HeiQ and Kjus CEOs put their brands to the test

The Swiss textile technology innovator HeiQ and one of the world’s leading premium ski brands, Kjus , created the tailor-made leading-edge bob suits during the first Cristal Da Glatsch bobsled race to support the oldest and only natural bobsleigh track in the world.

Just as KJUS, HeiQ wants to excel in making textiles perfect and best performing. Skintight and aerodynamic suits are essential for the race to reduce drag on the way into the bob and down the run. The gear combines a high level drag reduction performance with a comfortable fit enabled by a secret HeiQ finishing technology minimizing air resistance and enhanced quick dry properties.

The bob suit design came from Kjus, designed to minimize drag and enhance speed. “Sports, the mountains and the desire to always strive for perfection, are part of who we are. At KJUS, we’re always working towards the future of ski apparel. Speed is one of the goals we work towards, besides functionalities such as light-weight, breathability and warmth,” said Nico Serena, CEO of Kjus.

Speed is something both Serena and Carlos Centenze, CEO of HeiQ, experienced in trying the bob suit, both putting themselves forward as participants to race downhill at more than 130 km/h alongside experienced Swiss world champions, including  Marcel Rohner and Cla Mosca.

Carlo Centonze, CEO of HeiQ, was inspired by the unique event: “A state of play is critical to innovation. It’s no wonder that an event like this led to all sorts of (crazy) ideas in the HeiQ team’s heads. If I was going to sit in a bobsled I wanted to do it with gear that really lets me maximize speed.”

The customized ‘limited edition’ drag-reduced bob suits proved a success with the experience inspiring Centonze to develop the next ideas. Immediately after the race he was quoted as saying: “It was really cold. We need to add heating technology to this textile.”