The skiing industry is threatened by issues that many know little about. Rising operating costs, old and irreplaceable machinery, and changing weather patterns are hitting smaller skiing operations hard. Nearly 200 of the nation’s ski mountains rely on Hagen Schulz to stay open.
Schulz, 62, a longtime manufacturer and repairer of ski lifts, owns Partek Ski Lifts in Pine Island, N.Y. At Partek, he manages the building, distribution, and maintenance of Partek and Borvig chair lifts from New England to the West Coast.
Partek dominates a niche in the ski lift market: affordable lifts for small- and medium-sized ski resorts. The lift industry in America is dominated by two European companies, Leitner-Poma and Doppelmayr, that produce luxury gondolas and lifts. These lifts are too expensive for smaller ski mountains, often costing $5 million and up….