Turkiye was briefly the headline on the NOS 8 o’clock news this week. Apparently, the country offers a cost-efficient and high-quality alternative for the bicycle industry. This summer, the last conventional bicycles of the Batavus and Sparta brands will be produced in the Netherlands. The parent company, Accell, needs to cut costs and has decided to move production to countries like Turkiye to reduce expenses.
Dutch production will be concentrated in one factory in Heerenveen (NL), focusing on the development of innovative and technically advanced bicycles. Unfortunately, this leads to the loss of 150 jobs and the end of production for these two iconic Dutch bicycle brands.
However, the Dutch cycling culture remains untouched. The Netherlands is and will continue to be a cycling nation. It excels in creating new bicycle concepts. For every stage of life, there is a bicycle. Inventive ideas find their way abroad through exports. Additionally, the Netherlands has various cycling infrastructure, designed by (traffic) engineers who are in demand internationally for their expertise.
Are you an entrepreneur interested in coming along for a ride? The foundation invites you to explore such opportunities in the metal, but also related sectors. Relocating to countries like Turkiye not only saves production costs, but also opens new markets in the region.
The foundation collaborates with local market researchers and technical experts in the field.
