REICHSHOF, Germany (BRAIN) — The privately-owned company that owns the tire brand Schwalbe is reporting 2022 sales of 335 million euros ($359 million), up 20% from the year prior. It was a new company sales record in its 50th anniversary year.
The company said it expects a decline in sales in 2023 but said it is confident of success in the medium term.
Frank Bohle, the CEO of Ralf Bohle GmbH, the company that owns Schwalbe, said, "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."
The company said consistently high demand for e-bikes contributed to the successful year. The company also launched the Schwalbe Recycling System in Germany. Under the system, retailers takes back used tires and recycles them for use in new Schwalbe products. Schwalbe will launch its first bike tires made from recycled materials in June.
The company also has launched a Children's Advisory Council, which gives children and young people a voice in the company.
For the 2023 business year, Schwalbe said it expects a decline in turnover in the lower double-digit percentage range. Factors contributing to that forecast include the economy and industry-specific factors such as high inventory levels
"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," said Bohle.
Ralf Bohle GmbH was founded as a bike component exporter in 1922 by the brothers Eugen and Willy Bohle. In 1973 the company began to focus exclusively on bicycle tires under the Schwalbe brand. It founded a joint venture with the Korean family-owned company Hung-A that continues.
"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," Bohle said.
The company now employs 204 at its headquarters in Reichshof, Germany. Another 68 employees work in subsidiaries in France, Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands and North America. Tires and inner tubes are produced by Hung-A at factories in Indonesia and Vietnam.
