# Dorel Closes Cannondale Factory in US



## merckxman (Jan 23, 2002)

BETHEL, USA - To enhance its competitiveness Dorel Industries restructures its recreational/leisure segment which includes the shutdown of the Cannondale assembly in Bethel.

"Among the global initiatives this decision will leverage the strengths and capabilities of our global resources, third party partners, and existing facilities to simplify and optimize our business model", says Dorel Industries' CFO Jeffrey Schwartz.
Bedford operations

Dorel announced that the operations currently performed at Bedford, including manufacturing, assembly, testing, quality control and customer and technical services are expected to be redeployed by the end of calendar 2014.


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## bikerjulio (Jan 19, 2010)

The Globe here had a piece last Thursday which I missed



> “It [Bedford] is no longer competitive. It’s not what any of our competitors are doing. It adds costs and its adds time,” Jeffrey Schwartz, Dorel’s chief financial officer, said in an interview.


Dorel to shutter U.S. bike plant, shift work to Asia - The Globe and Mail


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## cda 455 (Aug 9, 2010)

I bet prices won't drop a single penny despite moving it's production to Asia.


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## HikenBike (Apr 3, 2007)

cda 455 said:


> I bet prices won't drop a single penny despite moving it's production to Asia.


I totally agree. It's all about the shareholders and stock price.


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## bikerjulio (Jan 19, 2010)

HikenBike said:


> I totally agree. It's all about the shareholders and stock price.


either that or they need to round up the funds to keep Sagan

http://forums.roadbikereview.com/pro-cycling-race-discussion/sagan-new-alonso-team-2015-a-317296.html


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## cda 455 (Aug 9, 2010)

bikerjulio said:


> either that or they need to round up the funds to keep Sagan
> 
> http://forums.roadbikereview.com/pr...sion/sagan-new-alonso-team-2015-a-317296.html


Wow; Good point.


They're going to need some big bucks to accomplish that for sure.


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## Srode (Aug 19, 2012)

Sad to see but aren't most of the major manufacturers making all but their high end bikes in Asia? I didn't realize Cannondale was still assembled in the US. Glad I just bought mine before the move!


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## darwinosx (Oct 12, 2010)

This was obvious the day Cannondale was bought by a European company.



merckxman said:


> BETHEL, USA - To enhance its competitiveness Dorel Industries restructures its recreational/leisure segment which includes the shutdown of the Cannondale assembly in Bethel.
> 
> "Among the global initiatives this decision will leverage the strengths and capabilities of our global resources, third party partners, and existing facilities to simplify and optimize our business model", says Dorel Industries' CFO Jeffrey Schwartz.
> Bedford operations
> ...


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## bikerjulio (Jan 19, 2010)

darwinosx said:


> This was obvious the day Cannondale was bought by a *European* company.


I didn't realize Canada was part of Europe. Cool


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## darwinosx (Oct 12, 2010)

I thought it was a french or other european company. Anyway it still stands. Might as well be an asian company and they never had any intention of keeping the US factory open.


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## love4himies (Jun 12, 2012)

bikerjulio said:


> I didn't realize Canada was part of Europe. Cool


Well, we do use the metric system. I wonder if we'll start using the Euro or be like Britain and keep our current currency.


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## Duane Behrens (Nov 8, 2013)

love4himies said:


> Well, we do use the metric system. I wonder if we'll start using the Euro or be like Britain and keep our current currency.


Found this - a link to a partial listing of American-made bicycle manufacturers:

American Made Bikes: From Trikes to High-Performance, Our Ultimate Source List - USA Love List


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## adjtogo (Nov 18, 2006)

In plain English, that meant that it's cheaper to do it overseas than in the USA.



merckxman said:


> BETHEL, USA - To enhance its competitiveness Dorel Industries restructures its recreational/leisure segment which includes the shutdown of the Cannondale assembly in Bethel.
> 
> "Among the global initiatives this decision will leverage the strengths and capabilities of our global resources, third party partners, and existing facilities to simplify and optimize our business model", says Dorel Industries' CFO Jeffrey Schwartz.
> Bedford operations
> ...


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## tednugent (Apr 26, 2010)

not a suprise, due to the US having the 2nd highest average corporate taxation in the world. (Japan beats us by .3%).

PA... when you combine the federal and state.... is 2% higher than the average for the US...... so, yes, it boils down to $$$$$.

......

as consumers... we also try to save $$$$ as much as possible. If one cannondale dealer offers a bike for MSRP.... and other dealer offers the same bike for say... $100-$200 less than MSRP.... chances are, you're going to the shop that offers the lower price.

It's us trying to save money, amplified to the corporate world.


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## shoemakerpom2010 (Apr 25, 2011)

Now I will get even more strange looks as I ride my SystemSix with "Made in the USA" on backend. Maybe its time to repaint.....


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## mpre53 (Oct 25, 2011)

cda 455 said:


> I bet prices won't drop a single penny despite moving it's production to Asia.


Production of the frames was moved to Taiwan (or China, as the case may be with the cheaper aluminum frames) several years ago, and IIRC, carbon production was moved a year or so before aluminum. What this means is that now, all their bikes will be assembled overseas as well.


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## darwinosx (Oct 12, 2010)

I would never buy a Cannondale because of the way they treated U.S. employees and because they are carpet bagging the name of an American company. But I think their bikes are better quality than they were under the old ownership. i bought my first Cannondale in 1985 or so but never again.


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## headloss (Mar 3, 2013)

Srode said:


> Sad to see but aren't most of the major manufacturers making all but their high end bikes in Asia? I didn't realize Cannondale was still assembled in the US. Glad I just bought mine before the move!


I grew up about 30miles from the Bedford plant... honestly, I thought it had already closed its doors a few years ago. I don't think there was much of anything going on there with the last generation of C'dales?


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## frdfandc (Nov 27, 2007)

Bedford is still open. They still do the Lefty forks there, along with some assembly and R&D and some other stuff that I forget. It's also the East Coast warehouse for GT/Cannondale/Schwinn/Mongoose.


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