With the arrival of Tom Van Cauwenberghe as new CEO, Eddy Merckx Cycles (EMC) notes that it is ‘ready to take the next step’ as part of its ongoing expansion plans. Under the guidance of CEO Rob Beset (Plan B Managers) and Chief Development Officer Rolf Singenberger (ex-BMC), a release from EMC adds that the company has been truly transformed these past 2.5 years:
- Distribution became more international as the number of partner countries increased from 6 to 30. Thanks to this, exports now represent 2/3 of the company’s turnover, with the US, the Netherlands, the Nordic countries and countries in the Asia-Pacific region among the most significant growth markets.
- EMC now holds sales offices in Brussels, New York and Taiwan.
- The brand range was rejuvenated and expanded ‘whereby the race segment is now covered in a both materials (steel, aluminium, carbon) and categories (road, gravel, cross, track, triathlon)’.
- As far as manufacturers are concerned, EMC made the switch to ‘best in class’ suppliers who guarantee quality and delivery reliability.
- In addition, EMC again started its own production of Zellik top-quality bikes in steel titanium.
For the time being, the company notes that financial success still needs to be realized. The capital increase provided by parent company Diepensteyn this past summer and a recently approved multi-year plan gives EMC the ‘necessary clout to expand to the next level’.
The Board of Directors would like to strengthen the EMC management team in order to implement the multi-year plan. The appointment of Tom Van Cauwenberghe is seen as the first step in this direction.
His assignment is two-fold:
- To improve the links between the administrative, financial and operational/logistical processes.
- To make sure that the sales & marketing focus to support the Merckx brand worldwide is maintained.
Tom Van Cauwenberghe does not come from the bicycle industry but he has made a name for himself with a number of different growth companies and he adds a wealth of experience in production, finance, sales, marketing and people management. In the coming months, Tom will further refine EMC’s strategic plan. This may result in extra management reinforcements to support the expansion of the Merckx brand.
Rolf Singenberger remains on as Chief Development Officer (CDO) and will continue to be an important management leader. His years of experience in production development at BMC are of ‘inestimable value’. He will continue to be in charge of product development, design and the supply chain.
Rob Beset will be responsible for Business Development within the management team and will be in charge of the further internationalisation of the Merckx brand.
