Iron ponds’ ice hockey goalkeeper equipment is a success in the world.
Hundreds of NHL goalkeepers. About twenty gatekeepers in other main hockey series. Every other league guard in Finland. On top of this, the goals of the sub -series. All of these are united by the fact that these athletes rely on equipment made in the heartland of Savo.
Topi Auvinen The enthusiasm for the goalkeeper began during his own hockey career. When the equipment at that time did not satisfy the man, it was time to do better. The son of a handicraft teacher grabbed the old Singer sewing machine and also began to repair gambling equipment. Little by little, the reputation rushed and the hobby became bread work.
The repair of equipment has begun to be less. Self -designed neck protectors and braces are now the main product of Kova Goalie. The main market is North America. The company spins Topi and his spouse Noora Auvinen by the effort.
The fluctuations in international trade are visible up to Rautalampi. Spring was quieter than ever. Also Donald Trump Rywed economic policy has been wondering.
– However, I have not been able to stress about it when I can’t influence it in any way.
Dumb emails and bills of the bills
As the first familiar NHL Finnish watchdogs took Auvinen’s products behind the big water, the customer base began to expand.
Florida Panthers goalkeeper in the NHL Finals now Sergei Bobrovski trusts the equipment sent from Iron ponds. Tampa bay Andrei Vasilevski has been celebrating the Stanley Cup twice in the Savo -Spirit.
– Confusingly low marketing has done well. The jungle drum has gone forward, says Topi Auvinen.
Even surprising obstacles have come. Sometimes clubs running tens of millions of budgets have paid their bills over a year late. For example, Auvinen happened to Auvinen with Boston Bruins.
– And it was not a sum of a couple of hundred euros. Then they are not used to such small bills, laughs Auvinen.
Sometimes, in turn, the price of the equipment has been wondered. In this case, the equipment provider has explained that these are handmade special equipment that is not available from any online store.
Auvinen has a lot of dealing with NHL organizations. There are differences in clubs.
– Toronto and Florida are examples of the fact that things work easily. Somewhere else there may be two -sentence emails that are difficult to interpret what we want now.
A different way of thinking about
As a former goalkeeper, Auvinen has often wondered about the illogicality of the equipment used. For example, braces controllers have been on the front with the toughest shots in the match. Auvinen solved the matter by moving the regulators to the back.
The neck protectors are handmade according to the player’s wishes. Someone wants a more protective industry, someone wants to protect more mobile. For goalkeepers playing in the warmest areas of the NHL, the material can be made more breathable.
Finnish equipment expertise has been noticed internationally. Wall Mask from Kihniö has long taken goalkeepers’ protective masks abroad. Wall mask Petri Karvinen estimates that there are many goalkeepers for many departures.
– For some, it seems exactly what kind of plastic bucket they put on their heads. Others, on the other hand, want to make their equipment properly, especially on the hobby side.
Olympic and World Championship Gold Goalkeeper Frans tuohimaa He recalls that in the early stages of a career, fine -tuning equipment and finding the right model were more accurate. Nowadays, it is no longer case -by -case how much customization needs. Tuohimaa rally is almost directly from the store shelf, while knee pads require machining
Trends also vary.
– For myself, the current knee pads are probably two inches shorter than ten years ago. Everyone had long knee pads at that time. As the way to play hockey changes, the equipment changes.