Cycling boom in Corona summer
In procurement logistics, a. hartrodt CycleLOG works closely with colleagues in Taiwan.
Peter Zink does it this summer like many people – he takes his bike more often. "2020 is a good year for the bicycle industry," observes the Business Development Manager Middle East, Greater China at a. hartrodt in Frankfurt. When he is pedaling at home in the Rhine-Hesse region of Germany, he sees not only senior citizens on the many electric bicycles. "The demand for e-bikes is growing exorbitantly," emphasizes the manager. And a. hartrodt CycleLOG makes sure that everything gets to its destination quickly and safely – complete bikes, individual components such as handlebars or hubs, and accessories such as functional clothing or helmets.
E-bikes popular among Europeans
"The bicycle business is exploding because of Corona," summarizes Zink. This is confirmed by a survey of over 13,000 people in eleven European countries by the manufacturer Shimano during the Corona peak. According to the survey, 30 percent of Italians are likely to buy or use an e-bike more now than twelve months ago. Among Dutch, Polish and Swiss, the figure is 26 percent (Germans: 10 percent).
Many bicycle parts are made in Taiwan
"Frames and many other bicycle parts are produced in Taiwan, complete e-bikes are assembled in Asia," explains Zink. On the island off the Chinese mainland, a. hartrodt has ten employees. For customers in Europe or the USA, they benefit from a. hartrodt's worldwide network for air and sea freight and courier services. Westbound, full and consolidated containers are mainly shipped via the ports of Keelung or Kaohsiung. The procurement logistics for the bicycle niche market also includes customs clearance and B2C/B2B delivery. Contact persons are the sales employees of a. hartrodt, some of them will visit the leading bicycle trade fair Eurobike in Friedrichshafen at the end of November.
Zink personally prefers muscle power when cycling, for a. hartrodt he is competing at the Cyclassics Hamburg. Initiators of the cycling racing team are Hendrik Khezri, Managing Director Air Freight at a. hartrodt in Frankfurt, and Martin Argendorf, Manager Human Resources at a. hartrodt in Hamburg.