EDCO Engineering has announced that Paul Lew will join EDCO Engineering as a partner. Paul Lew, a cycling and carbon innovator, will expand and build EDCO’s line of cycling components, including its high-performance carbon and alloy wheels.
Lew will work alongside Rob van Hoek, EDCO Engineering, CEO and owner, who purchased the Swiss cycling components company in 2007.
In addition to this role with EDCO Engineering, Lew will establish a US operation as EDCO USA’s CEO – to be based in Phoenix, Arizona. EDCO USA will be a service centre, assembly centre and American headquarters for the company’s North American operations.
“We are extremely excited to add the vast experience, and creative mind of Paul Lew to our company,” said van Hoek. “With his contribution we add a key piece to the puzzle toward building a global leader in innovative cycling wheels and components. It has been my intention to expand into North America, and with Paul’s leadership we can now take our vision to the next level.”
A cycling innovator since 1989, Lew has focused on aerodynamic and carbon fibre technologies. He is best known for his radical Black Hole wheel in the mid-1990s, his breakthrough PRO VT-1 full carbon wheel in the 2000s, and currently his Dispersive Effect Termination aerodynamic wheel designs.
Beginning in 2000, Lew designed, manufactured and operated unmanned aircraft for multiple US. government agencies. He currently serves in an advisory role for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration – Unmanned Traffic Management (NASA-UTM), and Skyward, a cloud-based drone operations management tech company.
In 2003, Lew re-designed, and guided in-house manufacturing for the Shimano carbon wheel program, and over his career he has created wheels for Olympic medallists and World Champions. Lew became Reynolds Cycling’s Director Of Technology and Innovation in 2008, directing its design and engineering program until his recent decision to join forces with EDCO.
“Joining EDCO means that I am joining an iconic brand with a professional cycling heritage dating back to 1902,” said Lew. “Under the leadership of Rob van Hoek, EDCO has made a steady resurgence as an important brand in world of professional cycling. He has a brilliant and curious mind, and he is always pushing for new innovation.
“We’re excited about pushing the limits of cycling components together!”
Engineering BV Edouard Dubied & Company (EDCO) was created in 1867 in Couvet, Switzerland. The Swiss cycling company expanded into cycling components in 1902, with Presta valves being its first cycling product. In the 1990s, EDCO created bottom brackets with industrial bearings, high-quality headsets, and hydraulic brake levers with index-shifting.
It is best known for innovative Swiss-made hubs and wheels; and the brand continues to expand with new offerings such as the Multisys cassette rotor, which fits sprockets of all systems, and the MonoBlock one-piece steel 11S cassette that transforms a 10-speed wheel into an 11-speed wheel.
