DETROIT (BRAIN) — Detroit Bikes will assemble 3,000 bikes at its Detroit factory for the bike share operator Motivate, the companies announced this week.
Detroit Bikes will also build wheels and oversee local partners to paint frames and forks for the bikes. As a result of the increased workload, Detroit Bikes has added ten workers and built a new assembly line.
"This contract makes a huge statement about what Detroit is capable of," said Zak Pashak, the founder and president of Detroit Bikes. "It is fitting that American bike-share bikes will be assembled here in America and we're proud to work with Motivate to make it happen," he said. "Detroit Bikes is looking forward to working with even more cities and systems as we hone our capabilities."
Motivate operates the largest bike share systems in the country and said it provides nearly 70 percent of the entire bike-share fleet in the U.S. The company said moving the assembly of its bikes to the U.S. allows Motivate to ensure quality control and fulfill orders for new bikes more quickly.
"I can't think of a better place to have our bike assembly operations than Detroit," said Jay Walder, the president & CEO of Motivate. "With Detroit Bikes' help, Motivate will be able to meet the growing demand for bike-share operations in cities all across the country, getting more bikes to more people more quickly."
Detroit Bikes also announced that it is partnering with CycleHop, another bike-share provider, to bid for the contract for Detroit's bike share program.
"If we're going to be making thousands of bikes for some of the biggest bike share programs in the country, it only makes sense that the city of Detroit would also look to a local manufacturer when sourcing bikes for their new program" said Pashak. "We would love to be able to contribute to the city's program and have partnered with some of the most well respected names in bike-share to put together a rock-solid proposal."
