Schwalbe Achieves Another Record Turnover
Schwalbe has increased its turnover to 335 million euros in 2022, a growth of more than 20 percent compared to the previous year (277 million euros). This means a new record for Schwalbe in the year of the brand’s 50th anniversary.
Frank Bohle, CEO of Ralf Bohle GmbH, the company behind Schwalbe: “The past business year marks another chapter in the success story we have been writing at Schwalbe for 50 years now. This development makes me very happy. The basis for this is above all our high-quality products as well as our permanent innovative spirit.”
A success factor last year was also the constantly high demand for e-bikes, especially in the touring and urban sector, but also for e-MTBs. Schwalbe convinces with a broad and high-quality product range.
At the same time, the family-owned company focused even more on the issue of corporate responsibility last year. The official start of the Schwalbe Recycling System in Germany marks a milestone. Previously, used bicycle tires were incinerated. Now Schwalbe is the first and only manufacturer in the world to not only take them back via specialist dealers, but also recycles and uses them for the production of new Schwalbe products. This functioning circular economy will reach its next peak in June 2023, when the first bicycle tire produced from used tires, among other things, will be presented.
With the publication of the first CSR report in 2022, Schwalbe also officially anchored the topic of ecological and social responsibility holistically in the company as well as formulating concrete, measurable goals for the coming years. One example of the social commitment is the newly founded Children’s Advisory Council, which gives children and young people a voice in the company. They decide independently which children’s aid projects Schwalbe should support and to what extent.
DECLINE EXPECTED, POSITIVE MEDIUM-TERM OUTLOOK
For the 2023 business year, Schwalbe expects a decline in turnover in the lower double-digit percentage range. This is mainly due to the overall economic situation as well as the dampened consumer sentiment caused by war and inflation. Added to this are industry-specific factors such as the high inventory levels across the trade as a whole. In the medium
to long term, the company is optimistic about the future: “The external factors cloud the outlook for this year, but I am convinced that the bicycle industry will continue its extremely positive development of the past years in the medium term. There is no way around the mobility turnaround, even if we would, of course, like to see a faster pace,” says Bohle.
50 YEARS OF SCHWALBE
The company behind Schwalbe, Ralf Bohle GmbH, initially exported bicycle components made in Germany. It was founded in 1922 in Bergneustadt by the brothers Eugen and Willy Bohle. In 1955, Ralf Bohle, the second generation, joined the company. Frank Bohle’s father made the ground-breaking decision in 1973 to focus exclusively on bicycle tires. For this purpose, he designed a new brand for a brand new product that was characterized by especial high quality and high durability. With the Korean family-owned company Hung-A, he found a joint venture partner who consistently fulfilled his high demands. To this day, Schwalbe sets standards with its innovations and continues a 50-year success story as Europe’s market leader for bicycle tires.
Frank Bohle: “We have persistently listened to what the market wants. At the same time, we have been focusing on the bicycle for five decades and have always stuck to the product, which has made us strong. To live up to our claim as an innovation leader, we continue to develop ourselves and our tires every day.”
204 employees now work at the company headquarters in Reichshof, Germany, which was completed in 2021 and built entirely according to sustainability criteria. A further 68 employees work in subsidiaries in France, Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands and North America. Schwalbe sells its products worldwide. The tires and inner tubes are produced
together with the production partner Hung-A, whose production facilities are located in Indonesia and Vietnam. The two companies are not only linked by a joint venture, but also by a 50-year friendship that is unparalleled in the industry.
