Skis Rossignol S.A., or simply Rossignol, is a French manufacturer of alpine,

snowboard Snowboards are boards where the user places both feet, usually secured, to the same board. The board itself is wider than most skis, with the ability to glide on snow."snowboarding." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. 17 Mar ...

, and Nordic equipment, as well as related outerwear and accessories, located in

Isère Isère ( , ; ; , ) is a landlocked Departments of France, department in the southeastern French Regions of France, region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Named after the river Isère (river), Isère, it had a population of 1,271,166 in 2019.

, France. Rossignol was one of the first companies to produce

plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic polymers, synthetic or Semisynthesis, semisynthetic materials composed primarily of Polymer, polymers. Their defining characteristic, Plasticity (physics), plasticity, allows them to be Injection moulding ...

skis. The company also owns the brands ''Dynastar'' and LOOK. In 2005, Rossignol was bought by

boardsport Boardsports are active outdoor sports that are played with any sort of board as the primary equipment. These sports take place on a variety of terrains, from paved flat-ground and snow-covered hills to water and air. Most boardsports are consider ...

equipment manufacturer Quiksilver for $560 million. In 2008, Quiksilver made a deal to sell Rossignol for $147 million to a former chief executive, Bruno Cercley. In July 2013, Macquarie sold the Rossignol Group, along with its subsidiaries Lange and Dynastar, to a partnership of

Altor Equity Partners Altor Equity Partners is a private equity firm focused on leveraged buyout and growth capital investments in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway and the DACH region. History The firm, which is based in Stockholm, Sweden Stockholm (; ) is th ...

(a Swedish investment group) and the Boix-Vives family.

History

The company was founded in 1907 by Abel Rossignol, who manufactured wood products (such as spindles) for the textile industry. Rossignol, a committed skier, used his carpentry skills to make a pair of skis out of solid wood. In 1937, Émile Allais of France became triple world champion on Rossignol Olympic 41 skis. When Laurent Boix-Vives bought the company in 1956, the company only focused on skiing equipment and began to sell them worldwide. Rossignol had a breakthrough during the

1960 Winter Olympics The 1960 Winter Olympics (officially the VIII Olympic Winter Games and also known as Squaw Valley 1960) were a winter multi-sport event held from February 18 to 28, 1960, at the Squaw Valley Resort (now known as Palisades Tahoe) in Squaw Valley ...

in Squaw Valley,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, when

Jean Vuarnet Jean Raoul Célina André Vuarnet (18 January 1933 – 1 January 2017) was an Alpine skiing, alpine ski racer from France. An Alpine skiing at the 1960 Winter Olympics, Olympic gold medalist, he is known for inventing the "Tuck" skiing position ...

of France won the downhill on Allais 60s, the company's first all-metal skis. In 1964, Rossignol released the Strato, its first

fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) is a common type of fibre-reinforced plastic, fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened i ...

ski. In the 1970s, Rossignol set up a distribution company in the

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

, launching its first Nordic skis, and soon became the world's largest ski manufacturer. At the

1988 Winter Olympics The 1988 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Calgary 1988 were a multi-sport event held from February 13 to 28, 1988, with Calgary, Calgary, Alberta as the main host city. This marks the m ...

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, Rossignol triumphed, winning six out of 10 gold medals in alpine events. In 1990, Rossignol acquired the Caber boot factory in Italy and rebranded the product under the Rossignol label (Rossignol already controlled the Lange ski boot brand). The company also acquired the Geze and Look ski-bindings ranges, rebranding Geze. It soon moved into

snowboards Snowboards are boards where the user places both feet, usually secured, to the same board. The board itself is wider than most skis, with the ability to glide on snow."snowboarding." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. 17 Mar ...

and mountain clothing. Athletes using Rossignol products won at both the Winter Olympic games in

Albertville Albertville (; Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Arbèrtvile'') is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Savoie Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region in Southeastern France. It is best k ...

and in

Lillehammer Lillehammer () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. Some of the more notable villages in the munici ...

