Glice Factsheet

  • Founded:
    2012
  • Headquarters:
    Lucerne, Switzerland / Boulder, Colorado, US
  • Mission:
    Sustainable ice sports worldwide
  • Company History:
    CEO Viktor Meier saw a BBC documentary about Toni Vera, who was developing an ecological ice. Together they founded Glice.
  • Founder duo:
    Viktor Meier: studies of diplomacy / Toni Vera: engineer and former hockey player
  • Number of rinks worldwide:
    1000+
  • Number of countries:
    80+
  • Number of licensing partners:
    60+
  • Advantages of ecological ice:
    zero water, zero energy = sustainable, independent of climate, cost-effective
  • Technology:
    by means of friction the blades cut open molecules, which release a lubricant – the glide effect is only 2 % slower than conventional ice
  • Installation duration::
    2h for 200m2
  • Key markets:
    typical winter sport countries such as the US, Germany, Switzerland
  • Exotic Destinations:
    tropical nations like Maldives, Singapore, Tanzania, UAE
  • Venues / clients (B2B & B2C):
    municipalities, Christmas markets, hotels, ice hockey clubs, malls, zoos, amusement parks, educational institutions, theater, TV shows, private customers, events
  • Famous customers include:
    Coca Cola, Red Bull, CCM, Four Seasons, Jumeirah, Kempinski, The Venetian, Hard Rock Cafe, Decathlon, Barneys New York
  • Professional references include:
    Roman Josi (Captain Nashville Predators, NHL), Cliff Ronning (NHL veteran), Tanja Shevchenko (German ice skating icon), Surya Bonaly (Olympic ice skating legend)
  • Special projects & records:
    Replacement of the world’s largest refrigerated ice rink in Mexico 2019; biggest ecological ice rink in the world in Baku, Azerbaijan; Olympia 2016 Brazil & Olympia 2018 South Korea
  • Products / applications:
    Ice hockey, ice skating, leisure, Eisstock (curling), home pads
  • Financing options:
    Purchase, Rental
  • Organizational culture:
    Employees spread out across the globe, emphasis on home office, cloud-based real time exchange of information