Text: Christian Bonk
Uvex: The emergence of a market giant
Sports helmets and goggles from the Uvex and Alpina brands are a firm favourite with bikers, winter sports enthusiasts and equestrians on trails, pistes and riding facilities. Market penetration is high, whereby Alpina is referred to within the company as the smaller, more experimental subsidiary, while Uvex stands for uncompromising safety technology and quality. However, the Uvex family business as a whole includes several more brands and labels than just the sports helmets and goggles that are so popular with athletes.
Whether Filtral sunglasses, Heckel safety shoes, HexArmor safety gloves, Primetta fashion sunglasses or safety eyewear under the umbrella of Uvex safety: high-quality optics and the aspect of safety - whether in business or sport - form the DNA of everything that belongs to the company under the Uvex umbrella. In the 1930s, Philipp M. Winter founded the "Optische-Industrie-Anstalt Philipp M. Winter" at the company's current location in Fürth and began manufacturing safety spectacles and the first special glasses for athletes.
According to the company chronicle, athletes were already wearing the innovative products of the eyewear manufacturer at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. In 1956, the actual founder of Uvex, Rainer Winter, took over the management of the company and created the current brand name Uvex as a term of art to describe the technical quality of his eyewear innovations "ultra violet excluded", a lens technology that basically filters UV light to protect athletes' eyes from harmful sunlight. From then on, all of the company's sports and safety products were summarised under the newly designed Uvex logo.
Naming
Rainer Winter - the founder of the family business Uvex - thought that sunglasses could not be labelled with the name "Winter". So the brand name was created from the abbreviated form of the quality feature for spectacle lenses: "ultra violet excluded". This can also be seen in the first brand logo, created in 1956: all sports, leisure and safety products under one roof.
The original logo shows a sun whose rays are blocked by a "glass" and has continued to evolve in the spirit of modernisation until the current logo, which Uvex has been using since 2013. Even today, Uvex bike eyewear is characterised by its reliable filter properties, which ensure good vision on the one hand and optimum eye protection on the other.
Top athletes wear Uvex
The innovative technologies culminate in products for top international athletes: From spring 2024, Uvex will be equipping the UCI World Tour Team Intermarché-Circus-Wanty with helmets and goggles - including for the Tour de France. The valuable feedback from the athletes will of course also be incorporated into all other products. From next season, four helmet models and five pairs of cycling glasses will be part of the equipment of the professional cyclists who want to fight their way to the top of the rankings in major and prestigious cycling races such as the Tour de France and stages of the Giro and Vuelta.
"As always, we place particular emphasis on combining innovation, functionality, design and the highest quality in our new developments for cyclists," explains Oliver Mulatz, Director Category Helmets. "We want to develop products that not only meet the highest standards of protection and comfort, but also incorporate unique technical solutions and innovative materials."
Cycling helmets are now more than just protection for the head. They can also be a fashion accessory and reflect a personal style. - Oliver Mulatz, Director Category Helmets at Uvex
Production of Uvex in Germany
Today, Uvex operates 49 branches in 22 countries, with the largest proportion (60 per cent) of the current 3,000 employees working at locations in Germany. The company headquarters are located in Würzburger Straße in Fürth. Other important production sites are Ellefeld and Lüneburg, and the manufacturer operates a further plant in Cagi, Italy. Uvex-safety's global production sites include Kunshan in China, Saint Paul in the USA and Durban and Irene in South Africa.
In the 2021/2022 financial year, the Uvex Group closed with growth of over ten per cent and generated over 580 million euros worldwide. The sports divisions Uvex, Alpina, Hiplok and Filtral Group generated around a quarter of total sales. Three quarters of sales were generated by the Uvex safety group division with its safety products for professional users.
In view of the coronavirus-related closures or partial closures of a number of ski resorts over the past two years, sales of ski helmets and goggles in particular declined. However, this was offset by high growth rates in equestrian sports in the riding helmet and glove product groups as well as in the cycling helmet and sports eyewear product groups.
Sustainable cycle helmets
Under the claim "protecting planet", the Uvex Group has integrated a sustainability concept into the company in recent years that encompasses sustainable production (use of recycled and renewable materials), resource management (CO2 neutrality by 2045) as well as social and societal responsibility. For example, recycled materials are being used in more and more products. In addition, the company has published a sustainability report on its website, which is based exactly on the structure recommendations of the GRI guidelines (Global Reporting Initiative) and is updated annually.
With the "Uvex urban planet", the Fürth-based manufacturer shows how sustainability can be visualised in the bicycle helmet sector. The stylish helmet is made from recycled and bio-based materials and enables the helmet components to be recycled separately at the end of the product life cycle: all the materials used can be cleanly separated from each other and then recycled. At the same time, it is equipped with the latest safety and comfort features.
The robust hard-shell helmet, whose outer shell is made from bio-based HDPE, can be customised in size using the tried-and-tested 3D IAS system. Inside, a floating liner made from recycled material is designed to provide additional comfort. Ventilation is provided by 14 ventilation openings. In addition to the deep-drawn rear area, the safety package includes the mini brim on the forehead and the side temple protection. The reflective straps and chin pads are also made from recycled material.
The latest safety technology: MIPS
The latest development in the bicycle helmet sector is the so-called MIPS (Multi-Directional Impact Protection System) technology. Intensive research has accompanied this development, which is essentially about cushioning falls that result in an oblique impact of the head due to a rotational movement in order to minimise the risk of head and brain damage.
In practice, MIPS helmets have an additional sliding shell in the actual helmet, which sits close to the head. In the event of an oblique impact, the MIPS system minimises the force exerted on the skull and brain when the rotational movement stops abruptly. This is achieved by a sliding gap of 10 to 15 millimetres set up for the shell, which converts the impact shock into kinetic energy and directs it away from the head.
Uvex in figures
The Uvex Group includes the Uvex safety, Uvex sports (incl. Alpina), Filtral and Primetta divisions as well as the UD2C Group.
- Foundation: 1926
- Company headquarters: Fürth
- Employees: 3000 (worldwide), of which around 60 per cent in Germany
Interview with Oliver Mulatz: "Appearance plays an important role"
Oliver Mulatz, Director Category Helmets at Uvex, on the development of modern cycle helmets:
"As always, we place particular emphasis on combining innovation, functionality, design and the highest quality in our new developments for cyclists. We want to develop products that not only meet the highest standards of protection and comfort, but also incorporate unique technical solutions and innovative materials. When developing new products, we also pay particular attention to sustainability, for example by using environmentally friendly materials and production processes.
Perfect fit and wearing comfort are other important aspects that we focus on when developing new products. Cycling helmets are now more than just protection for the head. They can also be a fashion accessory and reflect a personal style. More and more customers are looking for customised solutions that meet their needs and wishes. Appearance therefore plays an important role, and we emphasise a modern, functional and attractive design. A helmet that doesn't fit properly or is uncomfortable is often not worn. That's why we are always looking for improvements to achieve a perfect fit and improve the wearing experience at the same time."
