via TexBiker.net -
Cycling Sports Group (formerly the Cannondale Sports Group) plans to consolidate all North American product development, marketing and business management functions for the four cycling brands Cannondale, Schwinn, GT and Mongoose to Bethel, CT, said Dorel Industries in a press release this week. Bike frame manufacturing will shift from the Bedford, PA location to the new Taichung, Taiwan CSG location. Nearly 200 of the current 300 employees will be cut from the Bedford location…
Makes me wonder if we’re going to be manufacturing anything at all in this country soon.
on Apr 3rd, 2009 at 8:16 pm
All the more reason to buy from local framebuilders!
on Apr 4th, 2009 at 1:22 am
Wrong way to go. Gotta manufacture things on this continent. Can’t just be consumers.
on Apr 4th, 2009 at 3:17 am
Nother one bites the dust. 200 more out of work. Thanks Cannondale !!!
on Sep 16th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
I purchased a Cannondale Rush back in 2006. It is a wonderful bike. I admired both the quality and handling of the bike both during my decision to purchase the bike and since. As a mechanical engineer, I recognized the workmanship put into those bikes. Little things, like filing welds, are not just advertising tricks, but actually add to the quality of the bike. In addition, the Frame Exchange Program is definitely unique to Cannondale. At the time, I was debating between Specialized, Cannondale, and Trek bicycles. Obviously, I decided on the Cannondale. As important as quality and handling are, the ultimate reason I chose the Cannondale was the fact that it was handmade in the USA. I was willing to pay extra for that fact.
Recently, I heard that Cannondale decided to shift production overseas. To me, this decision is appalling; it abandons everything that made Cannondale unique. It shows that Cannondale is willing to follow the road every other company has… to sacrifice its values and commitments to try and make more money. In addition, it shows that the company does not care about all the employees and communities that made it great. If it no longer cares about its own employees, why should I believe that it has any thought towards its customers other than trying to separate them from their money?
Cannondale is a high-end bicycle manufacturer… not a cheap brand found in Wal-Mart. If Cannondale is having trouble selling its bicycles lately, it is not because of price. Its customers are not the type who are going to choose another bike simply to save a few dollars. We want a bike that is unique and of high quality. In the price range of the Rush, the Cannondale’s quality was second to none, a testament to the workers in Bedford, PA. Shifting production overseas will certainly not help its customers perceive it as a higher quality bike. Instead, Cannondale will just become one of many companies employing cheap labor to attempt and boost its sales. In doing so, it will lose its reputation for quality, and no longer be unique to the market.
I write this letter not to express my anger towards Cannondale, but in the hope that I can sway the opinions of the company so that it reverses its decision. While I am not in the market for a new bike right now, the quality, workmanship, warranty, handling, and fact that it was handmade here in the USA of my Cannondale Rush is enough to make me a Cannondale customer for life. However, if Cannondale follows through with its plan to shift production away from its factory in Bedford, Pennsylvania I promise that I will never buy a Cannondale again.