XTRAICE has been chosen by Redline High Performance Hockey, an elite hockey training school located in British Columbia (Canada) to help its students further develop their skills in the sport. XTRAICE will be used to upgrade Redline’s synthetic ice surface areas in its mini-rink and around the skating treadmill.

Redline Hockey Skating and Skills Coach Derek Strukoff said the decision was based on his wonderful experience when he first skated on the XTRAICE ice. Strukoff said: “The first time I skated on XTRAIXCE ice I was instantly amazed. The puck and skate blade glide was much more natural than our current surface. It truly felt like I was on real ice.”

XTRAICE is a Spain-based company which has emerged as the market leader when it comes to installation of artificial eco-friendly ice rinks. On what led to the decision to go with XTRAICE.  Strukoff said: “With the current surface we have there is much more resistance and friction which provides an unnatural feeling when stick handling and skating compared to the XTRAICE surface.”

Strukoff feels XTRAICE is as good as if not better than the real thing. He said: “I decided to really test out the XTRAICE surface by doing some more high performance skating skills. I was very impressed with how I could perform each skill the same way as on the ice. Many of the skills I performed on the XTRAICE surface I would not be able to duplicate on our current surface with the same comfort and technique.”

XTRAICE has till date landed several lucrative contracts solely based on its expertise when it comes to synthetic ice products that are also environmentally-friendly. The company has undertaken projects throughout the world including for prestigious organizations like Euro Disney and the Florida Panthers of the NHL. Customers have expressed their full satisfaction with the product and the work done by XTRAICE.

As legendary skater and World, Olympic and European champion Surya Bonaly says: “On XTRAICE, skating is much more smooth than on other synthetic ice.” The Florida Panthers of the NHL, too, have said XTRAICE is the best synthetic ice rinks surface available on the market. XTRAICE continues to win fans everywhere and with the Redline deal, many aspiring young hockey players will also see its many benefits.

Founded in 2003, XTRAICE is  a global company that develops, builds and installs ecological ice rinks which have revolutionized the world of sports and leisure facilities, becoming a leader internationally. Its latest business milestones have included the installation of a rinks for Disney in Disneyland Paris and several training rinks for the Florida Panthers, NHL professional team and other Elite Hockey Centers in North America. Currently, over 150 XTRAICE  rinks are located in 36 countries, among them Japan, USA, Canada, Switzerland, Mexico, Norway, Germany, Sweden, France or Italy.

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April 28, 2010, Florida- Surya Bonalay, who is a Olympian Legend who was also is a nine time French National Figure Skating Champion (1989–1997) and also for 5 times has won European Figure Skating Championships (1991–1995) has ever since the end of her competitive career been doing shows around the world. On many of the shows she had performed on synthetic ice, but was never 100% convinced of it because of the high friction which makes that skating needs more effort and dulls the blades. Everything has changed when Surya Bonaly discovered the latest technology in the field of synthetic ice:

XTRAICE When Surya Bonalay tested XTRAICE for the first time she was completely surprised about the superior quality compared to others. Her first tests totally changed her perception of synthetic ice. She said that “the surface [XTRAICE] is much smoother than any other surface” she also mentioned that “the blades get not wasted that fast as other surfaces”.

Also she mentioned that compared to a lot of other synthetic ice rinks, XTRAICE is seamless and you don’t have to worry where to step. Moreover she uncovered an interesting fact: While on conventional ice your feet get uncomfortably cold, on normal synthetic ice your feet get very hot because of the friction. Neither is the case with XTRAICE!

According to Bonaly, “After testing XTRAICE I was so convinced about it that I have bought my own surface for training and teaching. I can recommend XTRAICE as a substitute to conventional ice.” Her students can now get trained whenever they want because XTRAICE is available to them 24/7. Founded in 2003, XTRAICE is  a global company that develops, builds and installs ecological ice rinks which have revolutionized the world of sports and leisure facilities, becoming a leader internationally.

Its latest business milestones have included the installation of a rinks for Disney in Disneyland Paris and several training rinks for the Florida Panthers, NHL professional team and other Elite Hockey Centers in North America. Currently, over 150 XTRAICE  rinks are located in 36 countries, among them Japan, USA, Canada, Switzerland, Mexico, Norway, Germany, Sweden, France or Italy.

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Rather than waiting impatiently for the World Cup, play a multiplayer football management game and take part in it. All of this, and you do not even need to consider missing even one of the action-packed matches in South Africa. Once you’ve tried these quality soccer management games, you will never look back!

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XTRAICE is the first synthetic ice company with permanently embedded Hockey markings and creases.

To play Hockey games and having a realistic practice, hockey markings and creases are necessary. This however has so far been a challenge with the synthetic ice products. Markings have been painted on the surface, what however has been scratched off easily and didn’t give a good visual look to the ice rink.

