NIENBURG, Germany (BRAIN) — A massive fire ripped through two warehouses at German manufacturer and distributor Hartje on Tuesday evening, destroying thousands of bicycles and bike parts and racking up millions of dollars in damages.
Hartje, located just north of Hannover in Northern Germany, distributes about 20 well-known parts and accessories brands including Camelbak, Alex Rims, 3T, Campagnolo, Crankbrothers and Selle SMP. It also manufacturers bikes under its own name, and distributes trekking, city, electric mountain bikes for Conway, Victoria, Union, Prince and Tern.
According to news reports, the fire broke out in one warehouse Tuesday evening that stored 10,000 new bikes and accessories and was still burning this afternoon after spreading to a second hall. At least one warehouse collapsed and burned to ashes, destroying all the wheels inside and large quantities of assembly materials.
None of Hartje’s 400 employees was injured in the blaze.
The cause of the fire was unknown on Wednesday, and it did not affect bicycle production, which is located in another building on the site.
