Specialized Europe-Center Opened in Cham

CHAM, Switzerland - Newly established the Specialized R&D Team Europe celebrated their inauguration with the launch of its first collection. However, there’s still no trace of the much-discussed e-bike.

In an atmosphere of silence and confidentiality worthy of the most circumspect Swiss bank, Switzerland Specialized Europe GmbH spent the last two years building a new European headquarters in Cham am Zugersee. The decision to settle in Cham was not due to the beautiful Alpine panorama but is, as is the case for many other international companies, mostly fiscally based, taking advantage of the low-tax reputation of the Canton of Zug.

Control and Distribution were the first to occupy the new space. Ten people are in charge not only of the branches and distributors in Europe, but also for Africa and the Middle East.

Last fall Marc Faude (ex-Trek) joined the Swiss Specialized team, to establish its own development and product management, in particular for bicycles for the European market. The future role of this 10-person team is underlined by the recent return of Marco Sondereggger (PM City Wheels) and Jan Talavasek (formerly designer MTB) from the headquarters in Morgan Hill, USA. For those designers however, the nearby mountains could very well have been a compelling argument to settle here, according to Talavasek.

More on Specialized’s new European headquarter in the next issue of Bike Europe