XTRAICE, based in Florida, USA and Spain, Europe, have developed a technology to resolve this issue: Hockey markings, lines and creases are permanently embedded into the synthetic ice panels, which are 6.45 x 3.17 ft (1 x 2 m).

Ryan Schiff, the CEO Postgame of a famous Sport company and a passionate Hockey Dad, expressed his gratitude for this advanced technology:  “I had been searching for a long time for surface like this”

XTRAICE has built Hockey ice rinks up to Olympic size. However, very popular are small training rinks called XTRAICE Training Pro rinks 430 sqft (42m2) for goalie training as well as 1000 sqft (98 m2) rinks for shooting, 3 x 3 training.

Founded in 2003, XTRAICE is  a global company that develops, builds and installs ecological ice rinks which have revolutionized the world of sports and leisure facilities, becoming a leader internationally. Its latest business milestones have included the installation of a rinks for Disney in Disneyland Paris and several training rinks for the Florida Panthers, NHL professional team and other Elite Hockey Centers in North America. Currently, over 150 XTRAICE  rinks are located in 36 countries, among them Japan, USA, Canada, Switzerland, Mexico, Norway, Germany, Sweden, France or Italy.

To learn more, visit www.xtraice.com

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Ice hockey and figure ice skating are very demanding sports. So far synthetic ice products have improved in their gliding ability, but most still fail in responding like ice, that is, the way how the ice responds to certain moves like a hockey stop etc is not accordingly to ice.

 XTRAICE® has now engineered a product called XTRAICE® Sport Technology: It combines 2 technologies developed for demanding athletes: XTRAICE Max Gliding Technology and XTRAICE® Ice Identical Response Technology.

 This ensures that XTRAICE® Sport surface responds identical to conventional ice and has the lowest friction coefficient of its industry which results in realistic skating and lowest blade wastage.

 Moreover, high molecular density of the material ensures an unprecedented durability which allows skaters heavy duty practice for years. That’s why XTRAICE® provides the exceptional guarantee of 12 years on its XTRAICE® Sport Technology.

 Many experts and athletes have successful tested and acquired XTRAICE, among others Lance Wolgemuth, Ex Hockey Pro Player and VP of the state of the art skating treadmill Endlessice, has stated the following on XTRAICE Sport Technology:        “XTRAICE is the only product that performs exceptional in all facets of replicating real ice conditions”

 XTRAICE® builds Hockey ice rinks up to Olympic size. However, very popular are small training rinks called XTRAICE Training Pro rinks 430 sqft (42m2) for goalie training as well as 1000 sqft (98 m2) rinks for shooting, 3 x 3 training.

 Founded in 2003, XTRAICE® is  a global company that develops, builds and installs ecological ice rinks which have revolutionized the world of sports and leisure facilities, becoming a leader internationally. Its latest business milestones have included the installation of a rinks for Disney in Disneyland Paris and several training rinks for the Florida Panthers, NHL professional team and other Elite Hockey Centers in North America. Currently, over 150 XTRAICE®  rinks are located in 36 countries, among them Japan, USA, Canada, Switzerland, Mexico, Norway, Germany, Sweden, France or Italy.

 To learn more, visit www.xtraice.com

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The synthetic ice buyer’s guide

What is important when buying a synthetic Ice rink?

Synthetic ice is a perfect concept which can save millions of tons of CO2 worldwide and allow people to enjoy skating without tremendous energy expenses. However, there are nowadays many suppliers, seller and resellers of synthetic ice in the market with varying qualities.  This is creating confusion among buyers.  Since the concept is new, many buyers do not know which factors are important when selecting the right product. 

Therefore, the objective of this synthetic ice rinks buyer’s guide is to provide help in the buyer’s decision process to make sure they choose the right product and supplier.

Choosing the right product:

1.)   Low Coefficient of friction. This is the single most important attribute of synthetic ice. The lower, the better the quality of your ice rink. This has 3 main effects :

a. High gliding ability: It has to be as close to conventional ice as possible. Gliding ability is what makes ice skating a fun sport, you feel weightless and can slide without effort. If people don’t have that much fun skating, you will have less repeating customers, no word of mouth. Hence, high gliding ability is the single most important key success factor of a skating center and guarantees higher revenue.

b. Low usage of skate blades: lower quality synthetic ice have increased friction which means that your skate blades will be worn off more rapidly and then require frequent sharpening which lies between every 30 min - 2 hours the industry average. This means you have to sharpen each skate several hundred times each month, adding staff cost for sharpening and blade monitoring (rink guards who tell skaters to leave the rink to go sharpening). Also steadily replacing grinding wheels of the skate sharpener is costly. With the best the best quality product in the market you will have to do sharpening maximum once per day (if used none-stop 8hrs/day).

c. Low panel wear off: The better the quality, there is less abrasion and shaving off of the panels. This increases the durability. If the quality of panel material is of low quality, skating can produce a lot of worn-off particles which can produce undesirable littering around the rink and in the whole establishment. Also these unwanted particles have been reported to stick to cloths. The panels have to maintain a clean and proper look, without to deep scratches. Even if still the ice is still functional, a messy looking rink doesn’t invite for skating.

