Swix got waxing right
We ski faster, safer, with more style - and with better grip. For that, we can thank a few Swedish chemists in the 1940s. The result of their research was the company Swix, today the world's leading manufacturer of ski waxes.
When wax compounds meet hexagonal prisms of frozen water molecules, a curious phenomenon occurs. Some would call it love. Or rather, friction. Others simply call it glide. Either way, the process that takes place at the molecular level when ski wax meets cold snow is the result of Swedish engineering. And a significant part of the success story of Norwegian wax giant Swix.
Now, ski wax is not some modern invention. Humanity's desire to go faster has been there since the very beginning of skiing - whether the purpose was to ski down prey while hunting, flee from the Danes in the forests of Mora, or push across the finish line first in a sprint race. The base of the ski has therefore been treated with everything from tar and resin to Vaseline. Or, as Fridtjof Nansen preferred it, with reindeer skins. But it was not until a group of chemists at Astra in the mid-1940s managed to cook up a winning formula that development really took off.
It may seem strange that a pharmaceutical company would take on this task, but the company's CEO at the time, Börje Gabrielsson, was a devoted skier and likely just wanted better glide and grip in the tracks. In any case, the researchers were tasked with working together with elite skier Martin Matsbo to develop a wax using more scientific methods. The researchers calculated and blended - and Matsbo test skied. In 1946, the wax was launched under the name Swix.
At first, Swix was available in three different colors for different temperatures: red, blue, and green grip wax, as well as blue and red klister. The major breakthrough came at the 1948 Winter Olympics when all the gold medalists in cross-country skiing had waxed with Swix. That same year, waxes for ski jumping were added, and in 1950 the range was expanded with waxes for the alpine disciplines.
Not far from the Olympic ski jump in Lillehammer, Norway, the Swix factory has been located since 1986. The research department and its laboratories, however, are co-located with Sintef in Oslo, one of the leading technical research institutes in the Nordic region. This is where all research and development is carried out within Swix's three business areas: textiles, poles, and waxes.
- We are responsible for research and development across all our areas, says Head of Research Lars Karlöf. We devote a great deal of time to wax, where we have total control. Through chemical synthesis, we create a base that we combine with other raw materials we purchase, and in the end it becomes a wax that we manufacture in Lillehammer.
The backbone of all ski wax consists of waxes of different origins. Various additives are then introduced to achieve the specific properties sought.
- When we start a new project, it begins with an idea that we ourselves or someone else has. That means we put together a formula, an ingredient list much like when you are going to bake a cake. We then make samples of it and put them out for testing in different temperature and snow conditions. The wax is tested by the Swix Racing Service team in cross-country skiing, biathlon, and alpine skiing, and they report back to the research department, which in turn analyzes the results.
Developing a new ski wax is a long process that can take up to four years.
- The major revolutions take a long time and require a great deal of resources. Naturally, we set criteria for the product throughout every stage. That means that when we finally launch a product on the market, we know that it works.
The formulas are, of course, secret. It is the "Coca-Cola principle" that applies. To the delight of all nostalgics, the three original colors red, green, and blue are still in the range today, now complemented by more colors.
- That color system is the foundation of everything and is in fact the industry standard today. All our competitors have copied it. Blue Extra has now become a classic. It has even become a definition of a certain type of ski conditions. When you have "Blue Extra conditions," you have good glide, good grip, the sun is shining, and the chocolate is just warm enough.
The only question is how much more ski wax can really be developed.
- A lot is the answer, we still have a great deal left to do, states Lars Karlöf. The reason we wax a ski is to optimize the ski base in relation to the surface. And snow is the world's most difficult material; we still do not fully understand it. What makes snow so difficult is that it is in constant transformation. We work a great deal there with materials that can adapt and change based on the conditions.
At the Swix research center, the researchers carefully analyze, among other things, the coefficient of friction. So what is that, and above all, what does it mean for waxing? We get the answer from waxing guru Lasse Jonsson at Swix's Swedish general agent Sportmarket.
- The ski has a certain shape, just like the snow surface. In between, you have a base that you wax, and then you get a certain friction against the snow. When talking about glide, you want as little friction, or as low a coefficient of friction, as possible.
Simply put, ski wax is really only about two things: glide and grip. If the snow is moist, the ski gets suctioned to the snow and the glide becomes poor, which requires a different type of wax than if the snow were cold and dry. Grip wax is an extremely complicated product because at one moment it must provide good glide (low coefficient of friction) and at the next provide good grip (static friction).
- For a racing skier in classic cross-country skiing, both parts are very important, says Lasse Jonsson. That is why we test and fine-tune for as long as possible to find the optimal combination. As a recreational skier, you may feel your skis are fantastic when you have good grip, but if you are going to race and hundredths of a second decide the result, then you must also have superb glide.
Waxing has often been of decisive importance in ski races. It is easy to get the waxing wrong, and it takes a delicate touch to make skis glide at their best. Lasse Jonsson goes so far as to claim that waxing is not a science but an art form.
At the same time, he points out that ski wax, not only for elite skiers but also for all of us “blueberries,” is a prerequisite for getting the most out of skiing.
- With a perfectly waxed ski, you get an incredible experience whether it is a race or an ordinary outing in the forest. You should have the right products for the type of skier you are, and today there is a wide range available. Anyone who has had the chance to test and compare an optimally waxed ski with an unprepared one never has to wonder again. But we see that people are extremely careless about this, and that is why we work a lot on that aspect together with our retailers and through our own clinics.
Naturally, there has also been criticism of the use of ski wax. When Swix was first launched, the products were met with skepticism. In more recent times, some have claimed that ski wax is an overrated product. In 2005, Leonid Kuzmin, husband of the former cross-country skier Antonina Ordina and at the time a doctoral student at Mid Sweden University in Östersund, wrote a dissertation in which he claimed that ski wax causes more trouble than enjoyment for most skiers. Instead, he argued that it was much better to make use of the ski base’s own positive properties.
The claim was, to say the least, controversial. However, his research findings were dismissed both by Swix and by others in the industry.
- He was not right, and he had not conducted the study in a scientific way, but had drawn preconceived conclusions without any basis for them, says Lars Karlöf. Another important thing to keep in mind is that what he wrote was really more about the structure of the ski base than about waxing or not waxing, but that has been lost in the debate.
Even though a small number of competitive skiers tried racing unwaxed according to Kuzmin’s recommendation - some with success, it should be said - the majority have nevertheless gone back to waxing again, according to Lars Karlöf. Today, most people share the view of what a difference the right wax can make for skiing.
Over the past decade, Swix has enjoyed strong growth. Wax sells well. Close to forty tons leave the production lines in Lillehammer every year, and Swix is now the world’s largest manufacturer. There are competitors, including Switzerland’s Toko, Germany’s Holmenkoll, Italy’s Rode and Sweden’s Skigo, but these mainly operate in their local markets. With just under 40 percent of the global market, both in the recreational segment and at race level, Swix is dominant.
- We like to believe that this is because we have such high quality in our products and such control at every stage of development. And also because we have the most complete range. If you wax with Swix, you will never get it completely wrong, says Lars Karlöf.
By: Jenny Olsson