The Bozener Oberalp Group, to which the brands Salewa, Dynafit, Wild Country, Evolv, Pomoca and LaMunt belong, wants to take over the German ski touring skin manufacturer Velotex. The purchase agreement has already been signed with the parent company, Pongs Velours GmbH & Co. KG, and will take effect on January 1, 2022.
A ski touring skin brand, Pomoca, is already under the umbrella of the group. This takeover is intended to enable the Oberalp Group, among other things, to influence the entire supply chain for the end product of ski touring skin and thus better protect the valuable raw material mohair.
The main raw material of a ski skin is a special, technical textile velor woven fabric product. This is made from a high-quality wool yarn, mohair wool, and woven using a precise technique, the so-called double plush technique, in such a way that the ski touring skins are on the one hand slippery and on the other hand non-slip. The market for touring in winter is growing very quickly, which has also led to shortages of mohair yarn as a raw material.
Velotex has been the specialized producer of raw materials for the ski touring and ski skin industry for many years and employs twelve people in Wermelskirchen. Pomoca employs 50 people in Lausanne / Denges in Switzerland.