35 years of Klenkhart & Partner – a success story

What began as a two-man show is now a successful company operating in the field of Alpine Engineering.

But let's start at the beginning. Christian Klenkhart, a graduate engineer who had worked for seven years at the Torrent and Avalanche Control Service in Tyrol after completing his studies at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU) in Vienna, showed considerable courage in 1991. Already a tenured civil servant, he and technical draftsman German Feichter – also a permanent employee of the Torrent and Avalanche Control Service – left all security behind and ventured into self-employment. They saw the core tasks of their engineering office as planning torrent and avalanche control structures, access roads, and forestry projects. Business took off, but every capable person also needs a bit of luck and serendipity. Johann "Hansi" Haselsberger – managing director of the Scheffau cable cars – was essentially the catalyst for the cable car planning division. In 1993, he commissioned Christian Klenkhart to plan the Jochstube reservoir in Scheffau. This was followed by a commission from the State of Tyrol for the Lech Valley study. As a result, additional employees were hired.

In early 1994, Christian Weiler, a graduate engineer from the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU), was poised for a management position with the Torrent and Avalanche Control Service. However, at that very time, the federal government had imposed a hiring freeze in the public sector. Therefore, he began working for Christian Klenkhart, without giving any thought to where this path might lead. Now, 33 years have passed. Since then, the company has added an average of one employee per year.

The office's profile rose in the late 1990s with the planning of the major ski area connections Fiss-Serfaus-Ladis, Wilde Krimml, Hochfügen-Kaltenbach and Golden-Gate-to-the-Glacier/Sölden.

The first reservoir at the G. Langes ski lifts in Lermoos marked the start of the snowmaking system project. A customer event held during the construction site presentation helped attract numerous other ski lift companies from the Außerfern region and Bavaria.

In 2000, ZT-GmbH was founded with two managing directors: Christian Klenkhart and Christian Weiler. Then things moved quickly with international projects. The first was Yabuli in China in 2001. This was followed by what was probably the largest project in Kayseri, Turkey – this was implemented between 2006 and 2012.

In 2007, the company moved to a new location in Absam. The motivated team found a new home and enough space for additional employees.

The dedicated technicians had by then made a name for themselves, so it was no surprise that the FIS and well-known World Cup venues also relied on the Tyroleans' expertise. In 2011, Klenkhart & Partner served as the general planner for slopes and snowmaking for the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. This was followed in 2017 by the general planning for slopes and snowmaking for the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in St. Moritz. In 2019, they were commissioned as the general planner for cross-country ski trails and snowmaking for the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Seefeld.

In 2021, founder Christian Klenkhart withdrew from management and as a shareholder. Since then, the company has been owned by Christian Weiler and Manfred Salcher, both holding engineering degrees. Gerald Samwald also joined as a shareholder.

This year, Klenkhart & Partner (the founding name was retained) ensured a perfect FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Oberstdorf as the general planners for snowmaking (cross-country ski trails and ski jumps). In 2022, German Feichter, a founding member who supported the team until his death, passed away.

In 2026, the company celebrated its 35th anniversary with its current staff of 32 and numerous clients from Austria and abroad. An interesting detail: over 50% of the employees have been with Klenkhart & Partner for more than 10 years, and a third for more than 20 years! This speaks volumes about the excellent working environment and employee satisfaction. At the anniversary celebration at the Bogner Aste in Absam, a long-standing figure and pioneer of mountain railways spoke highly of the collaboration with Klenkhart & Partner. Hauser Bacher is still a construction manager at the Pinzgau-based construction company Stöckl. He will turn 80 next spring! Hauser invented and continuously refined the construction method that gives reservoirs the appearance of natural mountain lakes.

Hauser Bacher was responsible for relocating most of the reservoirs. These projects began in the SkiWelt Wilder Kaiser, continued through Kitzbühel, the Rosshütte in Seefeld, the Sudelfeld, and, as the crowning achievement, the two reservoirs in St. Moritz.