Local 威斯康辛州 Business Expands to the World

For many, “Work hard, play hard” is a trope. 但在 长途跋涉, one of the largest producers of high-end bicycles in the world, those words have guided the company from its origin as a small, Midwest family business to a billion-dollar global enterprise.

这些话是显而易见的, 例如, in how often 长途跋涉 president John Burke braved the Alps during France’s L'Étape du Tour. They’re evident in the way 长途跋涉 employees will hop onto a bike and hit the trails to break up a workday. The words are part of the culture that Burke’s father, 理查德。, set in motion in 1976 in a barn in Waterloo, 威斯康辛州 where the company’s first five employees began hand-building steel touring bicycles using proprietary cast lugs, adding an American flare to a European brazing style.

“Waterloo plays a big part in 长途跋涉’s identity, and the red barn plays an even bigger part,约翰·伯克解释道。, who started working for the company in sales and service right out of college in 1983. He became president in 1997, when the company had expanded well outside the U.S.

“And I think that’s because of the humility that my father had, 我妈妈现在还留着,他继续说道。. “我认为这只是威斯康星州的根源. We focus on other people and not on ourselves. And we’re always trying to earn people’s business and take care of our customers.”

从一开始就串联在一起

In 1980, 长途跋涉 built its first factory down the road from the little red barn and soon broke into the mountain bike business. Several years later, a distributor in Switzerland ordered a container of bikes. 这让长途跋涉很高兴, the same distributor called back to order several more containers in short order. That was when Burke and his team realized the immense opportunity outside the U.以及长途跋涉自行车在全球的吸引力. When the company intentionally put a strategy in place to serve the international audience, it quickly gained market share from Japanese and European competitors.

这种增长, 然而, 迎接新的挑战, like navigating a global supply chain and distribution requirements. 在路上的每一步, the company has looked to 澳博官方网站app both for capital and guidance about how to expand into new markets. “It was 澳博官方网站app that helped get us to the next level,” says 长途跋涉首席财务官查德·布朗.

“We’ve had a relationship with them [长途跋涉] since the beginning,” adds Tony Maggiore, Midwest & 加拿大分部负责人 中间市场银行业务 & 专门的行业澳博官方网站app. “We’ve helped them explore international growth in countries where it can be hard to do business, but our expertise in those countries makes it much easier. We have world-class solutions, both in the U.S. and overseas, that we deliver to clients on a local basis. It’s a strategic advantage and we know that companies like 长途跋涉 really value it.”

长途跋涉 has grown to become a truly global business producing millions of bicycles every year. Today, more than 60 percent of the company’s revenue comes from outside the U.S. Its custom road bikes are still assembled and painted in the U.S. 这是公司使命的第一部分, “只做我们喜欢的产品,” is a legacy that Burke wears with pride.

“We make decisions from a global perspective but the values and humility that the company lives by are what have made those decisions successful. Remaining close to our foundation in Waterloo, 威斯康辛州, has been very beneficial for us to build upon who we are as a company and the positive impact we can have,伯克说。. 

“我继承了这颗宝石. I need to pass it on in better shape than I inherited it.”

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