History
Derby Cycle Corporation has roots in Luxembourg-based Derby International Corp. SA, a company that had purchased Raleigh Bicycle Company in April 1987. The Derby Cycle Corporation was acquired by chief Alan Finden-Crofts, former chief of Dunlop Slazenger, and attorney Ed Gottesman, from Tube Investments (TI) for £18 million, plus £14 million in assumed debt.
In 1988, Derby Group acquired the "Kalkhoff" brand from the insolvent Neue Kalkhoff Werke GmbH & Co. KG., creating the German subsidiary Derby Cycle Werke GmbH ("Derby Cycle Werke"). Kalkhoff had been founded in Oldenburg in 1919. In 1992, Derby Holding (Deutschland) GmbH was established, incorporating Derby Cycle Werke and Raleigh Fahrräder GmbH.
Derby Cycle sought U.S. bankruptcy protection on August 20, 2001. The management of Derby International, now Derby Group, acquired Derby Cycle Corporation and renamed it Raleigh Cycle Ltd.
In November 2007, Kalkhoff took over the insolvent Derby Cycle Werke's Kynast works in Quakenbrück. [4] The initial public offering followed the successful restructuring of the Frankfurt subsidiary Finatem on 4 February 2011. The Dutch Accell Group launched a failed takeover attempt in late 2011. Instead, Derby Cycle became part of the Dutch Pon Holdings.
Pon Bicycle Group is a Dutch trading company and owns the brand Gazelle, Cervélo and Union Bicycles. [5]
Dorel Industries Inc. is a Canadian company, based in Montreal, Quebec, which designs and manufactures juvenile products and home furnishings. Its Dorel Sports division, sold in 2022, sold bicycles. It was formed in 1987 as a result of a merger between Dorel Co. Ltd., founded in 1962 by Leo Schwartz and Ridgewood Industries, founded in 1969. Dorel employs approximately 10,000 people and its products are sold in over 100 countries.
Pacific Cycle, Inc., is an American division of Dutch conglomerate Pon Holdings that imports and distributes bicycles. It was founded in 1977 by Chris Hornung. The company pioneered the sourcing of bicycles from the Far East for distribution in the U.S., developing relationships with suppliers primarily in Taiwan and China. The company now owns several well known bicycle brands as well as diversifying into bicycle accessories and other types of children's play equipment. Pacific Cycle sells more bicycles than any other company in North America and is one of the most prolific bicycle suppliers in the world. In 2006, Chris Hornung left Pacific Cycle leaving President Jeff Frehner in control. Alice Tillett has been the President of Pacific Cycle since 2008.
Mongoose is an American brand name of bicycles originally designed, manufactured, and sold by BMX Products, Inc. It is now available through the distributor Pacific Cycle.
Sachs Bikes International Company Limited is a German-based motorcycle manufacturer, founded in 1886 in Schweinfurt as Schweinfurter Präzisions-Kugellagerwerke Fichtel & Sachs, formerly known as Fichtel & Sachs, Mannesmann Sachs and later just Sachs.
TI Group plc was a holding company for specialised engineering companies. It was based in Abingdon, Oxfordshire and was listed on the London Stock Exchange, at one point being a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.
The Raleigh Bicycle Company is a British bicycle manufacturer based in Nottingham, England and founded by Woodhead and Angois in 1885. Using Raleigh as their brand name, it is one of the oldest bicycle companies in the world. After being acquired by Frank Bowden in December 1888, it became The Raleigh Cycle Company, which was registered as a limited liability company in January 1889. By 1913, it was the largest bicycle manufacturing company in the world. From 1921 to 1935, Raleigh also produced motorcycles and three-wheel cars, leading to the formation of Reliant Motors. Raleigh bicycle is now a division of the Dutch corporation Accell.
Univega is a bicycle brand created during the bike boom of the 1970s by Ben Lawee (1926–2002), who founded Lawee Inc. to design, specify, and import bicycles initially manufactured in Italy by Italvega, and subsequently in Japan by Miyata.
Nishiki is a brand of bicycles designed, specified, marketed and distributed by West Coast Cycle in the United States, initially manufactured by Kawamura Cycle Co. in Kobe, Japan, and subsequently by Giant of Taiwan. The bicycles were first marketed under the American Eagle brand beginning in 1965 and later under the Nishiki brand until 2001.
Centurion was a brand of bicycles created in 1969 by Mitchell (Mitch) M. Weiner and Junya (Cozy) Yamakoshi, who co-founded Western States Import Co. (WSI) in Canoga Park, California to design, specify, distribute and market the bicycles. The bikes themselves were manufactured initially in Japan by companies including H. Teams Company of Kobe and later in Taiwan by companies including Merida. The Centurion brand was consolidated with WSI's mountain bike brand DiamondBack in 1990. WSI ceased operations in 2000.
Lotus was a brand of bicycles designed, specified, marketed and distributed by Lotus International Corp. of Syosset, New York, which had been founded by Sid and Ernst Star. The bikes were offered as a complete range, from entry level to professional models, and were manufactured by Tsunoda Bicycle Corporation of Nagoya, Japan, and subsequently by other manufacturers — including a group of mid-1980s high end models manufactured in Italy, in conjunction with Cinelli.
Focus Bikes is a bicycle manufacturer that has its administration in Stuttgart, Germany and production facilities based in Cloppenburg, Germany and builds sport bicycles such as e-bikes, racing bicycles and mountain bicycles.
Diamondback Bicycles is an American bicycle brand that is based in Kent, Washington. Diamondbacks are sold in many countries, including the United States, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Most Diamondbacks are considered to be mid-type bicycles, with a high-end prototype in development as of 2011. Diamondback is owned by global private equity firm Regent, L.P., which also owns Redline Bicycles.
Diamant is a German bicycle brand owned by Trek Bicycle Corporation.
Pon Holdings BV is a Dutch conglomerate in the transportation sector. It is one of the five largest bicycle manufacturers in the world, and owns bicycle brands Caloi, Cannondale, Cervélo, Derby Cycle, GT, Gazelle, IronHorse, Kalkhoff, Mongoose, Santa Cruz, Veloretti, and Schwinn, among others.
Kalkhoff is a German bicycle manufacturer based in Cloppenburg; it was founded in 1919 by Heinrich Kalkhoff as a family business.
Rixe & Co. was a German bicycle, moped, and small motorcycle manufacturer with a factory in Brake, Bielefeld, Germany from 1921 to 1984.
Signa Holding GmbH is Austria's largest privately owned real estate company. Signa Holding GmbH announced insolvency proceedings at the end of November 2023. The company will apply for self-administration restructuring proceedings at the Commercial Court of Vienna.
Accell Group N.V. is a bicycle company based in Heerenveen, Netherlands. They own the bicycle brands Atala, Babboe, Batavus, Carraro Cicli, Ghost, Haibike, KOGA, Lapierre, Loekie, Nishiki, Raleigh, Sparta, Torker, Tunturi, Van Nicholas, Winora, and XLC components.
The Zweirad-Einkaufs-Genossenschaft (ZEG) is a purchasing association of over 1000 bicycle shops in Europe. The seat of the cooperative is in Cologne.
