Hero Cycles and HNF-Nicolai Join Forces in Europe
Leave a Comment(Berlin / Delhi / Bitterfeld) Hero Cycles Ltd, the world’ s largest bicycle manufacturer is taking a strategic stake in HNF Group of Germany. The investment is a joint project of Hero Cycles and ‘IBG Beteiligungsgesellschaft Sachsen-Anhalt mbH (IBG)’, a funding instrument of the German State of Saxony-Anhalt and managed by bmp Ventures AG.
As a result of the joint venture, HNF will become a completely new full-range supplier on the European e-bike market – and, virtually overnight, Hero’s European group centre for research, development and design. HNF has recently achieved great success in the premium segment of e-bikes but will also serve a broader segment of the European e-bike market. It has therefore designed a range of new e-bikes that will be launched under a new brand name in 2020.
Joining forces, does not just mean expanding the portfolio with new brands and products. Production capacity in Saxony-Anhalt will be massively expanded and HNF’s procurement and production logistics there will be tailored to the latest standards of the automotive industry.
René Daniel who is the managing director of the HNF Group, welcomes the new partnership: “I am looking forward to fully exploiting HNF’s potential with Hero.” Hero today already builds a key component that most HNF-bikes have been equipped with for years. Based on this automotive industry know-how, HNF’s plant in Bitterfeld will be equipped with state-of-the-art Kanban and lean production processes within the next 6 months.
Future market penetration will be primarily based on IBD structures. Independent bike retailers are benefiting from HNF’s experience in end customer business, specifically through not having to carry out local final assembly – and of course through HNF’s non-compromising end customer quality. These retail benefits are rounded off by a newly developed concept for purchasing virtually risk-free, not least made possible by Heros’ high equity ratio.
Pankaj Munjal, chairman & managing director of Hero Group, is also pleased about the new partnership: “I am delighted to have René Daniel, Michael Hecken, Kalle Nicolai and Benjamin Börries as partners in Europe. Over the years, we have built up a relationship of trust, which now culminates in this new cooperation.”