People

2019

Marcel Hirscher, Team Komperdell

Our must successful ski racer, Marcel Hirscher, ended his active career in 2019. He was mainly specialized in Slalom and Giant Slalom but also reached top positions in Super-G and Super combined. He is one of the most successful racers in history and was the first to win the Overall World Cup 8 times in a row. In addition, he won World Cup discipline rankings twelve times, gained 7 World Champion titles and the second most World Cup victories and World Cup podiums behind Ingemar Stenmark. He was crowned to Olympic Champion twice at the Olympic Games 2018 in Pyeongchang – in Giant slalom and Super combination and won the silver medal in Slalom at the Olympic Games 2014 in Sochi. Since winning the World Championship Slalom in Åre on 17th February 2019 he has been the most successful male ski racer in the history of Alpine World Ski Championships.

2019

Joining the italian and french Ski Pool

The most successful brand in ski racing expanded with joining the french and italian Ski Pools. An important milestone not only in racing, but also for our business partners. We are very proud to count more than 200 athletes from the Juniors to the A-squad to our racing team.

1993 - 2019

Gerhard Eppenschwandtner, Production Manager

Gerhard Eppenschwandtner was the first employee to join our team when we rebuilt Komperdell in Mondsee in 1983.

Right from the start, Gerhard proved to be a real stroke of luck. With enormous commitment and a lot of technical skill, Gerhard was one of the key players in our success story in Mondsee.

For more than 35 years, from the first steps to what now is probably the most modern and sustainable pole factory in the world, Gerhard accompanied and shaped every single step of our development

Over the years, Gerhard has shaped the culture of our company in dealing with our employees, customers and suppliers, with his consistent but always humane management style.

In 2019 Gerhard started into his well-deserved retirement and handed over the management of production to Charly Lindinger, his right hand and our long-standing telescopic-poles manager.

2019

1st Komperdell Race Camp

2018

Partnership with our athletes

Each of our products is created from the initial idea to the final product together with our employees and athletes in our headquarters in Mondsee/Austria. We are proud to step ahead and happy to provide our athletes, customers and business partners with the best possible material. We will always work obsessively to make our products even better and to continue remaining a leader in innovation.

2015

Ski World Championships in Vail/Beaver Creek

The 43rd alpine ski World Championships took place from 2nd to 15th February 2015 in Vail/Beaver Creek. It was the most successful World Championship for Komperdell so far. 9x gold, 4x silver, 2x bronze – Komperdell, the #1 in racing!
Our most successful racers at World Championships 2015:
Anna Fenninger / AUT, double World Champion, 1 Silver
Marcel Hirscher / AUT, double World Champion, 1 Silver
Tina Maze / SLO, double World Champion, 1 Silver
Nicole Hosp / AUT, World Champion, 1 Silver
Eva-Maria Brem / AUT, World Champion
Hannes Reichelt / AUT, World Champion

2015

EVA WALKNER - double Freeride World Tour winner

After several injuries, Eva Walkner ended her racing carreer and qualified for the exclusive World Tour in 2010. She finished the season as vize world champion with a victory on 10th March 2012 in Fieberbrunn and two podiums. After a torn ligament in 2013, Eva won at her Comeback race in Chamonix in January 2015. Three second places later, she was crowned Freeride World Champion in 2015 and with two victories in Chamonix and Haines and two second places - she repeated this performance in 2016 – of course with KOMPERDELL poles. After Eva ended her active career in 2017, she also regularly supports us at shootings and we are happy to have her in our team.

2014

“Sherpa Project” for true heroes of the mountains!

Together with our partner AMICAL alpin we found a way to support the true heroes of the mountains – the Sherpas in Nepal. Today, almost all extreme mountaineers trust in their services and we wanted to support it. The idea originated when our extreme athletes Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner and Ralf Dujmovits visited our headquarters in Mondsee. Both are in our team for more than a decade and support dozens of charity projects like hospitals and schools in Nepal. Gerlinde and Ralf established contact with AMICAL alpin and the project took its course.

2013

30th anniversary of our very first employees

Our employees of the first hour - Edi, Charly, Seppi, Brigitte and Gerhard – were honored. The average of our employees working for us counts 21 years – this makes us very proud!

2011

Komperdell summit meeting

On 3rd March 2011, a special kind of summit meeting took place in Mondsee, directly at our company headquarters. Top alpinists such as the extreme climbers Alex & Thomas Huber (Huberbuam), as well as the extreme mountaineers Ralf Dujmovits, Viki Groselj and Hans Kammerlander followed our invitation to answer questions to media representatives and our employees. 

2009

Ralf Duijmovits

With climbing Lhotse on 20 May 2009, Ralph Dujmovits became the first German mountaineer and the 16th worldwide  - to conquer all 14 mountains over 8,000 meters. Except Mount Everest, he succeeded all ascents without additional artificial oxygen. Ralf is also part of Komperdell family since the very beginning and supports us with shootings, lectures and events. We are very proud to have Ralf in our team.

