Munich Composites, a German manufacturer of carbon fibre bicycle rims, has been acquired by a new group located within the United States.
Incorporated in 2024 as Munich Composites SC, the South Carolina based ownership group is led by Boyd and Nicole Johnson from Boyd Cycling as well as Cardinal Cycling Group and ‘several other local private investors and government entities.’
With this acquisition, production will expand within Europe to serve existing and new European customers. A new facility in Spartanburg County, South Carolina, will also be established to take Munich Composites’ patented braided carbon fibre rim manufacturing process into the North American market.
Originally established in 2013 in Munich, Germany, Munich Composites has pioneered a process of automated carbon fibre layup. The company utilises a unique braiding construction combined with resin transfer moulding (RTM).
Munich Composites’ patented braiding construction is claimed to create a stronger and higher quality rim by having continuous fibre throughout the entire rim surface. Compared to traditional labour-intensive carbon construction, a braided carbon fibre rim does not require sheets of pre-preg to be cut into many pieces and placed by hand.
Munich Composites is an OEM specific manufacturer and has provided European made carbon fibre rims to many of Europe’s leading wheel brands for 10 years.
The newly acquired company will now be producing carbon fibre rims in both Europe and in Spartanburg County, South Carolina. Both facilities are expected to be up and operational by mid-summer.
The state-of-the-art South Carolina factory will be located within the city of Landrum and in collaboration with Clemson University, Cardinal Cycling Group and the SC Fraunhofer Alliance.
“Our goal is to provide a competitive solution to cycling brands for high performance, domestically produced, carbon fibre rims on both sides of the Atlantic and at very competitive pricing as compared to landed cost pricing from Asia,” said Boyd Johnson.
Tony Karklins of Cardinal Cycling Group added, “The upstate of South Carolina is quickly becoming a centre for advanced carbon fibre manufacturing, and Munich Composites is an excellent addition to the cycling industry cluster that is developing here.”
