Recently ECF was invited to the royal opening of the new Gazelle factory in Dieren, Netherlands by our Cycling Industry Club member PON which owns the Gazelle business along with a stable of international bike brands including Union, Kalkhoff, Cevelo, Focus, Univega and BBB Cycling. On 3^rd September King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands opened a 7000sqm new assembly hall which also allowed the company to extend and re-model its original factory that has been on the Dieren site since 1902.

All those pictures of the Dutch Royal family riding bikes? Those are mostly Gazelle, a brand with a royal association going back many years and led to the brand being given the right to use the title Koninklijke Gazelle (Royal Gazelle). Another feature of the new Gazelle opening was the importance of e-bike production in the new facility, both pedelecs and speed pedelecs are critical to the future of the Gazelle brand. The €10million investment by the PON group is further evidence that bicycle making in Europe is enjoying a renaissance in investment and innovation.

Some of this confidence comes from new investors in the market like PON Holdings, a broad transport and mobility company with over 30,000 employees worldwide that has identified cycling as a key component of future mobility. But it is also clear that the move towards higher complexity, technology and added value means that bikes made in Europe are competitive in the global market place. European companies are not the only ones investing, there is wide interest from US and Asian companies to grow their production and assembly in Europe.

ECF’s Cycling for Growth Initiative is a new campaign to show public authorities at the international, national and regional level that investment in the growth of cycling can have a direct impact on the re-industrialisation of Europe, encouraging investment and innovation. The case study of this new factory and new investment in one of Europe’s most historic cycling brands is a great example.

More information about Gazelle here.