PETALUMA, Calif. (BRAIN) — Component brand White Industries has purchased the wheel brands Rolf Prima and Astral Cycling.
Both Rolf and Astral were owned by Brian Roddy, who is leaving the organization after a transition period. Other staff at the wheel brands will remain, based in Eugene, Oregon. White Industries is headquartered in Petaluma.
Doug White founded White Industries in 1978 in his garage in Marin County, California. Doug's son, Alec, now runs daily operations.
Alec said, "I've been working in my family's business for as long as I could tie my shoes, and for nearly all that time we've been collaborating with Rolf Prima on their custom hubs.
"When the opportunity presented itself to take on these companies, it was an easy decision. We're both small companies that have similar values, strong relationships, and awesome crews. There's a lot of exciting new opportunities for us to pursue together."
Alec White will oversee all three brands, while Jimmy Krigbaum, the Oregon brands' general manager, will continue to lead the Rolf Prima/Astral Cycling team in Oregon.
Krigbaum said, "We have been working together on a regular basis for a long time and in a lot of ways it'll be business as usual. But it opens the door for exciting collaborations. We're all just bike nerds that want to make rad stuff and now our ideas and approaches will flow back and forth seamlessly."
Rolf Dietrich, the inventor of his name-sake brand's unique paired-spoke wheel construction, founded Rolf Prima alongside Brian Roddy and others in Eugene over 20 years ago. Roddy and his rock-climbing partner, Steve Cash, bought Rolf Prima upon Rolf's retirement and Roddy has operated Rolf Prima since. In 2017 he launched a second brand, Astral Cycling, with product development focused on rims, traditionally-laced wheels, and adventure components.
Roddy said, "I couldn't ask for a better partner to continue the vision of Rolf Prima and Astral Cycling than the team at White Industries. We wanted someone who understood what is special about what we do and wanted to build it with our team here in Eugene, and that's exactly what'll be happening. I'm proud to see the team we built and Alec carry on and grow this business."
