Christened the "Chamonix" pant at its birth, Mammut’s first apparel style produced and launched into the market would be positioned in terminology as soft-shell pants. Thus, this long standing cooperation between Mammut and Schoeller began.
This relationship was based on a very good tip from the Wallis region. As the research carried out within the framework of the soft-shell jubilee reveals, the tip came from a truly dyed-in-the-wool "Alpine inventor“ with his own studio in Martigny.
At the time, Mammut was world-renowned for ropes and hardware and was about to develop its own technical Alpine apparel collection. "For pants, I know a Swiss specialist that makes the best outdoor textiles available: Schoeller", recommended the inventor Albert Wenk.
Initial discussions and "road testing" followed and the idea of the Chamonix pants was born. This was also the advent of new styling in the mountain world – taking the place of the legendary knee breeches. In the 1980s and 1990s such distinctive pants names as "Solo“, "Silvretta“, "Cortina“ or "Brenta“ followed and of course the "Champ-Pant“, which for many years has been considered the "Maybach" among the high-end pants.
Probably no other soft-shell pants have won over so many convinced fans all around the world. Mammut is considered the market leader in the Alpine soft-shell segment and, like Schoeller, occupies a pioneering role. In the last 25 years, millions of enthusiastic mountain sportsmen in Mammut/Schoeller functional garments have conquered the world's highest peaks.
Good decisions are rewarded with leadership:
While Mammut was working on its first soft-shell pants program, Schoeller Textil AG was also setting a new course. The decision was made to go with the strategy "concentration on niche markets“. The strategic reorientation came in response to the economic crisis of the 1970s and the demise of textile mass production in Switzerland.
Schoeller built its mission on two main pillars for this new niche strategy: First, the stretch expertise which had been expanded since the early 1960s then, Schoeller had launched the first world-wide elastic fabric for ski pants and laid an important cornerstone for future decades of "soft-shell expertise“.
And secondly, based on successful tests with a new protective material for motorbike racers, good market opportunities were anticipated. The fabric which was called keprotec (KevlarProtectionTechnic) became a world-wide success and this year is also celebrating a 25-year jubilee of a "basic idea".
With these highly-specialized fabric areas, innovative technical stretch fabrics and protective fabrics with maximum safety, Schoeller was able to establish a stable foundation in difficult times, secure the future of a company producing in Switzerland and, in a certain segment, actually achieve world-wide leadership.
New concepts for the future:
Looking back is always in some way linked with looking forward. By now, what was once a "pants idea" has turned into intensive cooperation between Mammut and Schoeller, and a close partnership.
Today, in addition to the use of soft-shells for high-quality pants, jackets and hybrid solutions, it extends to extremely hardwearing trims as well as the glove and rucksack market.
Mammut also makes use of the 3XDRY feelgood technology for pants and the self-cleaning and waterproof NanoSphere finish for various jacket programs.
With the companies Toko and Raichle too, which belong to the Mammut Sports Group, there is close cooperation on cross-country clothing and in the shoe sector.
