The dream of yesterday is the reality of today and tomorrow.

Time is stretchable. Especially in emergency situations, when you hope to be rescued, seconds and minutes become small infinities. AirMarker co-founder Rico Dürst knows this feeling. As a flight helper, he was on the lookout for injured or missing persons as well as injured or dead cows with the helicopter and almost every time he said to himself: «If only the injured people had a balloon, then ...». This is how the idea was born that now – well thought out and patented worldwide – represents a category all of its own in the outdoor market.

An idea gains momentum

A balloon that can be released by victims of accidents or missing people would simplify any search operation: Rico Dürst had this idea years ago, but let it slide into a drawer. Until 2021, when a rescue pilot friend told him the story of a wild rescue operation that would have taken hours. This was despite the fact that the approximate search radius had been clearly delineated. But the poor visibility combined with the fact that the victim was under a rocky outcrop had delayed the search. Rico Dürst remembered his idea with the balloon, and it opened an open door for the pilot and everyone else to whom he told it: The decision was made to turn the idea into a product. Rico Dürst found a sparring partner in his colleague of many years, Daniel Wattenhofer, and together they founded AirMarker AG and launched the «AirMarker» idea. They brought in a proven product design company, and a wild ride of progress, setbacks, learnings and the associated emotions ensued. But by 2023 the time has come: the AirMarker is ready to fly and make its mark in the sky as a unique balloon rescue system. Making its mark and being seen.

Blick aus einem Helikopter-Cockpit über die Schweizer Alpen
Bild eines Sees auf einer Passhöhe

Our crew

Behind AirMarker are great people who form a motivated and courageous team: thanks to people with over 20 years of experience in the operational as well as strategic management of sports brand businesses to highly ambitious career changers, we bring all the qualities that a modern Swiss start-up needs. We use the individual talents we have been given to make fast rescue operations possible with our AirMarker.

Rico Dürst, CEO und Founder von AirMarker AG

Rico Dürst

Founder & CEO

Daniel Wattenhofer, Partner bei AirMarker AG

Daniel Wattenhofer

Partner

Natascha Bruening, Mitarbeiterin Customer Service bei AirMarker AG

Natascha Brüning

Manager Customer Service & Administration

Claudia Wartmann, Mitarbeiterin Customer Service bei AirMarker AG

Claudia Wartmann

Finance & IT

Javier Gonzalez, Marketing bei AirMarker

Javier Gonzalez

Marketing

Nadja Kümin, Grafik Design und Marketing bei AirMarker AG

Nadja Kümin

Graphic & UX-Design

Thomas Schmdt, Head of Sales International bei AirMarker AG

Thomas Schmidt

Head of Sales International

thomas@AirMarker.swiss

Martin Barmettler, Sales Manager Schweiz

Martin Barmettler

Sales Manager Switzerland

Martin@AirMarker.swiss

Bern Lais, Vertriebsleiter Deutschland bei AirMarker

Bernd Lais

Head of Sales Germany, Sales Area: Baden

b.lais@agenturlais.de

Thorge Wiedbrauk, Sales Mitarbeiter AirMarker in Deutschland

Thorge Wiedbrauk

Sales area: Schleswig-Holstein, Lower Saxony, Bremen, Hamburg, North Rhine-Westphalia

agentur@thorgewiedbrauk.de

Frank Wich-Heiter, Sales Mitarbeiter AirMarker in Deutschland

Frank Wich-Heiter

Sales area: Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, Berlin, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania

hv-fwh@t-online.de

Thomas Stöbe, Sales Mitarbeiter AirMarker in Deutschland

Thomas Stöbe

Sales area: Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, Berlin, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania

ts-hv-fwh@t-online.de

Heiko Renowitzki, Sales Hessen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Saarland

Heiko Renowitzki

Sales area: Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland

heikorenowitzki@t-online.de

Sascha Rühl, Sales Hessen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Saarland

Sascha Rühl

Sales area: Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland

sascharuehl@web.de

Marcus Vogl, Sales Mitarbeiter AirMarker in Deutschland

Marcus Vogl

Sales area: North Bavaria

office@sportagentur-vogl.de

Michael Will, Sales Mitarbeiter Südbayern und Allgäu

Christian Heil

Vertrieb Gebiet: Südbayern & Allgäu

christian.heil@handelsagentur-heil.de

Michael Will, Sales Mitarbeiter AirMarker in Österreich

Michael Will

Sales area: East Tyrol, Carinthia, Upper Austria, Lower Austria, Vienna & Burgenland

michael.will@bkf.at

Wolfgang Wagner, Sales Mitarbeiter AirMarker in Österreich

Wolfgang Wagner

Sales area: East Tyrol, Carinthia, Upper Austria, Lower Austria, Vienna & Burgenland

wagner_camp@icloud.com

Kurt Plunger, Sales Mitarbeiter AirMarker in Italien

Kurt Plunger

Sales area: Italy

kurt@kumach.ch

Fotos eines Zelt-Basecamps im Schnee

Basecamp

Support

basecamp@airmarker.swiss

A dream dreamt alone is just a dream. A dream dreamt together becomes reality.

Associates, cooperation partners, friends: they are the ones who, with their trust, give the AirMarker product the necessary push for its establishment in the outdoor market. More info to follow.

Become a partner

Are you interested in becoming an associate or cooperation partner for our product? Then contact us at basecamp@airmarker.swiss.

Umriss eines Kletterers auf einem Klettersteig