About us

This is what we are, this is what we live

Climbing is in our genes, whether at the crag, in the gym, in snow and ice, in trees, or at industrial structures. For 160 years, we have believed that it is important to push boundaries, remain inquisitive and share the joy of our vertical world.

  • That's why we are constantly developing our products and solutions, from climbing equipment in mountain sports and indoor climbing to personal protective equipment (PPE) for professional applications.

  • As a manufacturer rooted in the Allgäu region, we produce our complete portfolio of mountain sports ropes, static ropes, accessory cords, and lines for paragliders and many other industrial applications in our rope factory.

Our vision

We make ideas come to life that enable free movement in a vertical world

We want every user of an EDELRID product to have the pleasure and freedom of moving vertically. This is where our history, our expertise, and our passion for the future lie. This is what we are passionate about: whether at the crag, in a climbing gym, working at height, or in tree care—we share our knowledge, experience, and ideas with everyone who wants to experience the joy of free movement at height.

Our mission

Our mission is to understand every detail about the development, the use and the impact of our products and make it publicly available.

We use and share our knowledge to make the best product, reduce its environmental impact and help climbers* to consciously assess their risks.

*Climbers are all persons that move in the vertical space

We are motivated by our need to understand our own products down to the last details and thus become better and better—when using the materials, through the application to durability and sustainability. This enables all users of our products to better assess the risks of their actions and thus to move more freely in the vertical. 

As a manufacturing company, we see it as our responsibility to share our knowledge and wealth of experience. This is who we are, and we have enshrined it in our mission.

Our values

We have a long history, a character of our own, many ideas, and great goals—we have something that defines us as EDELRID and sets us apart from others. Of course, this is a feeling of belonging, mindset, and shared values. We took a good look, twisted and turned things around, to finally put into words what we live every day—in our interactions with each other, with our customers, and with our business partners—our values:

  • We are a colorful bunch—a group of individuals with different characters, origins, and experiences.
  • We are a rope team—we trust one another and are one big, happy family both within and outside the workplace.
  • We are inventors—we have an inquisitive nature and strong motivation to develop, use, and share our knowledge.
  • We are sincere—we are true to our word and work openly and honestly.
  • We are thinkers and doers—we understand our trade and live for it.
  • We have the drive—we achieve improvements by being passionate about our products, technology, and practical experiences.
  • We bear responsibility—we use knowledge to make what we do sustainable.

Sustainability and innovative products

We produce several million meters of climbing rope each year and can proudly say that each of them is bluesign® certified for maximum protection of the environment and resources. In addition to ropes, EDELRID has been developing everything the climbing enthusiast desires—for decades with distinction.

We started with cords and fishing lines—today EDELRID is one of the most advanced mountain sports companies in the world.

    SPORT & PROFESSIONAL

    Our origins and passion lie in mountain sports. These drive us to reach new heights and keep us grounded. The expertise that we have gained through decades of experience in the field of mountain sports also benefits our Professional business area. We create synergies through knowledge transfer by intelligently networking specialists from the various user fields—for even better products and even more satisfied customers.

    • The Professional business area includes the strategic business fields of Work Safety, Adventure Parks, and Customer Solutions. It offers commercial users PPE products that have been specially developed for use in their segment.
    • Professionals in the field of work safety benefit from our knowledge of the vertical world. The EDELRID Work Safety products are specifically tailored to the challenges of industrial climbing and tree care, as well as mountain and height rescue.

    We also apply our knowledge from mountain sports in the Adventure Park division, where the products have been specially developed for high ropes courses, aerial forest parks, and adventure parks.

    • The Customer Solutions division is an expression of our textile expertise and has been part of EDELRID ever since our establishment. This division targets companies that need a strong partner for the supply of textile braids for industrial uses and the development of customer-specific products for the field of PPE. The products extend from lines for paragliders, kites, and parachutes through technical lines used in the automotive industry to customized solutions for various drive technologies, as well as rescue and working methods.

    Since 1863, we have not only been growing locally, but also beyond the borders of Isny. Whether in Germany or elsewhere in the world, we uphold the same production, safety, and quality standards. At the same time, we are still family-run as an independent business within the VAUDE Group.

    This is EDELRID in a nutshell.

