. The normal hills are incredibly important for season preparation – due to the missing ice ramp, many teams trained elsewhere, although Oberwiesenthal, by height and facilities, might have been the better training site."

Thus Peter Riedel GmbH can look back on successful installations around the world, but in the Ore Mountains Peter Riedel only has one hope: "...that it will be better next year. Oberwiesenthal deserves this chance to once again make a name in the international training circuit!"