An Appenzell ski manufacturer with skis of the highest quality and durability for the ski slopes of the world.
The brand name alone reveals what the hand-made quality skis from Dano Waldburger and Andreas Dobler are all about: Timbaer is a combination of "timber", the English word for woodwork, and "baer" in reference to the Appenzell heraldic animal. The result has much more than just a souvenir character.
Timbaer was founded in 2016 with the vision of building a ski that impresses with its sportiness, design and sustainability. Andreas laid the foundation for this with his final thesis in his carpentry apprenticeship, in which he developed the now patented bamboo core. As former ski racers, Andreas and Dano brought all their knowledge from racing and their craftsmanship as carpenters. Their aim was to build skis from natural materials that can be skied with as little effort as possible without losing any of their sportiness.
With eight different ski models available, Timbaer covers all the needs of skiers regardless of their abilities.
In recent years, other manufacturers and sports brands have also become aware of the innovative ski manufacturer in Appenzell. Timbaer produces for brands that have special requirements in terms of design and material, such as the anniversary skis from Bogner or the skis with a stone surface from Zai.
To ensure that customers can enjoy their skis for as long as possible, Timbaer also offers a full service.
With a team of six employees, around 400 pairs of skis will be produced in 2022.
The history of its creation
You can almost hear his heart pounding as Andreas Dobler stands in front of the ski lift of his childhood and tells us in the broadest Appenzell dialect where his passion for snow sports comes from. "I skied up and down this slope next to my great-grandfather's hut for days," says Andreas. Later, as a racing driver for the local ski club, he covered the entire Ebenalp-Horn area and dreamed of a career as a professional athlete. Things turned out a little differently. As his final project for his carpentry apprenticeship, Andreas built himself a pair of skis according to his own ideas. He didn't become a professional skier, but he still fulfilled his dream of skiing. Together with Dano Waldburger, he now produces and sells around 100 pairs of skis a year. He met his business partner at vocational school. Not only did they share a passion for skiing, they both wanted to start their own business. No sooner said than done. Immediately after completing their apprenticeship, they invested all their savings in developing further prototypes and building their own ski press. Their aim was to build a ski made of natural materials that could be skied with as little effort as possible without losing its sportiness.
A patented design
The two young entrepreneurs soon developed a structure with a bamboo core that had the flexibility and strength they were looking for. Every week they took their skis to the Horn valley station and offered them for test rides and then for sale. One of their first buyers was the director of the Appenzeller Kantonalbank, Ueli Manser: "It was the best ski I've ever ridden. I was immediately convinced that Andreas and Dano would be successful with Timbaer. And so we became the bank's first partner." With the patenting of the wooden ski core, the Timbaer company entered the next phase and expanded its range to include three different models: two slalom skis and a race carver, each available with two different covers made of natural materials.
The ski producer for the highest demands
Soon other manufacturers became aware of the innovative ski manufacturer in Appenzell and showed interest in working together.
Dano Waldburger and Andreas Dobler began to use their acquired knowledge to develop and build skis for other brands. On the one hand, these collaborations enable them to deepen their know-how and expand their network. On the other hand, the additional order volume helps to make new investments. After moving to the new workshop at the beginning of 2021, the two were able to purchase a CNC machine that is unique in Switzerland and a service robot.
All skis are built in a unique production process using presses developed in-house. This ensures that all skis from the Timbaer factory have a much longer lifespan.
Through the unique combination of carpentry know-how, modern machinery and knowledge from ski racing, Timbaer develops and produces skis for brands with the highest demands on design and materialization. This has resulted in ski models with a bamboo core and different surfaces made of wood, paper and stone .