The story of Giant
Eric Ramaekers (managing director Giant Europe) has been with Giant for over 30 years. The global bike brand's European headquarters is right next to the A6 motorway. A story about pioneering on the former seabed, combined with the love of cycling. 'It remains two wheels and a pair of pedals, of course, but the art is there to innovate, to improve every year.'
Kids' bikes, city and touring bikes, e-bikes, mountain bikes, gravel bikes and racing bikes: they are all put together nut by nut. From bare frame to technological tour de force. From the factory hall on Pascallaan, the bikes then travel all over Europe.
Pioneering
'We are taking the stairs,' sounds resolute. With firm steps, Eric takes the steps to the third floor. The large window offers beautiful views of the A6 and the adjacent vast polder landscape. 'Our premises rose out of the clay, so to speak,' the director looks back. 'In 1996, we were the first company to settle in the middle of nowhere. There was nothing here in the Larserpoort industrial estate. Yes, a fence right across the end of the road.'
Decades after the reclamation of the Zuidelijke IJsselmeerpolders, it was still pioneering for this entrepreneur too. He has to laugh when he thinks back. 'There was no cycle path here, no footpath and the bus didn't stop here either. For the first 16 years, we had our own bus. It stopped at seven stops in Lelystad and eventually in front of our building. Many Lelystad residents made grateful use of it'.
All freedom
Eric grew up in Lelystad. In one of the oldest neighbourhoods. 'You could look straight at the IJsselmeer from our house. Then sometimes in bad weather you could see a flare of ships in distress on the IJsselmeer.' He started in 1990 as a bookkeeper at Giant Holland, then located in the Oostervaart industrial estate. He lived next door to the company a short while later. 'When I looked outside, I could see the flag flying and had a beautiful view over the farmlands.' We were given complete freedom by the head office in Taiwan to assemble bikes ourselves for the European market. We were progressive in that respect. But then again, if we did get the colour wrong, a few thousand bikes were already on their way by boat.
Ahead of time
In the mid-1990s, Giant decided to move production from Asia to Europe. Ireland was the preferred location. 'We were able to convince the management in Taiwan to stay in Lelystad. After all, we were already based in Flevoland, the province was sympathetic and there was enough space here. Besides, Made in Holland also sounds better than Made in Ireland, haha.'
Looking back, he was sometimes quite ahead of his time. On several levels. By banning smoking in the premises, and bringing in a company to guide employees and their partners who wanted to quit. Fatty snacks disappeared from the company canteen and free fruit was introduced, which is still there. Employees who bike to work save points for nice gifts or even a city trip. 'We want to get the best out of every cyclist, then you want to carry that through into daily practice on the shop floor.'
Endless horizon
He would like to cycle more himself, Eric confesses. Preferably on a road bike. 'Cycling along those elongated cycle paths. I really like that. You can make great kilometres here in Flevoland. Cycling along the water. That endless horizon, the space and nature give me an enormous sense of freedom.'
