The ski pros

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 6, Issue 241, 3 May 1988, Page 13 (Supplement)

The ski pros

The Junction Ski Shop offers customers a service that is second to none anywhere in New Zealand. Junction Ski Repairs has been created as a specialised ski repair business Using over 900 square feet of space next to the retail outlet, their main concern is to give customers the smoothest, flattest, easiest turning skis they will ever experience as well as an efficient repair service for all the niggling things that can go wrong with boots and bindings. "Ski shop owners have traditionally thought of the repair department as just a necessary evil," said manager Mike Wiggins. "We think of it as a good business in itself, one with potential so far untapped by retailers." One major speciality is an overnight repair service. Skis can be dropped in for tuneups and repairs after skiing and be picked up next moming, tuned to perfection for another hard day on the slopes. The centre-piece of the operation is a $22,000 chrystal glide machine and pressure max machine made by Montana. Using the machine at a retail level is a new concept and if the 2500 chrystal glides done last season are anything to go by, the

concept is starting to catch on. Besides the stone grinder, the shop is equipped with a Montana Net Belt Sander for skis that have been through hell and back. $50,000 of imported repair machinery ishoused in the workshop, including an edge milling machine, an automatic resoling machine, regrooving equipment and heat plates. There is even a special piece of equipment used to race-tune skis up to five degrees. This all comes under the control of qualified ski mechanic Danial Greenwood and assistant Jim Mates. i The workshop only uses 100% P-Tex plastic in repairs. This gives a much better bind than normal PTex candles.

Mike Wiggins said the workshop has great potential and a real future in the ski industry "More skiers want precision-tuned skis and this is the kind of shop that can give them that service - fast." Their use of pressure wax on the bases of skis gives the skier a "power takeoff ', with the super smooth finish. The Junction Ski Repair charges $25 for a chrystal glide tune, which includes stone grinding, P-Texing, edge grinding, deburring and tip and tail finishing until you've tried it," adds Mike. The latest in technology is a precision foot support and boot alignment system distributed by Peterson Laboratories.

The machine molds a custom-fitted device that provides precisely the right degree of support and flex demanded by the

individual. The Junction Ski Shop's buying power and ability to offer customers reduced prices is due to their

association with Pro Select - a ski professional group which ensures its customers reductions of up to 30%.