Biria

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Biria
legal form Company with limited liability
founding 1982
resolution 2006
Seat Neukirch / Lausitz , Germany
management Mehdi Biria
sales 75 million euros (2005)
Branch Bicycle manufacturer

Biria was a German bicycle manufacturer with headquarters in Neukirch / Lausitz and is the inventor of the anti-lock braking system for bicycles.

Company history

In 1982, the native Iranian Mehdi Biria (* 1933) set up his company in Heidelberg and took over the general agency of the GDR bicycle manufacturers MIFA in Sangerhausen and VEB progress in Neukirch. In 1990 Mehdi Biria took over 51% of the shares in the Neukirch plant, the rest remained with the trust . The complete takeover of the company transformed into Sachsen Zweirad GmbH took place in 1991. In 1995 the company delivered the first cargo bikes for Deutsche Post AG . From 1998 it introduced other specialist trade brands. Biria manufactured bicycles of the brands Biria, Calvin, Dürkopp and Hawk. The company also produced special bikes such as cargo bikes , factory bikes and folding bikes .

In 2000 Bike Systems GmbH in Nordhausen was taken over. The bicycle factory operated in the GDR as part of the VEB IFA engine factory.

In 2001 Biria founded the Bike & Fitness Alliance in a merger with ten companies from the fields of production, sales and service . In 2003 Sachsen Zweirad GmbH and Biria AG merged to form Biria AG in Neukirch. Production continued in Neukirch and Nordhausen.

Biria was one of the three largest bicycle manufacturers in Europe. In 2005 the company had a turnover of approx. 75 million euros and employed a good 400 people; 500,000 bicycles were sold.

On December 22, 2005, the two bicycle factories in Neukirch and Nordhausen were sold to a subsidiary of the American fund company Lone Star due to lengthy financial problems . The original aim should be to reorganize society financially and make it competitive again. In 2006, contrary to expectations, only 300,000 bicycles could be produced.

The Biria bicycle factory in Neukirch in the Bautzen district was closed by the new owners at the end of 2006. The company's stocks, stocks and customer contracts were sold by Lone Star to the Mifa company for eight million euros. Mifa pays the purchase price with a transfer of 25% of its shares to Lone Star . 220 employees lost their jobs due to the closure of the Neukirch plant. At the beginning of February, the works council and management agreed on a social plan amounting to 3.6 million euros.

Biria had received state aid of 5.2 million euros until the sale . On January 25, 2007, the EU Commission decided that these subsidies had been wrongly given and should therefore be repaid.

The strike bike was only available in red or black

On June 20, 2007, the employees of the Nordhausen plant were informed that the plant would be closed on June 30, 2007. On August 10, 2007, Bike Systems GmbH filed for insolvency due to impending insolvency. Since the shutdown at the end of June, the workforce had kept the plant occupied in protest and thus initially prevented the complete dismantling of the production facilities. During the occupation, the workers made the "strike bike". With the takeover of the company by the insolvency administrator, the "permanent works meeting" ended. A short time later, most of the company was liquidated. On March 17, 2008, 21 former Nordhausen employees of Bike Systems GmbH founded Strike-Bike GmbH . Production started on May 1, 2008, and the company went bankrupt in November 2010.

Innovations

Biria was the first manufacturer to develop an anti-lock braking system for bicycles. Biria also had an electronic immobilizer for bicycles in its program, but its deterrent effect on thieves is questionable, as bicycles can be carried away.

"Biria unplugged" from 1998

In 1996 the "unplugged" model was presented, which was designed by TM-design. TM also made the carbon parts while the assembly took place at Biria. Since each bicycle was unique and differed in terms of its features, the sales price fluctuated between DM 17,000 and DM 22,000. As expected, the number of items was small, and some information is based on only 17 completed bicycles. The bicycle is considered an icon of bicycle design.

Web links

Commons : Biria  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Renner from the province in Die Zeit, July 24th. July 1992 No. 31
  2. ↑ Financial news DGAP ad hoc announcement v. December 6, 2006 Mifa AG buys assets from the Biria Group
  3. ↑ Peter Nowak : Strike-Bike as a brand . Telepolis , October 2, 2007
  4. ↑ http://zukunft-ostdeutschland.de/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=79:die-strike-bike-gmbh&catid=39:thueringen&Itemid=67
  5. ↑ Strike Bike filed for bankruptcy in Thüringer Allgemeine on November 11, 2010
  6. ↑ See utility model DE20309375U1 : Combination brake system . Published on August 14, 2003 , inventor: Mahdi Biria (page 1 below). ‌