Western Europe’s last snowboard maker suspends production

Snowboard manufacturer Global Sports Technologies (GST), Antiesenhofen/AT, is ceasing production as of July 31, nachrichten.at reports. 85 employees are affected by the decision. Sales had slumped to €7 million in the current fiscal year, down from €12 million a year earlier. The closure will be financed from the company’s own resources, the management rules out insolvency, company sources say.

GST is regarded as the last producer of snowboards in Western Europe. The plant in Upper Austria had supplied its products to several international snowboard brands. However, production capacities shifted to low-wage countries such as China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Dubai and Eastern Europe where labor, employment, environmental and trade laws are not comparable with Western standards, said GST managing director Thomas Berger. During periods of a strong euro, GST lost US customers. Mild winters and a declining trend in snowboarding led to further losses. A general crisis in the sport trading business did the rest, the managing director explained.