SKISTAR and NEVEPLAST united to bring skiing to the heart of Stockholm with an even more eco-friendly Neveplast slope.

On Wednesday 7 September, the Neveplast ski slope in the heart of Stockholm, on Hammarbybacken hill, opened to the public. Served by a ski lift, the slope has a skiable surface of 9,000 m2 with variable slope so that it is suitable for both less experienced skiers and athletes in training. In the upper part of the track, a "SkiStar Snow Park" snowpark of about 1500 m2 has also been built with at least 10 figures including rails, jumps and boxes. Jesper Tjader, one of the best freeskier in the world, is the Ambassador of the freestyle area.

SkiStar SummerSki: this is the name of the visionary project that brings "snow" to the heart of Stockholm and gives Swedes and tourists visiting the capital the dream of skiing all year round, even in the height of summer, on a Neveplast synthetic ski slope about 500 m long made of a sustainable and recycled product.

It is a Skistar project. SkiStar is a Swedish giant specialised in the management of ski facilities, tourism and entertainment and owner of some of the most renowned ski resorts in Sweden and Norway: Are, Salen, Trysil, Hemsedal and Vemdalen.

The prestigious destination package was missing the capital: Hammarbybacken Stockholm, which has thus become the sixth ski destination in the SKISTAR orbit. The investment in the capital aims to double the number of days of skiing per year in Sweden, thanks to summer skiing and thus contribute to achieving the SkiStar sustainability goal of seven million days of skiing and sporting activity by 2030.

An ambitious goal that led Skistar to involve Neveplast, a Bergamo-based leading company in the production of ski slopes made of plastic material, as the main player in the project. Thanks to significant research and development work the Bergamo factory, which also matured during the forced stoppage covid period, developed the ski slope with an ad hoc product that is even more performing from the point of view of skiing and in line with expectations and the environmental protection required by the Swedes, who are increasingly masters of sustainable innovation, digital technology and the well-being of the country’s inhabitants.

“Hammarbybacken Stockholm becomes our sixth destination, which means we can make the city a little more active and fun with exciting and inspiring attractions for anyone looking for the joy of movement and memorable experiences in the city centre.

With this investment and thanks to our collaboration with Neveplast, we hope to be able to help more people to be active and at the same time enjoy the best views in Stockholm", says Stefan Sjöstrand, CEO and Group Manager of SkiStar.

Stockholm's sports centre is a visionary project that stands out for many reasons, not least the fact that it has the city's first summer ski slope. As we know, Swedes are among the greatest ski enthusiasts in the world; their country has already hosted the World Ski Championships and World Cup stages. The location chosen for the construction of the ski slope is the Hammarbybacken hill, where for many years the spectacular parallel city event at night took place, valid for the Alpine Ski World Cup.

SKISTAR and NEVEPLAST CONTACTS.

The SkiStar Summer ski slope is made of SUSTAINABLE NP30 FREESKI:

Neveplast was contacted by SKISTAR in the autumn of 2021. The famous Swedish company was looking for an official partner for the development of a ski slope project, open all year round, on Hammarbybacken hill, in the heart of Stockholm. The final contract was signed a few months later, in the spring of 2022 after the Swedish clients tested, with skis, both the famous slope on the Copenhill waste-to-energy plant and the Bergamo slope in Selvino, skiing on the latest generation Neveplast product, NP30 FREESKI.

After testing other materials around the world, the Skistar representatives were especially impressed by the characteristics of NP30 FREESKI, the latest addition to the Neveplast range that enhances the skills of skiers and riders of all levels.

Neveplast FREESKI is very similar to natural snow and thanks to the revolutionary technology applied and also to the different geometry, it ensures an easy side edge grip. Neveplast FREESKI is ideal for those looking for pure fun and the thrill of a skiing descent. In three adjectives, skiing is easy, exciting and fun.

We needed a transversal product able to satisfy both beginners and more experienced skiers: a material that was as similar as possible to natural snow, with high aesthetics and safety standards.

However, in addition to these characteristics, there was one that was particularly dear to SKISTAR: the product necessarily had to be sustainable and respond to high standards of technology applied to environmental protection.

