Our company philosophy has always been to make a quality product at a fair price, and that quality starts with good ash,’ Christian Gasser told me, while making coffee. I had travelled from the UK to Austria on an overnight train, sharing a sleeping carriage from Paris to Munich with five students who had just finished their exams. I needed coffee.
‘We are well known in this business because we have been making toboggans for so long. We are a small company with eight employees, but we are healthy and busy all year round,’ Christian said, pouring the coffee. He was short, sinewy, square-shouldered, strong and full of energy. His youthful eyes never rested.