Simplon (bicycle manufacturer)
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Simplon Fahrrad GmbH
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| legal form | GmbH |
| founding | 1961 |
| Seat | Hard , Austria |
| management | Stefan Vollbach |
| Number of employees | approx. 70 (2017) |
| sales | EUR 24.5 million (2017) |
| Branch | Bicycle manufacturer |
| Website | www.simplon.com |
The Austrian bicycle manufacturer Simplon builds bicycles (mountain bikes, e-bikes and racing bikes) based on individual customer requirements.
history
In 1930 Josef Hämmerle opened a bicycle shop in the Austrian Lake Constance community of Hard. In the 1950s, bicycles "Made in Switzerland" were in demand. Hämmerle named his company after the Swiss Alpine Pass Simplon in order to meet the Swiss level of quality by giving it a name. The company was founded in 1961 under the name "Simplon".
In the 1970s, Simplon developed the first racing bike models, which were then manufactured by various suppliers. In 1981 Gerhard Zadrobilek won the Tour of Austria on a Simplon bike at the age of 19 and is still the youngest winner to this day . In 1983, a new company building for production, assembly and storage was built in Hard. In the late 1980s, Simplon added the first mountain bike models to its product range. The son of the company founder, Andreas Hämmerle (1962–2018), formerly active in cycling, brought concepts and ideas of this new generation of bicycles from the USA to Hard and supported the creation of the new models at Simplon. When Austria joined the EU , Simplon began exporting to Germany and Switzerland
Simplon manufactured around 16,000 bicycles in 2008 and was the official sponsor of the Austrian professional cycling team Elk Haus-Simplon until it was closed in 2009 . In 2008 Christian Hämmerle took over the management. Since the 2009 season, Simplon has been a sponsor of the Austrian road racing team Team Felbermayr Simplon Wels . In mountain biking, the riders of the German Texpa Simplon team ride the Simplon Razorblade and Stomp models . Since the 2011 season, the German Pro-Continental cycling team Team NetApp has been racing with 17 riders from nine countries with Simplon Pavo road bikes and MR.T time trial machines. In triathlon , too , Simplon bikes can often be seen in long distance races.
2014, the German took Sparkasse Hannover Group as a strategic partner 55% stake in Simplon. In 2015 Stefan Vollbach joined the company as managing director. After Andreas Hämmerle in the summer of 2015, Christian Hämmerle also stepped down as managing director of the operational Simplon Fahrrad GmbH for personal reasons and Vollbach took over the sole management in October 2017.
In 2017, the halls at the headquarters were expanded by around 300 m² and the British market has also been supplied since 2017.
Locations
In addition to the headquarters in Hard am Bodensee, Austria, the company also has two subsidiaries in Switzerland (Individual Bikes GmbH, Herisau ) and Germany (Simplon Deutschland GmbH, Singen ).
Products
Awards
Selection of awards for different products:
- 2005: Eurobike Award Gold for Simplon NANOLIGHT
- 2005: Eurobike Award for Simplon GRAVITY
- 2005: Red Dot Design Award for Simplon PRIDE
- 2007: Eurobike Award Silver for Simplon RAZORBLADE
- 2009: iF Product Design Award for Simplon MR.T
- 2009: Eurobike Award for Simplon SERUM
- 2010: iF Product Design Award for Simplon SERUM
- 2010: Eurobike Award for Simplon SILKcarbon
- 2010: German design award for Simplon SERUM
- 2010: Tour Milestone Award for Simplon SERUM
- 2010: Design Award Germany for Simplon MR.T
- 2010: Red Dot Design Award for Simplon SERUM
- 2011: iF Product Design Award for Simplon SILKcarbon M2
- 2012: German design award for Simplon SILKcarbon M2
- 2012: iF Product Design Award for Simplon KIARO
- 2012: Red Dot Design Award for Simplon RAZORBLADE 29
- 2013: Nominee German Design Award Simplon KIARO
- 2013: iF Product Design Award for Simplon NEXIO frameset
- 2014: German Design Award for Simplon NEXIO (Special Mention) and Simplon RAZORBLADE 29
- 2015: Red Dot Design Award for Simplon SENGO 275
- 2015: iF Product Design Award for Simplon SENGO 275
- 2017: Red Dot Design Award for Simplon CHENOA HS
- 2018: Red Dot Design Award for Simplon PRIDE and Simplon Silkcarbon Neodrives
Web links
- Homepage of the Simplon company
- Article In: The Standard
- Article from Vorarlberg Online
Individual evidence
- ↑ Simplon expands its headquarters in Hard for one million euros (December 6, 2017)
- ↑ Simplon is repositioning itself (August 31, 2017)
- ↑ AWARDS. Retrieved July 12, 2018 .
Coordinates: 47 ° 29 ′ 16.5 " N , 9 ° 42 ′ 45.7" E