Outdoor leisure: MND's global offer
Yan Chiantello, Managing Director – MND China, discusses MND’s presence in China.
What are the main dynamics of the Chinese mountain market?
MND has been present in China since the early 2010s. We came with a first wave of development around Beijing in Hebei province in particular, as well as in provinces historically linked to snow such as Heilongjiang or Jilin. This winter sports sector has been boosted by the winning of the Olympic Games and we participate in several projects such as Golden Mountain or Swan Lake. The market is now spreading towards «4 seasons» subjects for which we are providing solutions and are currently mobilized in more distant regions such as Xinjiang or Sichuan.
What does China represent, in terms of activity, for MND Group?
In China, MND is mainly involved in turnkey «Greenfield» ski resort projects for which our 4 business lines – snow, ropeways, leisure and safety – can be engaged. This global offer allows us to also respond to «brownfield» projects either by installing outdoor leisure products complementary to existing installations on our customers’ sites, or by modernizing existing infrastructures as we did in Wanlong where the snowmaking has been fully automated to sustainably optimize resources.
How does this result in terms of development projects?
The development of our activity resulted in the ability to meet the demands of our customers for most of their needs. The outdoor tourism sector is one of the main priorities of development on Chinese territory and is part of the promotion and development physical activity of the population set by the central government. In terms of projects, MND inaugurated a year ago an urban leisure offer at the heart of the Canton Tower and is currently supporting the Swan Lake resort on leisure and ropeways issues to develop its 4-season attractivity.
For several years, the group has multiplied partnerships with local players. What have been the effects of these partnerships on your activities?
Indeed, MND has forged several important partnerships allowing us to get closer to our customers and to offer a more local service. In particular, we work in close collaboration with Hebei Tourism, which benefits from the proximity of our JV in Zhangjiakou where our service workshop is located.
What projects related to the Beijing Olympics (2022) has the MND group been involved in?
Partner of ski competitions for 10 years in France, MND ensures the complete security of the Criterium de la Première Neige in Val d’Isère, and exported its know-how during the Sochi 2014 Olympic Games in Russia – for which MND built a chairlift and ensured avalanche safety – just like in Cortina d’Ampezzo in Italy which hosted the World Championships in 2021 and will organize the Winter Olympics in 2026.
On the occasion of the 2022 Winter Olympics, MND is present in the Olympic zone with ropeways infrastructures built on various training sites, for snowboarding in Changchengling in particular.