were the first to print a ski boot in a 3D printer.” He passionately follows the latest technological developments, loves to talk about artificial intelligence and robotics and has his thoughts on the future of his sector: “I think in 10 years we won’t have any more resources to waste and won’t be producing more useless stuff that’s thrown away after a few months.” The market will change, he says: “It will no longer be producers forcing their products on customers, but rather ma nufacturers making what customers want.” “CHANGE IS THE ONLY CONSTANT” Heierling’s workshop looks as you would imagine a workshop to look like, just little neater perhaps. A 3D prototype of a ski boot in yellow and white looks down from one of the shelves while his fellow H1 boots are being lined with grey fake fur. US ski pro Resi Stiegler is watching, too – there is a poster of her up on the wall. Little seems to have changed around here in the last generation, and it will remain that way apart from a few technical adaptations, says Heierling in his black polo neck. But let’s not forget about his other plans – expan
My Davos Klosters 2017/18
ding his network and outsourcing the sales department, for example. He already ships his boots to the top skiing destinations in the US. And then there are the imminent general changes in the industry: “Skiing is becoming more and more of an elitist sport, and pressure in the business will increase even more through global warming. So it’s a tough market, but it also offers opportuni ties for those willing to take them,” Heier ling explains. “We mustn’t turn a blind eye to what’s going on in the world,” he adds. “After all, the only constant is change.” THE HAPPINESS THAT COMES FROM LESS Hans-Martin Heierling has proven time and time again that he knows how to hand le change. Who would have thought that he would be back in Davos one day, making ski boots? Yes, Heierling was born in the town, and even grew up in the workshop. But he has also lived in South America for 20 years: “We had this farm in Bolivia, took road trips all over the continent, crossed the Atlantic, spent months on our motorbi kes,” he remembers. It is this freedom that nurtures his inventiveness: “You are outside,
under the open sky, and then you see a certain movement in an animal and you think, wait, that could be useful in skiing!” Of course, all those years on a different continent have shaped him, made him more open-minded, maybe even humbler: “You return to what really matters, realise that we are actually happier with less baggage. Less truly is more.” Today, Hans-Martin Heierling loves living back on his old stomping ground (“This really is the place to be – and then there’s beautiful nature, clean air and clean wa ter!”). He has recently bought a traditional, 18th-century farmhouse, complete with an old wood stove that he loves to light. Even though he is so passionate about his job, he places great importance on keeping a good life-work balance. “Others may have their psychiatrists – I prefer two or three quiet days in the mountains,” he says, laughingly. That’s where he recharges his batteries, that’s what keeps him going – towards new ideas for change.
51