The Salewa-Oberalp Group climbs the COVID-19 crisis

Among the numerous Italian companies, both outdoor and non-outdoor, which have taken action to help the community to deal with the Coronavirus emergency, the Salewa-Oberalp Group is facing a courageous challenge on a demanding "mountain".

Thursday 26 March 2020 8 minutes reading time

An ascent to an unknown peak. A difficult but not impossible climb. An extraordinary commitment based on calm and understanding ourselves, essential to not get lost and to go further. That knowing how to give up that is asked of everyone. Even to the best climbers who know that their obsession can become. But they also know that difficulties must not be hidden. Obstacles must be known. And you need to face your fears to overcome them. To escape hysteria and obsessions. To set limits. To commit to overcome them. A conversion. A different way to face a "mountain" that this time is testing hard. A "vertical" that does not discount anyone called a coronavirus that an outdoor giant such as the Salewa-Oberalp Group has chosen to "scale" in its own way, stopping its production, or rather, remodeling it by creating coats and protective masks to be used to the South Tyrolean Health Service and Civil Protection, in support of all those "climbers" who fight against COVID-19. The weekly production of 50,000 masks in polyester-mixed cotton and 800 protective gowns in Gore-Tex® and PowerTex, technical fabrics normally used for mountaineering jackets, allowed the medical structures of South Tyrol to face the most immediate emergency of lack of material. At the same time, through its licensee partner Salewa in the Chinese city of Xiamen (China), the Salewa-Oberalp Group was able to order a total of 16.5 million surgical and KN95 protective masks and 600,000 protective gowns, of which 1.5 millions of masks have been ordered by the Autonomous Province of Bolzano, while an additional 15 million masks by the State Civil Protection. In close collaboration with the health authorities and the Civil Protection, several aviation routes have been opened to be used for the delivery of the gigantic volume of objects. The material was transported from China to Vienna thanks to a unique collaboration with Austrian Airlines and the Austrian government. With extraordinary action, two commercial Boeing 777s were used to transport the first shipment of medical supplies via the fastest route that could be found. Transportation by airplanes made available by Austrian Airlines will be possible for as long as necessary and may continue to bring medical supplies to Italy and Europe. “The competence in the production of mountain sports clothing for our Salewa, Dynafit, Evolv, Pomoca and Wild Country brands, the logistical organization, the network of consolidated international relations and the ability to act quickly, were the elements that they have enabled us to make an active contribution to dealing with the emergency ", explains Christoph Engl, CEO of the Salewa-Oberalp Group. Masks and gowns from waste materials “We are used to taking on our responsibilities, not only for our employees and consumers, but also for the society in which we live and work - explains Heiner Oberrauch, President of the Salewa-Oberalp Group. Throughout Italy, as in the territory of our headquarters in Bolzano, there is an emergency in the emergency, represented by a severe shortage of protective medical devices for staff treating patients with COVID-19. To respond quickly to the needs of the South Tyrolean Health Service, we started sewing water-repellent protective masks and gowns at our branch in Montebelluna, reusing the waste materials of our productions. " "This is a new dimension of the Salewa-Oberalp Group's commitment to sustainability and social responsibility - concludes Heiner Oberrauch - that we never imagined we would implement two weeks ago. As a private company, we were able to make resources available and speed of intervention to anticipate all costs for public institutions, also organizing official permits for transport to China and to the final destination. Our logistics department will handle the distribution of the material on behalf of the South Tyrolean Health Service, reorganizing its workload and increasing the number of shifts. " This new dimension of the commitment to sustainability and social responsibility undertaken by the Salewa-Oberalp Group is an injection of courage. We have to believe it. We can do it and go further. How they can go beyond climbers in their solo climb. But this time on this "vertical" we are all together, looking ahead with responsibility. With confidence, too. Beyond that necessary meter that acts as a boundary to the times of the Coronavirus.