WM 2500 in the Ritten Arena: The end of an era
1987 or 36 years is a long time in terms of technology. That year, Apple introduced the Macintosh Plus into our households - with an impressive 9" screen and 1 MB RAM upgradable to unachieved 4 MB. No more than 4 years earlier, Motorola presented one of the first mobile phones, the DynaTAC 8000X with a whopping 33 cm long and with a combat weight of 749 g.
And then, somewhere in picturesque South Tyrol, there was Willy Mulser. Willy thought, "I can do better", while fine-tuning his new WM 2500 ice resurfacer - a quantum leap with its driver's cab, water sprayer - and 2,500 mm conditioner.
Willy was probably just building the machine he would soon hand over to the Ice Ring on the Ritten; ice master Lenz was already waiting spellbound for his new toy, which would subsequently be his loyal companion for decades and turn out to be absolutely unique. Ultimately, his WM 2500 was the only vehicle of this model to leave Willy's shop.
Call it chance, call it destiny that ice master Lenz got the only machine of its kind with which he would subsequently create ice of such fine quality to make him an international reputation. He is a true luminary of ice resurfacing.
We need to bear in mind that the Ice Ring is not covered and, thus, a huge challenge due to weather influences or sudden temperature swings. But the symbiosis between master and machine unleashed an almost magical effect onto the track, which was of such outstanding excellence to become the place where records would be set and broken - up to today.
After 36 years and countless rink orbits, the WM 2500 is now being sent into well-deserved retirement. To celebrate this history-making event for WM technics appropriately, we brought the two ice enthusiasts, Willy and ice master Lenz, together with the machine one last time.
As is well known, technology was developing rapidly in the meantime. While MBs became the digital equivalent of grams and PCs with a 9-inch screen are now called tablets, ice master Lenz and his WM 2500 did laps around the Ice Ring in the Ritten Arena. Despite all the technical progress, he stayed true to "his" machine.
Meanwhile, Willy continued to work on his machines. His brilliant mind brought forth an ice-resurfacing attachment for the legendary Mercedes Unimog (1986) or, far ahead of its time, an electric drive as an alternative to the combustion engine (1995).
His inventive spirit, his quality standards, and his innovative philosophy still drive us to top performance today, boosting innovations such as the WM Autopilot, the first autonomous driving system for ice resurfacers; and hopefully, machines that will give all ice masters pleasure and good service for a long time - just like ice master Lenz's WM 2500: for 36 years. At least.