Skiing on Russian Wood

What do Madschus, Karhu and Whitewoods skis all have in common? All have outsourced some or all of their ski and pole production to Russia. More specifically, to the ski factory Center of Sports Technologies (CST), located in Balabanovo, Kaluga region, about 60 kilometers from Moscow.

Along with skis, CST produces ski accessories such as greases and waxes, as well as hockey sticks and Nordic walking poles. CST also plans to launch production of snowboards.

CST owner and Chief Executive Igor Gavrilenko is a Master of Sport and lifelong sports professional (in the biathlon). After retiring from sports in 1997, he founded CST and has since grown it into Russia’s largest producer and exporter of skis. In its first year, CST produced just 10,000 skis per month; it now outputs some 90,000 skis each month, filling orders from some 15 major brands in Europe and the U.S.