Specialist for hardened and tempered shaped wire edges

Expert partner for skis and hard punching

Waelzholz International, located in Götzis, Austria, specializes in the production of both hardened and tempered and non-tempered shaped wire edges. These products are primarily used in the ski and snowboard industry, for which the company manufactures around 40,000 km of steel edges every year. Through a combination of extremely homogeneous materials and a specially developed manufacturing process, Waelzholz International produces uniform profiles for particularly demanding requirements. What makes this process unique is that the ski and snowboard edges are punched in a hardened and tempered state, achieving tighter tolerances and higher quality as a result. Waelzholz International supplies both profiles on rolls ready to be cut to length and bent by the customer, as well as ready-made, wrap-around edges manufactured using a specially developed, CNC-controlled bending machine. The company’s product range extends from fast yet highly customized solutions in the smallest batch sizes to mass production of complex edge shapes. Waelzholz International holds a global market share of about 70 percent for ski edges and 90 percent for snowboard edges.

In addition to ski and snowboard edges, Waelzholz International has developed an additional area of business: ski reinforcing steel strip. This reinforcing steel strip is used as an inlay in skis that are sprayed from PU foam. The strip gives the skis the necessary torsional stiffness.

The Austrian location applies its comprehensive know-how in ski edge production to the benefit of customers from other sectors as well. This is because the company's expertise in punching hardened and tempered materials allows it to provide special services for customers in the field of punching and bending. The focus here is on consulting and special solutions for the process referred to as hard punching. In close cooperation with Waelzholz’s central Materials Technology department, the company develops customized materials for its customers and adapts them to the punching process. This means that hard punching can often replace the process of piece hardening the punched and bent parts at the customer’s site. Waelzholz International also has extensive experience in building tools for punching hardened strip. If required, customers can also rely on tailored consulting services in this field. The right material from Waelzholz combined with a tool designed specifically for the materials’ extreme hardness can help increase part quality and reduce reject rates – added value that truly benefits the customer.