Newsletter #5 - December 2008: 2nd IDE All Weather Snowmaker Successfully Operated at Pitztal

The leading ski resorts of Zermatt (Switzerland) and Pitztal (Austria) have launched a new era in snowmaking by choosing the IDE All Weather Snowmaker from Israel to deliver large amounts of snow at all ambient temperatures.
The first Snowmaker was assembled and tested in Israel during July 2008. The Snowmakers were shipped from Israel to Slovenia, loaded on a truck convoy and transported to the base stations of the ski resorts. The crews worked hard to transport the heavy equipment up to the mountains.
Following the successful operation of the snowmaker in Zermatt in November, IDE's engineers moved to Pitztal and successfully operated the Pitztal snowmaker. Last week.
As in Zermatt, Pitztal has already been covered by heavy snow for the last few weeks, therefore snowmaking will commence during spring 2009.
The Pitztal Glacier Resort and the Zermatt Mountain Resort were the first to realize that the All Weather Snowmaker holds great advantages for their operations.

The Zermatt Mountain Resort Project

The Matterhorn ski paradise is one of the largest ski resorts in the Alps and the only one that is open throughout the entire summer, where the national teams from all over the world are having their training. There is, however, one small problem. "As of late autumn the glacier slope comes to a halt approximately 500 meters before the mountain station, forcing skiers to cover the remaining stretch by foot“, says Christen Baumann, CEO of Zermatt Mountain Resort AG. "This is definitely not an ideal situation“. And, as Daniel Luggen, Zermatt Tourism Director, adds:" We definitely saw a decrease in bookings for the usually very popular ski tests that take place in October we have to offer our guests an enjoyable ski experience"

The Pitztal Glacier Resort Project

"By opting for this snow making technology, we can secure the timely start of our ski season“, says Dr. Hans Rubatscher, Chairman, Pitztal Glacier Resort. "This 1.5 million Euro investment will complement existing snow making systems by covering slopes that so far have had to rely exclusively on natural snowfall, “says Rubatscher. "This will enable us to offer European ski teams, who start their training season in autumn, a wide racing area. Furthermore, regular skiers will enjoy a proper ski season right from the very beginning".

IDE Technologies Ltd. is a world leader and pioneer in the development and construction of seawater desalination, water treatment and refrigeration plants. Active since 1965 IDE has more than 385 plants installed in over 40 countries world wide. For more information please visit www.ide-tech.com.

For further information please contact Mr. Moshe Tessel:
moshet@ide-tech.com