History
Kästle origin
In 1924, Anton Kästle built the first pair of skis in his wainwright workshop in Hohenems, Austria – and thereby started a unique legacy. Over the decades that followed, Toni Sailer, the Epple sisters, Pirmin Zurbriggen, Tom Stiansen and countless other skiing legends would represent Kästle, in total winning 132 Olympic and World Cup medals and creating a worldwide following along the way.
In 1998, the iconic brand unexpectedly disappeared from the market. But in 2007, thanks to an investment group controlled by Rudolf Knünz, Kästle was back on the international ski scene. Once again they were creating skis that set the benchmark for the entire industry: bringing construction technologies from racing and applying them to all-mountain skis, and developing the ground-breaking Hollowtech system.
Kästle continues to set impressive industry standards year after year. And from 2015, this has taken place back where it all began – in Hohenems.
History made in Austria.
1924

In Hohenems, Anton Kästle creates the first pair of skis made entirely from ash and sets the wheels in motion for Kästle.
1929

The small series production of ash skis begins in Hohenems, built by Anton Kästle and his first employees.
1937

The Arlberg ski model is a huge success with ski racers. Production is halted during World War II (1937 - 1939), due to a shortage of resources.
1946

At the end of the war, occupying forces appropriate the company and prohibit ski production in Hohenems.
1947

WW2 is over and production of Kästle skis resumes.
1950

Trude Jochum-Beiser wins the first ever gold medal on Kästle skis at the Alpine World Championships in Aspen, Colorado.
1952

The Winter Olympics in Oslo position Kästle firmly on the international map, with no fewer than 3 gold medals on Kästle skis.
1956

The Cortina Games turn into the Kästle Games. Aside from 3 golds for Toni Sailer, a further 18 Olympic medals are secured on Kästle skis.
1966

Kästle develops ski construction that comes to be known by the acronym CPM (Compound Plastic Metal) – essentially the beginnings of the sandwich construction technique.
1968

Josef Fischer and his sister, Selma Sturmberger (of Fischer Sports) take over the Vorarlberg Ski Factory from Anton Kästle.
1970

Karl Cordin wins Downhill World Cup on Kästle skis. The ski racer from Vorarlberg is also ranked number 2 in the world that same year.
1972

The Kästle Ski Factory, with its seat in Hohenems, Vorarlberg, becomes a limited liability company – Kästle Ges.m.b.H.
1976

The ‘double arrows’ are introduced and are adopted as the new logo.
1978

Kästle is the most successful ski brand at the World Championships in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, securing 7 medals.
1979

Kästle launches the world’s lightest ever ski: The ‘Tour Randonée’, specifically designed for alpinists like Reinhold Messner.
1980

Kästle takes home the overall World Cup Men’s title for the first time, thanks to Liechtensteiner Andreas Wenzel.
1985

After securing a second overall World Cup title for Kästle, Pirmin Zurbriggen brings back two World Championship titles from Bormio.
1987

Following his 1985 World title, Pirmin Zurbriggen secures the title again in 1987, making him two-time World Champion. He celebrates in Crans Montana on Kästle skis.
1988

In addition to 4 gold, 6 silver and 6 bronze medals won on Kästle skis at the Calgary Olympics, Pirmin Zurbriggen wins the overall World Cup title for a third time.
1988

Company founder who started the Kästle story, Anton Kästle, dies on 19 October 1988.
1991

The Austrian ski brand has new owners. Italian clothing and fashion house, Benetton, acquires Kästle.
1997

Kjetil-Andre Aamodt (combination) and Tom Stiansen (slalom) secure two golds on Kästle skis at the Alpine World Championships in Sestriere.
1998

The iconic ski brand disappears from the market, coming as a surprise for fans and ski enthusiasts.
2007

Kästle makes a fantastic comeback thanks to a group of investors led by Rudolf Knünz.
2007

Hollowtech technology revolutionises ski manufacturing. The comeback collection cleans up in ski tests and is awarded one accolade after another.
2007

Chris Davenport skis the Alps’ four most iconic mountains (on Kästle skis of course) in the space of 10 days: the Eiger, Matterhorn, Mt. Blanc and Monte Rosa.
2008

The expanded range now has 8 models, including the brand-new FX line.
2010

Kästle freeride skis now feature the new Early Rise rocker technology for improved float in the backcountry.
2015

Kästle goes back to its roots, where the story began: Hohenems is home to the company headquarters once again, with new and old employees back at the old site.
2017

After 5 successful stops in the Freeride World tour, Lorraine Huber, from Lech am Arlberg, wins the Freeride World Champion title on Kästle skis.
2018

Czech firm, ConsilSport, acquires a majority stake in Kästle. Together with its new partner, Kästle increases its product portfolio, expands into new markets and strengthens its global brand positioning.
Image: Bernd Knünz, Tomas Nemec, Rudolf Knünz, Vladimir Dusanek
2019

With over 30 years’ expertise in the World Cup cross-country sector, Kästle is back on the Nordic scene with its own race division, three lines of cross-country skis and jump skis.
For the first time ever, Kästle takes real World Cup competition skis into series production, making unbeatable performance, maximum transfer of power and precision available to all speed-focused skiers.
2019

Kästle acquires a manufacturing site in Nové Mesto na Morave. The Czech cross-country ski hub is now home to the Kästle Nordic centre of excellence – the Alpine one remains in Hohenems.
2019

Kästle is back on the World Cup circuit. After several decades of dormancy, the brand participates in both Alpine and Nordic races once again.
2020

With the TX series, Kästle successfully relaunches their storied ski touring line and becomes a member of the German and Austrian Ski Pool. The TX65 World Cup is the ski of choice for athletes like Stefan Knopf, who secures the first top 10 for Kästle in the Ski Mountaineering World Cup.
2021

In February 2021, Kästle supported the Nordic Ski World Championships in Oberstdorf as the official supplier of the forerunners and officials. Each course was tested with at least one of over 100 Kästle skis, so one could say every race course was “Kästle approved.”
2021

Kästle is breaking new ground in freestyle and ski cross arenas with new products specifically dedicated to freestyle, aerial, mogul and ski cross competition. Former Vorarlberg alpine ski racer Matthias Graf, after switching to ski cross, is following his new path with Kästle skis on his feet.