. In 2006, Huntington Beach, CA based Quiksilver acquired Rossignol only to sell the entity back in 2008. The debt incurred ultimately resulted in Quiksilver's bankruptcy. Alberto Tomba of Italy, the dominant technical skier of the late 1980s and 1990s, raced on Rossignol skis. Rossignol is the French word for

nightingale The common nightingale, rufous nightingale or simply nightingale (''Luscinia megarhynchos''), is a small passerine bird which is best known for its powerful and beautiful song. It was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, ...

Team riders and skiers

Freestyle *Mike Hopkins *Olivier Meynet * Xavier Bertoni * Lynsey Dyer *Manu Gaidet *Kattia Griffiths *JF Houle * Kye Petersen *Dan Treadway Alpine * Jean Claude Killy * Pierrick Bourgeat * Johan Clarey * Didier Défago * Gauthier de Tessieres * Jean-Baptiste Grange *

Mattias Hargin Mattias Hargin (born 7 October 1985) is a Swedish former World Cup alpine ski racer. Born in Stockholm, he competed mainly in slalom, and is the younger brother of Janette Hargin (b. 1977), who also raced for Sweden. Hargin was married to Sw ...

Werner Heel Werner Heel (born 23 March 1982) is an Italian former World Cup alpine ski racer. Early life and career Born in Meran, Heel grew up in St. Leonhard in Passeier and currently resides in Meran, where he works as a police officer. Heel bega ...

Jan Hudec Jan Hudec Jr. (born August 19, 1981) is a Czech-Canadian alpine ski racer who previously represented Canada until 2016 and specializes in the speed events of downhill and super-G. Beset by injuries for several seasons, he returned to World Cup ...

* Christof Innerhofer * Mike Janyk * Lars Elton Myhre * Manuel Osborne-Paradis * Alessandro Roberto * Jean-Philippe Roy *Matik Skube * Adrien Theaux * Stéphane Tissot * Silvan Zurbriggen * Brigitte Acton * Fränzi Aufdenblatten * Anne-Sophie Barthet * Nike Bent *Marion Bertrand * Catherine Borghi *

Stacey Cook Stacey Janelle Cook (born July 3, 1984) is a World Cup alpine ski racer from the United States, and specializes in the speed events. Racing career Born in Truckee, California, Cook started skiing at age 4 with her father at various Lake Tahoe s ...

* Ana Drev * Allison Forsyth * Maria Pietilä Holmner *Jessica Kelley * Jessica Lindell-Vikarby * Christina Lustenberger *

Tina Maze Tina Maze (; born 2 May 1983) is a retired Slovenes, Slovenian FIS Alpine Ski World Cup, World Cup Alpine skiing, alpine ski racer. She is the most successful Slovenian ski racer in history with a career that culminated with two gold medals at th ...

* Urska Rabic * Petra Robnik * Geneviève Simard *

Vanessa Vidal Vanessa Vidal (born 21 December 1974) is a former alpine skier from France, who competed in the 2002 Winter Olympics and 2006 Winter Olympics. She is the sister of former Olympic slalom champion Jean-Pierre Vidal and the niece of former alpin ...

*Kathrin Wilhelm * Tessa Worley * Veronika Zuzulova * Petra Vlhová

Snowboard Snowboards are boards where the user places both feet, usually secured, to the same board. The board itself is wider than most skis, with the ability to glide on snow."snowboarding." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. 17 Mar ...

*Jonas Emery * Mathieu Crépel * Kjersti Buaas * Xavier de Le Rue * Jeremy Jones 1989–2009 *Wyatt Caldwell *Beji Ritche * Doriane Vidal *Erin Valvarde

Biathlon The biathlon is a winter sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. It is treated as a race, with contestants skiing through a cross-country trail whose distance is divided into shooting rounds. The shooting rounds are not ti ...

* Martin Fourcade

References

* Chappaz, Gilles (2008) ''La légende Rossignol - 100 Ans'' Free Presse

External links

Official website

The Story Behind Rossignol Skis
{{Authority control Manufacturing companies established in 1907 French companies established in 1907 Isère Sportswear brands Clothing companies of France Sporting goods manufacturers of France Rossignol French brands Cycle manufacturers of France Snowboarding

History

Team riders and skiers

See also

References

External links