2. The way how the ice responds: So that synthetic ice is a true alternative to conventional ice, the ice has to responds to the skate movement exactly the way like ice. For example when doing a hockey stop, many synthetic ice have a longer trajectory than conventional ice. High quality ice responds like ice with all movements and has the same edge control.

 3.) Muscle usage identical to ice: On many synthetic ice rinks, the way muscles are used when skating is different than on conventional ice. A high quality surface allows the use of the same muscles and in the same way.

5.) seamlessness of connection system: The connection system of the panels has to be tight, seamless and effective, not allowing the panels to be loose. There are different system in the market.

6.) None toxic ingredients: some suppliers use toxic material such glycol for the gliding liquid which can be harmful for children and the environment.

Choosing the right supplier:

6.) Good References: The supplier should have extensive experience building synthetic ice rinks, especially the type, size and use you plan to build. Find out about the competence of the clients buying the product, the more expert they are, more you can trust the product they have bought. Talk with clients who have bought the same solution.

7.) Rink Management experience. The supplier has to be competent in the field of rink management and provide help and consulting, especially when there is no experience on the side of the buyer. Find out if the supplier has people on staff with rink management experience. This will make sure that your project will be successful beyond installation.

7.) Providing Turnkey solutions: The supplier should be able to provide a turnkey solution, so that you get the best possible solution and do not waste time and money finding out what you need to do, what you need to have and where you get it.

8.) Truly environment friendly: Make sure that the material is 100% recyclable and none toxic. Also check how environment friendly is the production, check with supplier if they use renewable or natural energy. Furthermore, does the supplier has environment certification? Truly ecological is only a product which fulfills these criteria.

9.) Good service level: How fast do they respond to your questions? How reliable is the information they give you? Remember that you will need the supplier’s help and support after the installation and you will happy if they have the same understanding of service you have.

So what are the steps to follow?

1. Gathering information: First find out as much as possible about the above the points before you take up a costly trip to see the supplier. Beware if you don’t get clear answers.

2. Analyze videos:  analyze the videos together with a hockey or figure skate expert. At least by video they can separate the chaff from the wheat.

3. Try the synthetic ice: Bring a Hockey/Figure ice skating expert with you and test the surface. The skater has to challenge himself with difficult moves and will notice the quality difference.

4. Try several suppliers: This process will ensure you find the best product in the market.

Go for quality: The synthetic ice surface represents only a minor percentage of the total investment of an ice rink business. If you pay more for quality surface, your cost only increases by a few single digits percentage. But with higher revenue and lower cost in the long run you will have a more sustainable and profitable ice rink business. How is the saying again: “I’m too poor to buy cheap”. 

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• The certification was conducted by the TÜV Rheinland Group Germany, a Leading technical inspection services and quality certification, established in 1872 in Cologne and with 490 branches distributed in 61 countries.

April 26, 2010 .- The Xtraice company has just received the quality certification ISO 9001 and environment certification ISO 14001 following the audit conducted by the prestigious TÜV over several months of inspection, control and analysis. The granting of these two certifications make Xtraice the first company in the industry to receive such certification. Obtaining the two certifications come after the implementation of a comprehensive plan that has been developed. Xtraice promotes a formula of work for continuous improvement of production processes, marketing and distribution , in addition to its environmental policy.

For Francisco Ortiz, president of Xtraice states: “obtaining both certificates, this puts XTRAICE again at the forefront of eco-ice companies, being the first to achieve this and it confirms the demanding work that has been developed over several years, and that aims to offer an innovative and ecological high-tech solution. ”

The TÜV Rheinland Group is a leading company in technical inspection services and quality certification, which was created in 1872 in Cologne and is governed by the principles of complete impartiality in conducting their inspection activities and certification.

Founded in 2003, Xtraice is a global company that develops, builds and installs ecological ice rinks which have revolutionized the world of sports and leisure facilities,becoming a leader internationally. His latest business milestones have included the installation of a rinks for Disney in Disneyland Paris and several training rinks for the Florida Panthers, NHL professional team in the US. Currently, over 150 Xtraice installed rinks are located in 36 countries, among them Japan, USA, Canada, UAE, Mexico, Norway, Germany, Sweden, France or Italy.

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synthetic ice rink – XTRAICE - a leader in the manufacture and sale of ecological ice rinks, synthetic ice rink, artificial ice rink, ice skating rink, ecological ice panels, fake ice, portable ice rink, ice skating rink, ice skating rinks and plastic ice.

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