"The shelves are full"

Tyvek race bibs and transponder availability

As Head of Operations, Felix Schoeppe is responsible for the every-day-business in RACE RESULT's production department. He speaks here about the availability of race bibs, UHF transponders for sports timing and why he still thinks Tyvek® is the best material for race numbers.

It wasn't that long ago that Felix Schoeppe was a lot more tense than he is now, in spring 2022. The printing machines are now constantly running, and tens of thousands of custom printed race bibs and passive transponders leave the production facility of RACE RESULT every day. "It's really spring fever. After two years of pandemic, the sports event scene is picking up speed again. We can feel that from the high demand, which even is starting to exceed even pre-crisis levels.”

Just in time is over

The fact that he can be happy about the high demand is also due to the fact that RACE RESULT has no shortage of materials, at least when it comes to consumables. When delivery problems with microchips and Tyvek® became apparent in the middle of last year, the company management made a strategic decision:
“Just-in-time no longer works. We wanted to always have important event accessories available, no matter how bad the crisis could get. That's why we invested a lot of time and money to fill our warehouse with Tyvek® and passive timing chips," says Schoeppe. The years of close communication with Tyvek® manufacturer DuPont paid off. For passive transponders, RACE RESULT has been pursuing a second-supplier strategy for a long time. “Fortunately we were able to fill our shelves in time. If I had to order more at the moment, I would sleep prtetty badly.”
Sufficient material is available for the current year, and pre-orders for 2023 are already being planned.

No alternative to Tyvek® in sight

Felix Schoeppe also searched extensively for alternatives to Tyvek® and tested various materials. In direct comparisons, however, all other candidates failed.
“I understand that customers are looking for materials that are, for example, a little cheaper. But don't forget the actual purpose. If the runner makes it to the finish but the race number doesn't, something went wrong. We are currently hearing and reading about paper race numbers and similar experiments. I strongly advise against such products. Tyvek® has proven itself over many years: It is tear-resistant, waterproof and, above all, comfortable to wear. If there were realistic alternatives, we would certainly include them in our program.”

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