Swiss precision meets German engineering - there's probably no better way to sum up WOODWAY's beginnings, because when Swiss entrepreneur Willi Schönenberger founded the company in Weil am Rhein in 1975, he wanted to fundamentally change the treadmill as it had previously been thought of.
Today, when you walk through the cardio area of a fitness facility, you do notice the noise of the equipment, but it is not quite as annoying, at least when used correctly, because by now you have also become accustomed to the noise level. In the mid-70s, it still sounded somewhat different. Therefore, Willi Schönenberger set himself the goal of developing a treadmill that was quiet, while at the same time minimizing component wear and providing a biomechanically optimized running experience. To realize the last vision in particular, he collaborated with the German Sport University in Cologne and developed a new type of comfortable running surface that promised an optimal degree of cushioning to reduce impact energy. This cooperation was also the birth of the slat technology, which is still used in all WOODWAY treadmills today.
Slats for the feel-good running sensation
The slat running surface of the treadmill is gentle on the joints and provides the WOODWAY-own very pleasant running feeling, which comes close to running on the forest path that gives the treadmill its name. While the slat itself consists of a T-profile with vulcanized rubber and ensures the reduction of impact energy, the toothed belt guidance via laterally positioned ball bearing blocks also reduces the wear of the installed components to a minimum. In contrast, treadmills with "conventional" technology expose their mechanical and electrical components to a high level of wear because the frictional resistance is significantly higher than with slat technology. Less wear means less downtime and thus lower operating and maintenance costs, making the equipment not only user-friendly but also operator-friendly. The product service life of the slat conveyors in particular is extremely high, so WOODWAY still has numerous units in the field that are already 20 years old and older, reports Stefan Kauschinger, the Inside Sales and Marketing Manager at WOODWAY. The goal of the company is to provide its customers with the best possible training but also rehabilitation equipment so that they can expand their performance capabilities. As a result, WOODWAY invests a lot of time and financial resources in optimizing its own products and services. In the treadmill sector, WOODWAY offers a wide range of equipment to meet different needs. The motorized 4Front treadmill, for example, has been adapted even more to the high demands of high-traffic fitness clubs and allows runners to run up to 25 km/h fast. A gradient of up to 25% is possible and the maximum possible user weight is unusually high at 180 kg (360 kg walking).
Curved, powerless treadmill for demanding athletes
The CURVE series, on the other hand, relies entirely on non-motorized treadmills. The original CURVE has been in WOODWAY's portfolio since 2009. As the name suggests, the running surface of the CURVE is curved (cf. hamster wheel), creating an incline for the runner. The lack of a motor ensures that the running surface itself must be driven. These two components are the reason why the calorie consumption on the CURVE treadmills is up to 30% higher than on motorized treadmills. The lack of a motor also means that there is no upper speed limit, making the CURVE particularly suitable for interval and sprint sessions. Those who want to take it a little slower can use the CURVE Trainer. The flatter incline angle allows for better control over the cardio workout, making it even more suitable for endurance training and longer workouts.
Running in the gym with the slat treadmill from WOODWAY
Wide product portfolio
Until 2005, WOODWAY products were for the most part still produced entirely in the production facility in Weil am Rhein. In the following years, more and more was handed over to WOODWAY USA, Inc. Only since 2018 the company is 100% in the hands of the American colleagues. Today, Germany is mainly responsible for sales, logistics as well as the service network and quality management.
By the way, the word "products" is chosen quite deliberately, because even if WOODWAY is particularly known for its treadmills and a large part of the range consists of different treadmills, they sell quite a bit more to provide the user with a holistic workout. Firstly, there is the FitBench, which is mainly used in functional training and which includes equipment for training such as dumbbells, kettlebells and slam balls. The other is the Wattbike, an indoor bike that comes as close as possible to the feeling of sitting on a real bicycle/racing bike and offers numerous advantages over the well-known spinning bikes. Also to be mentioned is the new ProSmart Display, presented at this year's FIBO, which brings along quite a few multimedia and entertainment applications. At the same time, it expands training options with, for example, different predefined programs, a smart coach and numerous VR running distance simulations.
WOODWAY products, Kauschinger said, are primarily used in commercial fitness, meaning all forms of gyms and competitive sports. Nevertheless, the share represented by the medical sector, i.e. orthopedics, physiotherapy and (neuro)rehabilitation, should not be underestimated. Due to the long service life and low failure rate, the return on investment (ROI) is not only very high, but also easy to measure. This is not only noticed by premium clubs and fitness chains, whose demands on training equipment are quite different, but in recent years also increasingly by boutique, boot camp or providers of club-in-club concepts, whose equipment is exposed to even higher stress. One example of this is Barry's Bootcamp, a HIIT concept that combines training on the treadmill with strength training. WOODWAY treadmills are used exclusively for this purpose.
Strong in competitive sports
The low failure rate and high product quality is, in addition to the area of commercial fitness, especially interesting for competitive sports. If you look at the reference list, in which professional teams WOODWAY is used, you will find many top teams from European leagues in addition to the three top leagues of US sports (NFL, NBA, MBL), in which 100% of the teams use WOODWAY products. In addition, WOODWAY works with numerous national teams and athletes from around the world before and during the Olympic Games, as well as World and European Championships.
The success of the slat technology developed by WOODWAY has of course not gone unnoticed by the competition and so more and more suppliers are including treadmills with this technology in their own portfolios. Stefan Kauschinger is currently relatively relaxed about this: "Not all slat technology is the same. Most copies of our products disappeared from the scene just as quickly as they appeared. 45 years of experience can't be made up overnight."
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Text: WOODWAY
Picture credits: WOODWAY
Published on: 18 November 2020