Swix Uses Exhaustive Testing to Develop New Wax Line for 2014 – 2015 Season

HAVERHILL, MA — Swix Sport announced today the US launch of Cera Nova^X, a comprehensive update to the world’s best-selling wax system, the Swix Cera Nova line. The redesigned system is the culmination of three years of careful testing from a 20-person Swix product development team, including World Cup technicians, wax chemists and racing experts. “We challenged all waxes in the system and put them to the test,” explained Lars Karlof, R&D manager for Swix Sport in Lillihammer, “The result is that we manage to improve the performance in nearly 60 % of the products which is a big achievement! Overall, this is a faster system” The testing protocol for the system included 740 test sites from local to elite level races, 3700 unique tests with 24 tests per wax formulation, and 7400 km of skiing distance, the equivalent of skiing from Lillehammer to Seattle. No wax line has undergone as stringent levels of testing and observation, a credit to the budget Swix puts into research and development. In addition to internal Swix testing, project test waxes have been tested on the World Cup circuit for the last season. The close collaboration with the service teams and their valuable test feedback ensures these are the best waxes available to buy today. Swix US Racing Director and former World Cup wax technician, Chris Hall explains, “The new Cera Nova X line is the most ambitious wax project Swix has undertaken since the original introduction of Cera Nova wax line twenty years ago. All US racers, from World Cup skiers to Birkie enthusiasts will benefit from the completely redeveloped and re-fomulated line of waxes Cera Nova X has to offer.  This coming winter looks to be a very exciting and fast one, especially if you have Swix Cera Nova X on your skis.” Swix US Alpine race director, Jed Rockwell agrees, “The revised system with the introduction of the 5 line and improved 7 line is huge for Alpine Racers as these are the go to temps ranges for most mid winter events.”

Swix enjoys the largest research and development budget in the ski waxing industry. In the history of Swix there has never been a similar test effort so comprehensive: the number of tests that have been performed, analyzed, and compiled into the Swix database for the purpose of finding the small margins are what make such a profound difference in the new system. Inventory of Cera Nova^X is available now through Swix retailers.

Further insights and information:

• Cera Nova^X comes in a new innovative package, which includes inner markings for easier wax selection and a hinged lock for better storage.

• The “5” Line: HF05BWX, HF05X, LF05X and CH05X represent a new line in the Cera Nova X system. They have all been out on test at World Cup, both in alpine, XC and Biathlon for a couple of seasons with great success and now they are ready to hit the market. During the test period we have optimized the formulation even more and we are sure that these waxes will become very popular, both in the racing and the recreational market. They fulfill a hardness gap between 4 and 6 and have very good wear properties, but at the same time not as hard to apply as the 4. In hardness a 5 wax is actually closer to 6 than 4. For skiers having some difficulties getting a good result with CH/LF 4, this wax will be just perfect.

• Cera F Powders: Swix has increased the number of powders from 4 to 6. The goal has been to distinguish the different powders more clearly from each other to compliment through different temperature settings the paraffin waxes.

• In the BW line Swix has added the 5 and adjusted the hardness for 8 and 10. Tests have shown that slightly harder waxes with a solid additive perform better in the warmer range of the scale when the snow is contaminated