The PistenBully adventure began a good 50 years ago on the Seiser Alm in South Tyrol. A one-of-a-kind success story that is far from over…
Just for the fun of it
In 1967, nature lover Karl Kässbohrer spent his annual ski vacation at the Seiser Alm in Italy’s South Tyrol. He ran the company, then known as Kässbohrer Fahrzeugwerke, together with his brother Otto. At that time, it was one of the most successful manufacturers of buses (the “SETRA”) and utility vehicles.
But what was it that inspired this Swabian tinkerer to develop a snow groomer? While up on the Seiser Alm, Karl Kässbohrer had noticed the kind of slope equipment that was in deployment. He knew his company back home in Ulm could do it better. Ambition was roused-and apart from that, for once he wanted “to develop a vehicle meant only for enjoyment and pleasure”. Said-and done.
There was no holding back
Just two years later in 1969, the first PistenBully was delivered. Its critical innovations were its diesel engine and hydrostatic drive. The success story took its course. To date, over 22,000 PistenBullys have been delivered worldwide. The name PistenBully has become a proprietary eponym and stands representatively for a snow groomer.
Always in the service of the customer
Out of “just developing a vehicle for enjoyment and pleasure,” a globally active but still close-knit family-run company of over 600 employees has grown. PistenBully has refined the slope vehicle like no other-always in close coordination with the customer.
