“Here with us, you can sense this race spirit. On the one side the grinding machine, on the other side the race office. And you smell the wax, that typical smell of racing.” When you listen to Hubert Neureiter, mastermind of the Atomic Pro Center, you realize that you are in a very special place at the Atomic factory premises.
The Pro Center has been the "hot spot" for all athletes since May 2015 and has grown continuously since then. The decisive factor for the construction of our own competence center was to bundle service, know-how and access to racing products and to create a contact point for our racers and partner retailers.
“If you are pursuing a professional career as a junior skier, you need top equipment from the age of 10, otherwise you have no chance. And that's why we decided that we want to offer appropriate opportunities to all racers," says Hubert Neureiter, giving an insight into the hour of birth of the Pro Center. Right from the start, the goal and aspiration was to offer a complete package that includes the entire setup where the boot is perfectly tailored to the ski.
WE WERE THE FIRST TO MAKE OUR RACE DEPARTMENT ACCESSIBLE NOT ONLY TO WORLD CUP AND EUROPEAN CUP RACERS, BUT ALSO TO ALL OTHER RACERS AND PRO CENTER PARTNERS. BEFORE THAT, IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO GET MATERIAL FROM PRO SERIES.
Racers with a FIS code, from junior racers to Masters athletes, are exclusively offered the same opportunities as professionals. Since the current season, there has also been the opportunity to test the products on the slopes before you buy them.
PROFESSIONAL EQUIPMENT ‘TO GO‘
Another advantage of the Pro Center is the close proximity to the production site: All products can be taken home right after individual consulting and adjustment.
Top athletes like Sofia Goggia, Mikaela Shiffrin, Aleksander Kilde and Co. also drop by the Pro Center on a regular basis. However, not only to have the equipment adapted for the upcoming races, but also to give important input for the development and improvement of skis and ski boots. “Most innovations actually come from the athletes. And these inputs are then also found on the ski slopes," says Hubert Neureiter.
HIGH-TECH MEETS HANDCRAFT
In the Atomic Pro Center it is not only the equipment that is professional, but also the service and support. All employees have racing experience or come from a ski construction background and worked as service men in the Alpine Ski World Cup - another reason for establishing the Pro Center, because the know-how of these experts should not get lost when they leave the racing circuit. The juniors in particular benefit from the competence center by having experienced ski technicians who take care of their racing equipment. In addition to the grinding machines from Wintersteiger, the Pro Center also offers to prepare the skis with manual service.
Between 4000 and 5000 athletes and service men find their way to Altenmarkt every year. The service is now offered all year round. “Especially in April/May, when the World Cup racers come by and pick up and adjust their equipment, and from August on, before the new season starts, there is a lot going on here. It can happen that the young up-and-coming racer sits right next to Manuel Feller during the boot fitting.”
This is one of those moments when this race spirit is even more intense at the Pro Center.