The fact that a new clothing brand for mountain and outdoor sports is called “NEUALP” certainly associates the idea with something new for the Alps. “Our extremely light insulated jacket is particularly conceived for people who are climbing and hiking in the Alps,” says Sascha Eichelkraut, who is the “inventor” of the ASCENTEC ONE jacket, so to speak.

However, if you look at it again – particularly when standing in front of a mirror – you see that the NEUALP logo actually stands for PLAUEN.

“That’s deliberate, because I feel closely related to Plauen and the Vogtland region,” says the 42-year-old, acknowledging his roots.

The native of Plauen attended the Friedens School until 1993, then completed his training at the Sparkasse Vogtland bank; after this, he became a mountain trooper in the German armed forces and spent several years serving in Canada and Turkey. He then studied political sciences in Marburg, which included spending two semesters in Moscow, and he was involved in research activities at Pforzheim University of Applied Sciences; he returned to Moscow and got to know his wife Anna there.

Sascha Eichelkraut returned to Plauen in 2014. “This is my home town where my parents have made me what I am. These are the streets where I spent my childhood and youth and my friends are here. Plauen and the surrounding area have a great deal to offer – the old Steinicht rock climbing area in the Elster valley, for example,” he adds, giving the reasons for his decision.

He became self-employed with his own management consultancy company and mainly supported small and medium-sized firms in developing and marketing products.

“I then hit on the idea of doing something myself and showing what’s possible. As we spend a lot of time outside in natural surroundings, my thoughts were drawn to clothing for mounting sports and outdoor activities, in order to link up with the textile tradition,” the entrepreneur says. He not only meant the tradition in the Vogtland area, but also in his family, because his grandfather and his aunt both worked in the textile industry.  

He found a partner in William Ruzek, an American, who lives in Plauen and took part in an expedition to Tibet as a geographer; he has been supporting him in implementing his idea. They have been using the experience gained from various companies and mountaineers. They were able to present their first product after development work lasting more than one year – a hard-wearing and therefore long-lasting jacket, which reliably keeps people warm thanks to its insulation and design. The two used a crowd-funding campaign to attract the funds required for production. The jackets are sold directly via an online shop. Sascha’s wife, Anna, supports the business as the photographer for marketing.

“The development work has shown how important it is to have a well-functioning network. I already sensed that at the Wilke Haus co-working centre in Plauen where I worked with other people setting up companies."

He is convinced that firms should work even more closely together in the Vogtland region – as is the case digitally in the South-West Saxony Association, for example. The expansion of the university of cooperative education is also important for him.

NEUALP now has its company headquarters on Senefelderstrasse in Plauen, where there is more space available. The company is seeking to grow. “It’s our goal to become a viable brand from the Vogtland region where as much work as possible is performed locally,” says Sascha Eichelkraut.

“You definitely can’t achieve that in a Monday-to-Friday job, but it’s a lot of fun.”

Update Januar 2023:

Mittlerweile konnte sich NEUALP als GmbH etablieren und ist auf die L.-F.-Schönherr-Straße in Plauen umgezogen. Auch konnte die Produktpalette weiter ausgebaut werden.

Contact

NEUALP 
Sascha Eichelkraut
Senefelderstr. 5
08523 Plauen
Deutschland
Phone: +49 3741 25185 21
E-mail: contact(at)neualp.com
Internet: www.neualp.com