1887-1911 / Henri I In 1887, Henri Nidecker I founded the company in the small town of Etoy, Switzerland on the shore of “Lac Léman” (Lake Geneva). Trained as a carpenter, Henri I mastered the art of bending wood and obtained the region’s first electric motor in 1897. With this powerful new electric tool he produced the most sought after ladders, chairs, furniture, carts and wheel barrows. 1912-1961 / Henri II & III At the turn of the century the Nidecker workshop moved to Rolle, Switzerland, another small town on Lac Léman. Employing woodworking techniques learned from his father, Henri II produced his first skis in 1912 using Ash wood. By 1946, Henri II had taught his son Henri III the trade, and soon after Henri III built upon the inventive Nidecker legacy by creating the first composite skis made from Ash and Hickory wood. Ground Breaking Ski Technology 1962-1983 / Henri IV Nidecker was at the forefront of the rapidly expanding European ski market in the 60’s and 70’s.

In 1962 Nidecker broke new ground as one of the first to manufacture skis using metal and fibreglass. By 1969 Nidecker had perfected the art of building skis with these two materials and used this expertise to launch the first pair of virtually unbreakable cross-country skis. Henri IV also took over the company at this time and debuted a revolutionary new ski skin system called the “Varai-Clix” that won a gold medal at the 6th International Ski Show in Geneva. 1984-1986 / Henri IVsumdex 16 business laptop backpack Ever forward thinking, Nidecker recognized the new wave of winter sports and began designing snowboards in 1982. amazonbasics dslr and laptop backpack (gray interior)The first 50 production boards were handcrafted in the Rolle workshop in 1984 and featured 3D-base contours. backpack high uintas

Nidecker snowboards were an overnight success and by 1985 over 700 boards had been sold mainly in Switzerland and France. Soon after, a team of Nidecker sponsored athletes won the 1986 Alpine Snowboarding World Cup. 1987-1993 / Henri IV From 1987 on, Nidecker focused on snowboards and designed new models every season. The “Gun” model was one of the first innovative shapes that had similar curves to a modern day snowboard. Nidecker also produced one of the first youth snowboards during this time. stihl 380 backpack blower specsIn 1990, Henri IV expanded the snowboard line to include snowboard boots and bindings.backpack anfield 1991-2009 / Henri IVswissgear scansmart laptop backpack - blue By 1991 the Nidecker snowboard business was booming thanks to board designs such as “The Concept”, one of the first asymmetrical snowboards. benrus backpack prices

Nidecker was now selling boards in over 25 countries. The success prompted Henri IV to convert the Rolle office into one of the most modern and ecological snowboard factories in the world in 1994. In 2002, Nidecker collaborated with the leading Swiss technical university ‘EPFL’ in Lausanne to produce the first “Megalight” snowboard. This featherweight snowboard weighed less than 3 kg. Then in 2007, Nidecker teamed up with the University of Bern to develop new techniques for welding wood. The partnership created a new production process that allowed wood cores to be combined without glue. Using the technology Nidecker produced the lightest snowboard in the world at that time, the “Ultralight”, which took top prize in the 2009 EuroSIMA new technology category. The New Generation And New Signature Brands 2010 / Henri IV, Henry V & Brothers 2010 was a huge year for the Nidecker family. Henri IV received the “Lifetime Achievement” award from euroSIMA and also handed down the keys to the business to his sons: Henri V, Xavier and Cédric.

In that same year, the Nidecker brothers created the upstart snowboard brand “YES Snowboards” with four of the most renowned freestyle snowboarders in the world: Romain de Marchi, David Carrier Porcheron (DCP), JP Solberg and Tadashi Fuse. A year later, Nidecker debuted another signature snowboard brand by teaming up with the freeride snowboarding legend Jeremy Jones. Nidecker and Jones founded “Jones Snowboards” which quickly established itself as one of the world’s finest manufacturers of freeride snowboards and the innovative backcountry snowboards called ‘splitboards’. Following the success of YES and Jones Snowboards, Nidecker turned it’s attention to snowboard bindings and founded the “NOW” brand with former pro snowboarder and engineer JF Pelchat. Using an innovative design influenced by skateboard trucks, NOW bindings won 5 international design awards upon their release. The Nidecker family added one more snowboard brand to the stable in 2011 with the debut of “Slash by Gigi Snowboards”.

Slash is a collaboration with legendary backcountry freestyle snowboarder Gigi Ruf and offers unique board designs that reflect Gigi’s creative passion for snowboarding. 2012 / Henry V & Brothers 2010 also marked the debut of Nidecker brand Stand-up Paddleboards. SUP boards are like surfboards but use a paddle for propulsion. This new water board sport was invented in Hawaii and has found wide spread popularity in both ocean towns and regions with lakes and rivers. Building on the success of Nidecker’s SUP boards that are primarily made for flat water, the company founded a signature brand with legendary California surfer Laird Hamilton that specializes in SUP boards designed for waves. “Laird SUP” is now a leading SUP manufacturer with a complete line of boards for all types of paddleboarding. 2015 / Henry V & Brothers From making ladders and wagon wheels, to skis and then snowboards, Nidecker currently manages seven leading action sports brands including Jones Snowboards, Now Bindings, Slash by Gigi Snowboards, YES Snowboards, Laird SUP, as well as the namesake Nidecker brand which produces snowboards, snowboard boots, snowboard bindings and also SUP boards.