It’s not that the company boss Peter Riedel sits behind a thick desk in Raschau-Markersbach, where his globally active company is based, while his track system is praised everywhere. And it’s also not true that Peter Riedel is (almost) everywhere so that people can clap him on the shoulders and congratulate him on his technology.
A very simple mantra that applies to the Saxons Riedel is: “Be there to know.” Be there to know, to be informed. Do not rely on secondhand information, so to speak. Or, more concretely, in his own words: “I attach enormous importance to exchange with organizers, officials of the International Association, athletes. I want to learn from the source what fits and what can be done even better. Where we have development potential. And this happens only on site, for current reasons. These conversations provide invaluable experiential insights, and that is why I sit more in the car and in the plane in winter out of conviction and necessity than in the office.”
This weekend Riedel was in Zakopane for the Ski Jump World Cup, which the Polish hosts dominated in both the individual and team events. From there, on Monday (Jan 29) he went straight to Oslo, where the Norwegian championships are scheduled for Wednesday. “These are the first competitions to be held at Holmenkollen with a Riedel track system,” says the entrepreneur with emotion and pride. “Holmenkollen – that is something very special!” The defending champion is Daniel Andre Tande, who won last year in Trondheim (where a product from the Riedel house is also in the pipeline), and Tande comes as newly crowned ski flying world champion to the national duel. “As much as I rejoice with every single athlete about his or her successes, what matters most to me is that in the take-off lane there are safe and fair conditions for everyone, from the first to the last,” Riedel explains his philosophy. “We do not crown winners. But in our area of expertise we want to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to win.”