Batavus

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Batavus logo

Batavus is a Dutch bicycle manufacturer, currently owned by the Accel Group European Cycle conglomerate.

1 History
2 The Olympics and other victories
3 Innovations
4 References
5 External links

[edit] History

In 1904, Andries Gaastra opened a shop selling clocks and small farm machinery. Within two years, he had added bicycles to his inventory, first selling bikes manufactured by the German company Presto. Soon, he changed his plan and began making and selling bicycles under the Batavus brand.^[1]

By 1917, Batavus had taken over a large bicycle factory. The 1930s proved difficult for the company, as much of Europe was undergoing an economic recession at the time, but Batavus continued growing by diversifying their line to include carrier tricycles, motorcycles, and even ice skates. World War 2 saw the temporary shutdown of the Batavus factory, however, business resumed in 1945 when the war ended and demand for bicycles increased dramatically. At this time, the company invested in an entirely new factory with modern assembly lines, which brought them to the forefront of modern bike manufacturing at the time. In 1948, Batavus was one of the first companies to develop and manufacture their own moped.^[1]

In the early 1970s, bicycle demand continued to increase, prompting Batavus to expand their factory to 25,000 square meters.^[1] Moped demand began to decline, and although there was a significant increase in moped popularity in the USA during the fuel crisis of the 1970s, they built and shipped their last moped in the early 1980s.

[edit] The Olympics and other victories

During the 1986 and 1992 Olympic Games, Batavus was the official supplier of the Dutch cycling Union (KNWU). Monique Knol won a Bronze Medal during the 1992 Olympics on a Batavus. Leontien van Moorsel won the Tour Feminin twice, riding Batavus bicycles.

[edit] Innovations

In 1988, Batavus began to invest heavily in research and development and from then through 1996, the company won the Good Industrial Design award for their Safety Handlebar, Quick Service chain guard, Safety Stander and Ergo System stem innovations.^[1]