Reportage Mavic: A visit to the bicycle component manufacturer

Between green meadows and the Western Alps lies the new company building of the French company Mavic in the not yet fully developed industrial estate near the Swiss border, on the outskirts of Annecy. It looks good from the outside. The idyllic natural surroundings are reflected in the windows. Several signal yellow service cars are parked in the car park in front of the building.

You can easily see all the way up to the top floor. The huge offices are spartanly furnished: In addition to a long desk where employees sit in front of their computer screens, cardboard boxes and houseplants decorate the rooms. The floor-to-ceiling windows certainly offer a great view of the surroundings. A note on the reception desk asks us to register via WhatsApp.

In the stairwell, a bike on the wall catches our eye. Cycling fans know that this is not just any old racing bike. The Lotus was used by time trial specialist Chris Boardman to break speed records in the 1990s. Why is the black and yellow racing bike hanging here? It is equipped with Mavic components from the wheels to the handlebars. The Lotus is just one of the brand's countless milestones.

The image of a global corporation is deceptive

Mavic rims and wheels have been found on many cyclists' bikes over the generations. The invention of electronic shifting and the system wheel played a decisive role in the development of the racing bike. Nevertheless, the company did not always enjoy commercial success. However, the component manufacturer achieved international fame through its neutral race service at the Tour de France. The aforementioned yellow cars have accompanied the professional cyclists since 1973.

Michel Lethenet is responsible for the brand's public image. With almost 25 years of experience, the PR manager is an institution in his position. He did not want to accept congratulations on moving in: "Please don't be surprised, we have always been perceived as bigger than we are." This applies to pretty much all areas of the company. From the number of employees to turnover and market power, the company appears larger than it actually is. "Because of our presence, many people think we are a global corporation."

Not the worst prerequisites for his job. The brand was a real PR self-runner. On the occasion of the 50th anniversary, one might think that the mood was modest due to the lack of yellow cars at the Tour de France. Looking back, however, Lethenet would describe it as lucky that the neutral spare racing bikes and hundreds of Mavic wheels remained in the garage.

Just missed!

Although the sale of the Tour de France was a real shock, it was only the beginning of an odyssey that would put the employees to the test. The bad news came a year later: the billion-euro Finnish parent company Amer Sports announced the sale of its Mavic shares. Things got out of hand after that.

Over a cup of coffee, Lethenet visibly gets the stressful years off his chest. In his professional career, he says, there have been some bad business decisions that he has had to defend. However, what followed in 2019 was also a new challenge for him. How it came to pass that the traditional brand, once considered untouchable, became the pawn of opaque financial rochades cannot be fully determined.

The PR manager conveys the explosive nature of the situation visually: "So close," he brings his thumb and index finger so close together that only a sheet of paper fits between them, "and we would have been completely wiped off the map."

Bumpy new start

Then things became opaque: a US bogus company was involved, company figures were concealed. An employee council was set up and official proceedings were initiated. Inspectors and insolvency administrators inspected the company. Many younger employees resigned voluntarily, while departments that still had valuable expertise were halved in size.

Lethenet stayed. He has always been the only one at his post and jokes that he is not tall enough to cut in half. But as he talks, you realise that this is about more than just a business. The Mavic brand is his life - just like that of many of his colleagues.

Lethenet knocks on the table several times, because for the hundred or so employees who have been saved, the nerve-wracking wait has ended with a successful sale and a say in the company's future. The new owners, a pair of brothers from France, are ideal partners and seem to mean business. They have expanded the team, created a new infrastructure and set up a temporary production line in the new building.

Made in France

A premium lightweight wheel, the Cosmic Carbone Ultimate, is produced here almost silently. Sebastien Lejeune, the 32-year-old production engineer, explains that this is due to the predominantly manual labour involved. The employees produce 10 wheels per day. Particularly important to Lejeune is a small card that is attached to the wheels: Manufacturé en France - made in France. Millions are to be invested in the future to ensure that the label is not only attached to the wheels, but to all products. And not just here: Also at the historic Saint-Trivier-sur-Moignans site.

On our way there, we hear many interesting stories about Mavic: for example, the story of the yellow Mavic aeroplanes that flew over Italy's Montello during the 1985 World Cycling Championships and annoyed the main sponsor and arch-rival Campagnolo. Or the story of Mavic and Look, who were the first western outfitters to equip the Chinese track team. Mavic has almost always been in the right place at the right time and has always risen to new challenges. There is hardly a bicycle product that does not bear the Mavic logo.

Mavic's latest product is an electric motor for racing bikes. The company is currently looking for partners for the prototypes. A "never-ending start-up" is how Lethenet describes the company. This claim has been true since the company was founded over 130 years ago and is still valid today.

The Saint-Trivier-sur-Moignans site is the complete opposite of Annecy: Mavic's industrial heart beats in desolate barracks. Aluminium profiles have been processed here since 1966. The smell of oil and aluminium fills the air. The background noise is unmistakable.

Relocating production for the future

Rodolphe Burnichon is the site manager here. For almost 30 years, these halls have been the second home for the man in his late forties. As production capacity utilisation is currently only at one third, there is still room for improvement, says Burnichon. He routinely explains the individual production steps to us, from the extruded profile to the finished rim. And explains how they have optimised the weight/stability ratio of aluminium rings using patented processes.

He then points to empty spaces: "This is where we want to fit the wheels. Everything should happen here." Two large milling machines in the next room provide a foretaste. Carbon production from Annecy will soon take place here.

There are offices and meeting rooms on the top floor. The production noises penetrate right up to the top. After almost 50 years, money is to be invested here too. Before the tradesmen start work, however, Burnichon and Lethenet still have a few boxes to fill. From materials and prototypes to pictures - the two have experience of how quickly things can get lost during a move.

Significant years for Mavic

• 1934: Start of aluminium rim production. This soon becomes the company's main business.
• 1979: The company's portfolio is expanded to include almost all road bike components through the development of its own mechanical shifting system.
• 1992: Innovation: The Zap Mavic System (ZMS) is the world's first electronic bicycle gear shifting system. Its successor in 1999 is the Mektronic - which already works with radio signals.
• 1994: The first system wheel for racing bikes is called Cosmic. Mavic dominates the wheel market thanks to further refinement of the concept.

The history of the company

The history of Mavic began over 130 years ago, in 1889, when the brand emerged from a nickel-plating company (AVA) in Lyon. The head of both brands was Bruno Gormand. After starting out with toy cars and mudguards, Mavic introduced aluminium rims in 1934, which from then on formed the company's main business. At the same time, the company developed other bicycle components such as drivetrains and pedals. In 1985, after the death of the founder's son, Mavic was managed by employees on an interim basis until Salomon bought the brand in 1994.

Since 2005, both brands, together with Atomic, a ski manufacturer, and Suunto, an electronics provider, have been part of the Finnish Amer-Sports Group. The company headquarters were relocated to Annecy. Mavic specialises in the development of system wheels for racing bikes and mountain bikes and has expanded its product range to include bike computers and a clothing line. In 2019, Amer Sports sold its shares to the US investment firm Regent LP. However, the sale was halted by the French authorities after employees objected. The French Bourellier Group has been the new owner since 2021.