1982 - 2009

Christian Hager

In 1982, as an intern at the time, one of the employees applied for a job who would become the face of the Camaro and Komperdell brands on the German market for decades. A passionate surfer, skier and climber in his leisure time, professionally Christian was above all a true sales talent. The dynamics of sales, the joy of working with customers and his ability to constantly identify and seize new opportunities shaped his work.

Christian had an extraordinary talent for always recognizing new chances and possibilities in a sales talk and it was not unusual that at the end of a Komperdell appointment, both a Komperdell order and a much larger Camaro order were the result In February 2009 Christian died in an avalanche accident tragic for his family, for us personally and our companies.

It is nice, however, to see that even today, more than 10 years after his death, he still appears in talks with our customers. For several of our customers in Germany and Austria he still is part of Camaro and Komperdell. It is a pleasure to see how much respect and recognition is paid to him from his customers, in our house and from our family.

2008

Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner

On 1st May 2008 at 12:00 o’clock Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner stood on the top of “Dhaulagiri” (8,167m). She was the first woman to conquer 11 of 14 mountains over 8,000 metres without artificial oxygen. We are proud to count such an outstanding athlete to our team. Gerlinde has been part of us since the very first hour, the first contract was made while she was still working as a nurse. We are happy that until now, Gerlinde supports us at shootings, lectures and events. 

2006

Entry into “green age”

2001/2002

Top mountaineering athletes trust Komperdell

With Alexander and Thomas Huber - the “Huberbuam” - being in our Team Komperdell, we are now in top postion of climbing athletes. We are proud to have the two siblings in our team. Together they form a rope team and achieve extreme first accents.

2000

First complete downhill from Everest on skis - Davo Karničar

In October 2020, Davo Karničar ventured to the highest mountain on earth. After reaching the summit, he started the descent at 07:00 o’clock in the morning and reached the 3500-meter lower basic camp via the south saddle only 4 hours and 40 minutes later. The great snow conditions even allowed to ski the Hillary Step, which enabled him to be the first to conquer the Everest completely on skis.

2000's

Many racing athletes swear and trust in KOMPERDELL poles

We are proud having one of the best worldcup racers in history: 
Michaela Dorfmeister, Alexandra Meissnitzer, Renate Götschl, Anita Wachter, Anja Paerson, Tina Maze, Elisabeth Görgl, Rainer Schönfelder, Nicole Hosp, Stefan Görgl, Kathrin Zettel, Michael Walchhofer, Ted Ligety, Andrea Fischbacher, Veronika Zuzulova, Klaus Kröll, Manuel Osborne-Paradis, Carlo Janka and many more....

1996

Hans Kammerlander - first downhill from Mount Everest

First climb without oxygen in only 17 hours from the advanced base camp (6400m). So far, the fastest ascent and first descent from Mount Everest. In total, Hans Kammerlander climbed up a total of 13 eight-thousanders. “The mountain has changed my life, and the mountains will remain my life”. He is still one of the most successful climbers and is an important part of Team Komperdell. 

1994

Ulrike Strasser

Eager after completing her business studies in 1989, Ulli started her career in our company. She earned her first spurs as export manager for Camaro and Komperdell. During these years in export, it quickly became clear that we had found a special talent there.

In 1994, Ulli was appointed to the management of Komperdell. After the first years of setting up production, Komperdell developed under her leadership into a truly solution- and customer-oriented company.

In 1999 Ulli (then) switched to her father's business in the catering sector, which she managed for more than 8 years. We were all the happier that we were able to win Ulli over again when she decided in 2007 to turn her back on gastro.

Today, her focus is more at Camaro, where she is responsible for the internal organization as well as purchasing and production.

Still dynamic and enthusiastic as she was right after her studies, many of our employees today benefit from Ulli's experience and her exceptional talent when it comes to organizing oneself.

1994 - 2001

Anita Tangerner

1991

Josef Kerschbaumer, managing director Komperdell

Born and grown-up in Saint Lorenz, Josef started his career at Komperdell in 1991, still very young at the time but diligent, eager and interested to learn something new..(again and again.)

He is one of our staff members who have turned out to be a real stroke of luck for our company. During his long career, he has got to know almost every area of ​​our company and has repeatedly exceeded our expectations. Hardly any other member of our Komperdell team is as competent in so many areas of the company as Josef.

Today, Josef is one of those people who shape our brand in a really sustainable way. In the management. His focus today is in the areas of sales, production, human resources and organization.

In addition to his drive and love to work with customers, he has retained his down-to-earth nature and his calm and level-headed manner, which over the years have brought him so much respect (and respect) both in-house and among our customers and business partners.

Josef likes to spend his free time in the mountains, mountain biking and hiking in summer and - of course - skiing in winter.

90's

Material supplier at the ski pools SUI, GER, SE, CAN, RUS, NZ

Whether in spotlight or apart, a good relationship to our engaged athletes is us an especially important matter until today. A connection which flows into our daily work and improves our products over and over again. Lots of well-known characters of the skiing and mountaineering world are perpetuated at our KOMPERDELL hall of fame.