    Facts and figures

    • Number of employees: approx. 220
    • Management: Albrecht von Dewitz, Vitus Wuhrer
    • Management: Markus Wanner
    • Business areas: Sports, Work Safety, Customer Solutions and Adventure Parks.
    • The brands Red Chili and ABS belong to the EDELRID Group.
    • "Made in Germany": part of the production, e.g. all ropes and lines, are made in Germany - in total about 60% of the EDELRID value chain.

     

    The milestones at a glance

    1863

    Julius EDELmann und Carl RIDder found EDELRID. One was a merchant and mountaineer, the other an engineer with substantial knowledge about braiding machines. The company starts as a strand and cord factory.

    1880

    The first braided fishing lines are launched by EDELRID in Berlin.

    Up to 1941

    Three different rope styles were common: twisted ropes—mainly made from Italian long hemp, Lützner ropes made of long hemp (spiral braided), core filament ropes made of pure natural silk. Then the first nylon ropes emerged in the USA and France.

    1953

    The kernmantel rope! EDELRID introduces the first kernmantel rope, revolutionizing safety equipment in mountain sports. The hemp rope in mountain sports and not infrequent rope breaks soon became a thing of the past.

    1964

    EDELRID developed the first energy rope, also known as the multi-fall rope. This marked the birth of the dynamic mountain rope in the form we know today.

    1965

    EDELRID launches the first harness—initially only for the chest—and develops the seat harness in parallel with the competition, which paved new paths for climbing in the 1970s. Now the difficulty levels knew no limits.

    1973

    Quickdraw sling: EDELRID is always on the cutting edge with innovations. Claus Benk, the owner of EDELRID at the time, launches the first sewn quickdraw sling.

    1977

    The twin strand technique developed by EDELRID is used as a standard in rope production worldwide.

    1994

    With the company keeping a lookout for new invention opportunities, EDELRID sees the breakthrough of canyoning as an adventure sport and develops the floating rope.

    1996

    EDELRID brings an indoor climbing rope onto the market that meets the tough demands of climbing gyms.

    2000

    The rope production developers are on the ball and create the 9.8 mm Dynalon rope: the thinnest single rope at the time.

    2006

    EDELRID becomes part of the VAUDE Group.

    2007

    EDELRID presents the first folding climbing helmet: MADILLO.

    2009

    EDERID is the first rope manufacturing company to meet the bluesign® environmental standard. The entire process chain (from fiber selection and production to the sale of the ropes) has been awarded the environmental standard.

    2010

    • EDELRID makes its mark in the high ropes course and excels with the Smart Belay, an intelligent system of intercommunicating pulley carabiners.

    • Certification of the environmental management system in accordance with EMAS/ DIN ISO 14001

    2013

    150 Years Rope Making Experience. EDELRID celebrates its 150th anniversary.

    2015

    Foundation of the US branch in Redmond / Oregon.

    2016

    • EDELRID introduces the OHM, revolutionizing safety when climbing in rope teams with weight differences.

    • Completion of all production, workshop and laboratory extension buildings.

    2017

    Merger with the climbing shoe brand RED CHILI, which continues under the EDELRID umbrella.

     

    2018

    • Completion of the new administration building at the company site in Isny.

    • EDELRID introduces the SWIFT ECO DRY, the first PFC-free climbing rope that complies with the UIAA standard for water-repellent ropes.

    2021

    • EDELRID becomes a member of the Fair Wear Foundation (FWF)
    • Bundespreis ecodesign for the first climbing rope made from recycled ropes: NEO 3R 9.8 mm

     

    2022

    Expansion of the portfolio to include winter sports: Avalanche backpack manufacturer ABS (ABS Sport + Protection GmbH & Co.KG) becomes part of the EDELRID Group.

    Our logo over time

    Our EDELRID logo shapes our brand image and has evolved with us over the past decades. In the meantime, we are characterized by our word/image mark—the combination of technically modern lettering with a bold, fresh green image mark: the small green e, which has now become the EDELRID green and can be found in both our product and packaging designs.

    We have been pursuing the alpine idea for 160 years.

    We can look back on a long and turbulent history—the company has burned down and been rebuilt twice over the years; it has been bought and sold again; it has overcome tragedies and celebrated successes. We invented the kernmantel rope, which is still the industry standard for all mountain ropes. Our development team is credited with the first rope that can float, a rope certified to all three possible standards (single, double, and twin) and the first PFC-free climbing rope that complies with the UIAA standard for water-repellent ropes, as well as the first rope with 50% of its content made with recycled rope.