Heerbrugg/Switzerland, Sterzing/Italy, April 7, 2015 — Operators of ski slopes are facing new challenges to save natural resources used in slope preparation. Two best-in-class manufactures have strategically partnered to improve the ecological footprint of ski areas.
Leica Geosystems, global provider of measurement and visualisation technologies, and specialising in machine control, has collaborated with Northern Italian based company Prinoth, a leading producer of snow grooming machines and tracked utility vehicles, to provide more efficiency in grooming slopes, dramatically reducing fuel emissions and reducing costs considerably. Prinoth has chosen the proven technology of Leica Geosystems by adding iCON alpine 3D machine control to its new snow groomers to be used in preparation of ski slopes starting this winter season. The pioneering Prinoth snow groomers will set new standards in terms of performance, fuel efficiency, and reduced emission values. The snow groomers will be the first in the world equipped with this revolutionary machine control technology for snow depth measurement.
Accurate and efficient snow height measurement
To make snow grooming as efficient as possible, it’s important to know the exact snow depth under the plate attachments when processing snow volumes. The new grooming vehicles from Prinoth have iCON machine control, which directly measures snow depth under the plate and delivers real-time data on the display in the cabin. This enables operators to respond to snow conditions immediately and perfectly prepare slopes. This not only saves time, costs and adds safety to slopes, but also reduces water and energy needed for slope preparation, dramatically decreasing the customer’s ecological footprint.
Office visualisation with web-based solution
The iCON alpine is a complete management solution for ski slope infrastructure. The system allows exchange of all snow height information and current working status of the ski slope simultaneously among all snow groomer operators in real-time. The data can also be transferred in real-time via a web server to and from any third party GIS snow management solution, such as Alpine PRO, for detailed analysis of snow height and management.
Proven machine control solutions from Leica Geosystems
Constructions sites have relied daily on iCON machine control by Leica Geosystems for many years, and the offering is well known for improving productivity and ensuring optimal use of resources. The iCON alpine adapted and continued to develop iCON machine control’s proven technology for use in snow depth measurement.
Muigg Andreas, Head of Program- & Product Management at Prinoth says:“ We are proud to announce this strategic partnership and we are convinced that this system is the best solution available on the market compared with other snow depth measurement systems. The accurate sensors transfer the height information below blade in real-time to the display in the cab, thus enabling snow groomer operators now to act – and not just react.”
“We are thrilled about our strategic partnership with Prinoth, which allows us to bring innovative technologically-advanced measurement services to ski slope operators,” said Johan Arnberg, president of Leica Geosystems Machine Control Division. “By including the iCON alpine 3D machine control on Prinoth’s renowned snow groomers, ski service professionals aren’t just reducing costs and improving efficiency but also solidifying their positions as stewards of the environment.”
Availability
The pioneering new snow groomers by Prinoth using the iCON alpine technology is immediately available. Ordering information and details are available from all authorised Prinoth and Leica Geosystems representatives.
For the ski areas of Germany, Austria and Italy, please contact Triginos (www.iconalpine.com).
The new „Snow Depth Measurement“ software will also be on display at the Interalpin trade fair (www.interalpin.at) from April 15 – 17, 2015, in Innsbruck/Austria