Toni Sailer: triple Olympic Champion, seventimes World Champion; Annemarie Moser-Pröll: Olympic Champion, five times World Champion, seven times  overall World Cup winner; Petra Kronberger: double Olympic Champion, World Champion, triple overall World Cup winner; Patrick Ortlieb: Olympic Champion, World Champion; Anita Wachter: World Cup winner; Daniel Mahrer: 3rd place Overall Worldcup; Renate Götschl: World Champion; Michaela Gerg-Leitner: Bronze at World Championships; Thomas Sykora: Bronze at Olympic Games; Elfi Eder: Olympic Champion, World Champion , Silver at Olympic Games, Bronze at World Championships; Claudia Riegler: World Champion, 1 times Silver,  1 times Bronze at World Championships; Alexandra Meissnitzer: 1 times Silver, 2 times Bronze at Olympic Games, 2 times World Champion, 1 times Silver at World Championships; Christian Mayer: 2 times Bronze at Olympic Games, 1 times Bronze at World Championships; Werner Franz: multiple World Cup winner; Anna Ottosson: 1 times Bronze at Olympic Games , 1 times Silver at World Championships; Anja Paersson: 1 times Olympic Champion, 1 times Silver, 4 times Bronze at Olympic Games, 7 times World Champion, 2 times Silver, 4 times Bronze at World Championships; Franz Klammer: Olympic Champion, double World Champion, 1 times Silver at World Championships; Katharina Anna Gutensohn: 1 times Silver at World Championships; Hans Enn: 1 times Bronze at Olympic Games, 1 times Bronze at World Championships; Erwin Resch: 1 times Bronze at World Championships; Katja Seizinger: triple Olympic Champion, 2 times Bronze at Olympic Games, World Champion, 3 times Silver at World Championships; Helmut Höflehner: multiple World Cup winner; Leonhard Stock: Olympic Champion, World Champion, Bronze at World Championships

1987

Thomas Roiser follows into the footsteps of Erich Roiser

The youngest son of Erich Roiser, Thomas Roiser, started working in the company. On his first trip with a 130kg luggage to the American trade fair SIA and Outdoor Retailer in January 1987, he discovered the American trekking market. He immediately took up the opportunity to build up the market overseas including our biggest customers (LL-Bean and REI). 1997 he took over the management of CAMARO and KOMPERDELL.

1984

Charly Lindinger

Production worker from the first hour.
Charly began his career in our company in 1984 and, like Gerhard, was one of the first 5 employees who came to us when we founded our Mondsee plant.

Charly played a key role in setting up the telescope department, accompanied the development of our telescopic poles and managed them with great care and technical skill, from initially a few thousand pairs to our current size of over 400,000 pair. For many years the right hand of our production manager Gerhard Eppenschwandtner, we considered ourselves lucky to have such an experienced and capable man in Charly, who could seamlessly take over from Gerhard.

Today, Charly manages the production in Mondsee with great skill, care and understanding for our employees, thus ensuring the necessary continuity which is so important to us.

1983

The family Roiser (CAMARO) took over KOMPERDELL

Erich Roiser took over the company KOMPERDELL since the family Bednar had financial difficulties. Until 1983 only active in water sports, the successful company CAMARO was looking for a counterpart to the summer-focused business to establish a second mainstay. Since KOMPERDELL worked mainly in winter business, the takeover was the perfect complement. Thus, the production of KOMPERDELL got relocated to St. Lorenz near Mondsee in the beautiful Salzkammergut. The traditional family businesses were brought together at this location and can still be found here today. KOMPERDELL was completely modernized and repositioned. An investment of 20 million Schillings in the machinery park created the world’s most modern pole production at that time. KOMPERDELL developed into a technology leader in the sector of skiing and telescopic poles - on the international market. Of course, environmental protection already played an important role at that time. Great emphasis was placed on integrating the factory buildings with a production area of 5000m² harmoniously into the landscape. The factory was and is still located in one of the most scenic areas of Austria. The first managing director to Mr. Roiser is his brother-in-law Heinz Bachmann.

1976

Winter Olympic Games

The Austrian success story continues: Franz Klammer wins gold in downhill at the Olympic winter games in Innsbruck – of course with KOMPERDELL poles. With 25 downhill victories Franz Klammer is the most successful downhill racer in World Cup history ahead of Peter Müller with 19 victories. He won all classic downhill races, winning the Hahnenkamm race in Kitzbühel four times, the Lauberhorn race in Wengen three times and at Saslong in Gröden four times. 1975 he won in Wengen with a record lead of 3.6 seconds. KOMPERDELL also became exclusive material supplier of the austrian Ski Pool, as well of many others leading international skiing nations. We established ourselves as the most successful brand in racing!

1967 - 1973

Erich Roiser, founder of CAMARO

Erich Roiser ran the ski school “Ski Boot Hill” in the northernmost ski resort of North America - Fairbanks Alaska. He was among the best ski instructors there. With his passion for skiing, he turned his hobby into profession in 1983 with acquiring KOMPERDELL.

1956

the black flash from Kitzbühel

Toni Sailer, the black flash from Kitzbühel, wins at the Olympic games in Cortina. With the new KOMPERDELL steel poles, he achieved gold in the disciplines downhill, giant slalom and slalom. The longstanding amicable connection to KOMPERDELL remained throughout his life, even as an enthusiastic golfer.