Based in the southeast of Poland, Romet has been in the bicycle industry for more than 75 years. Operating a total of three factories spread out over the country, Romet holds a strong position on its home market, but is also one of the well-known players on the European OEM market. Romet president Wieslaw Grzyb is now preparing the company to take the next step on the export market, both for OEMs as well as the brand Romet.

How important is the export market versus distribution in Poland for Romet?

Since 2019 we have seen big fluctuations in the market and therefore our export market share. In 2019 exports still represented around 40% of our turnover but during the pandemic the situation changed drastically. A very difficult year for us was 2023, and we were glad that the local market situation improved again this year. Exports are still important for us and will generate 30% of our business this year. We do expect to expand in foreign markets again, and as part of our new strategy, we have hired a dedicated export director to explore new markets. Eventually we are aiming for a situation that 50% of our revenues are generated abroad in the next five years. At the same time, we see a lot of opportunities in our home market. 

Is your export strategy focused on the growth of Romet branded bicycles and e-bikes or do you want to increase your OEM business?

Historically, our export business was always centered around OEMs and we will continue to do so. However, the brand Romet will become more and more important to us and we are already putting a lot of effort into growing the export of this brand. Eventually this all depends on the number and quality of distributors we can find in relevant markets. We are open to any OEM partnerships in the mid to high range and the capacity is available instantly. Our second facility in the north of Poland used to be dedicated to OEM production only but is now mainly assembling bicycles for the local market. This location close to the German border nearby Gdansk brings many advantages for OEM customers distributing in western Europe.

How do you prepare the production in Poland to meet this expanding business?

We recently got the biggest grant in a nationwide program for EU subsidies on investments in innovation.  This makes it possible for us to roll out a new investment scheme which we had prepared for the next few years. The first part includes the modernization of the factory. In future, the cost of labour will also become an issue in Poland and to modernise our company we need to step up the automation in both production and in our warehouse. Besides production efficiency it also allows us to improve the quality of our final products without raising the costs per unit. Next to the bicycle assembly, we will also accelerate the product innovations at the frame factory. In the future, we want to focus exclusively on the production of e-bike frames, so we can take full advantage of frame production at such a short distance from the assembly lines. It was never our intention to become a third-party frame supplier but we wanted to improve our frame supply chain flexibility. This gives us a competitive edge over our competition. A second part of our investment scheme is related to our sustainability program and to becoming self-sufficient in our energy consumption. The factory already relies on renewable energy for our daily operations. We are in the process of installing more than 4,000 photovoltaic panels as part of our project to become self-sufficient.

What is your view on the current market situation?

We think it is a good moment to invest in the future. In the first half of 2025 we expect the market situation will improve again while in the second half of the year and in 2026 the market will recover again. In general, the inventory of assembled bicycles and e-bikes is not a big problem for most companies anymore. This issue was solved by most bike makers and brands in the first half of this year. The same applies to us as well. However, a lot of companies in the industry are still facing a very high level of inventory in parts and accessories. That was less of a challenge for us as we did not stop the production at any time in the past few years. Of course we worked in less shifts, but we kept the core of our staff, which made us flexible and able to meet demand at any time.

Reshoring production has been a much-discussed topic in the industry and we have seen many new initiatives in bicycle assembly in Europe, but in central Europe in particular. How do you perceive this development in Poland?

Poland has been a popular location to start a new production facility in the past years. We have seen new factories being opened every year, but the output is not impressive. As a family-owned business employing a dedicated group of people we feel responsible for them and want to build a sustainable business.