Urged on by the request of the Swedish clients, the Bergamo-based company, which is always very attentive to environmental issues, developed an ad hoc product for the Stockholm project called NP30 FREESKI SUSTAINABLE, raising the bar even more in terms of sustainability.

In April 2022, the NP30 FREESKI SUSTAINABLE product obtained the important ISCC PLUS (International Sustainability & Carbon Certification) certification. An important milestone that meant a further step for Neveplast towards respect for the territory and the environmental community.

An active promoter of a circular economy, the ISCC international standard aims to encourage the production and sustainable use, from an environmental, social and economic point of view, of all types of biomass in the various supply chains.

Neveplast's renewable plastics, as far as the NP30 SUSTAINABLE product is concerned, is managed using a mass balance system through the value chain. This means that the link between certified incoming and outgoing material for each stage of the process is ensured by certification. For every ton of ISCC certified renewable plastic put into production, an equivalent quantity of finished product can be declared as ISCC certified.

SKI STAR SUMMER SKI GIVES its numbers. Description of the slopes and skiing facilities.

The skiable area of the Neveplast slope built on Hammarbybacken hill is 9,000 m2. To be precise, 7,500 m2 are on the downhill slope while 1,500 m2 are dedicated to the snow park which is located in the upper part about 60 m below the start of the slope.

The snow park was inaugurated by an exceptional ambassador, Jesper Tjader, a Swedish athlete and one of the best freeskiers in the world. The layout of the snow park includes a dozen structures suitable for all levels: spectacular rails, boxes and kicks make the setup of the park truly captivating. The rest is down to the location.

How about a trick in flight with the view of the capital at your feet?

But let's go back to the downhill slope: the length of the slope is 470 m and is served by a ski lift about 270 m long. It starts at an altitude of 10 m above sea level and reaches 91 m in height. For beginners and for young skiers who are taking their first steps on skis or snowboards, there is the school field, about 35 m long next to the ski lift, served by a treadmill. The ski lift is also entirely covered with Neveplast. As regards the colour of the track, SKISTAR chose, from the range of colours available, pine green with hollow green edges. A glance, whether you observe it from the drone or from the centre of Stockholm, is exceptional.

The track layout has been designed to satisfy a transversal base of skiers, from beginners to athletes who uses the track to train between the poles.

In the most demanding part of the track, the initial one, the slope reaches 30% to become softer in the central part (20%) and level in the final part with a slope of 8%. The track, on the other hand, has a capacity of about 120 skiers.

SkiStar Sports & Adventures at the new SkiStar Hammarbybacken Stockholm activity centre.

On 24 June 2022 saw the inauguration of the Hammarbybacken Sport & Adventures sports and entertainment project: a sports and amusement park that aims to stimulate social interaction through physical activity and fun with all the associated benefits of exercise that improve your mood.

The best part of the layout designed for entertainment is the Neveplast tubing centre composed of Skistar Mountain Tube with two 50 m long straight tracks and a track with a parabolic curve to make the tubing adventure even more exciting and lively which, by now it is clear, is agreeable to the whole family. One of the two straight tracks also has a customised SKISTAR tunnel which makes the experience of descending aboard the ski rings even more suggestive and inclusive.

Niccolò Bertocchi CEO NEVEPLAST.

“The project realised by Neveplast in Stockholm is very ambitious and important. As per our mission, the ski slope was built on the hills near the city centre, giving both enthusiasts and newbies the opportunity to ski and practice their favourite sport, all year round, very close to home. The project has many firsts. The track is long and fun, the slopes perfectly combine the needs of both enthusiasts and experienced skiers. Further down the slope, a school camp has been created to get new skiers and snowboarders on board. In the upper part, a snow park accessible to all has been built which was inaugurated by the Swedish champion Jesper Tjader. This is the first skiing facility built with the new Neveplast NP30_FREESKI_SUSTAINABLE, able to combine the feeling of skiing on easy and fun snow and an ecologically sustainable product. The investor is Skistar, one of the very few companies in the industry listed on the stock exchange. Skistar is a European leader in the ownership and management of ski resorts and winter destinations. I am proud that Skistar has chosen our NP30_FREESKI and has decided to rely on the professionalism of the Neveplast team to carry out such an important project.

Photo credit: Jonas Carlson Almqvist/SkiStar