Salomon was born in Annecy in 1947, in the middle of the French Alps. What started as a small 3-person steel workshop quickly turned into a renowned skiing company in the 1980s, before becoming the leader of outdoor sports in the early 2000s. This growth pushed Georges Salomon to move the company to a larger facility in 2000. The Annecy Design Center (ADC), located on the outskirts of Annecy, is where every Salomon product is developed and designed.
Over 750 people work there to create the best outdoor products for skiing, snowboarding, hiking, and running. Some of these people have been working with Salomon for over 30 years and witnessed the relocation of Salomon. Some things have stayed the same as before, like the prototyping area, which has always been a strength for Salomon, says Sylvain Pillet, alpine ski and bindings tester. With the growth of Salomon also came changes, as Patrick "Aldo" Boeri, storekeeper and forklift driver, explains: he used to deliver packages personally to employees. With the increasing number of people working at the Annecy Design Center, he now drops them off at a designated place for each business unit, but still knows the people quite well.
The Annecy Design Center is the heart of Salomon's operations, so several efforts have been put in place to reduce its impact on the environment. Watch the video below to learn more about the Annecy Design Center and the sustainable improvements put in place.
To learn more about Salomon's Play-Minded Program, click here.
