Robotic tuner takes overnight shift at Browns

One of New Zealand’s longest-established ski shops with a passion for the snowsports industry has made a significant investment in its business with the purchase of a Montana robotic ski tuner.

Browns Ski Shop in Queenstown, established 30 years ago in the ski resort town, has made the $270,000 investment in the aptly named Montana Snow Cruiser Max that uses digital technology and robotics to tune skis or snowboards ready for another day on the slopes.

Browns is following an international trend by investing heavily in the new stone-grinding and edge-sharpening machines.

Browns co-owner Kris Vermeir said the company was automating its workshop to give clients a better, more consistent product.

“With this new technology we can promise customers that their skis and boards will be tuned as well as or better than when they were new,” he said.

The Snow Cruiser Max has radial tuning, meaning pressure can be varied to achieve different profiles on different parts of the ski. It features different settings to ensure tuning is matched to the ski itself and to the ability level of the skier.

“The technology won’t make any mistakes when it comes to tuning the ski or snowboard to the appropriate level. It can be tuned from beginner or intermediate levels to World Cup standard, and will be set by our technicians to meet those levels throughout the night,” said Mr Vermeir.

“Over winter we tune more than 10,000 pairs of skis and snowboards per season, so we’re always striving to ensure we provide the very best service available we can.

“Thanks to this investment this season we will produce the most consistently tuned ski and snowboards in town,” he said.

The Snow Cruiser Max has an automatic loader so it can tune three or four pairs of skis or boards at one time.

“As always people will be able to drop their gear off after a great day on the slopes and rest assured that it will be tuned to the highest quality overnight and be ready to go the next morning.

Two Montana technicians came to Queenstown from Switzerland earlier this month to install the machine and train staff.