Hermann Hartje KG congratulates Frank Thies on this special anniversary!
From 1984 until today, much has happened in the bicycle industry: Over the past four decades, there have been innovations in frame materials, gear systems, lighting technology, and, not least, the electrification of bicycles. New types of bikes, such as mountain bikes, cargo bikes, and gravel bikes, have become established – each with its own electric bike variant.
Internally, the industry has also developed significantly with the digitalization of almost all processes and specializations in areas such as product and brand management, marketing, purchasing and production planning, to name just a few key points.
One person who knows these areas and has shaped and contributed to the developments at HARTJE over the past 40 years is Frank Thies. The head of the bicycle division celebrated his special company anniversary on August 1, 2024, and Hermann Hartje KG warmly congratulates him.
Frank Thies began his career at HARTJE as an apprentice in wholesale and foreign trade, initially in the automotive sector of the wholesaler. In 1985, he switched to the bicycle department. In the early 1990s, he initially built up the purchase program for bicycle brands. During the exciting atmosphere of the 1990s, which was marked by the mountain bike boom and a growing awareness of high-quality bicycles and bike technology, several brands were added to HARTJE that still play an important role in the portfolio today. In 1992, Hermann Hartje KG founded the brand CONWAY, which became its own business division in 2016 due to its success. In 1994, HARTJE took over the brand rights for EXCELSIOR, followed by VICTORIA in 1995. A later successful brand acquisition was BRENNABOR in 2019.
At the end of 2000, Frank Thies took over the management of the bicycle division. Regular trade fair visits to East Asia and conversations with suppliers became routine. The knowledge and experience accumulated over many years with suppliers helped HARTJE, for example, in 2020, in the development of the compact bike brand QiO. „Otherwise, we wouldn’t have been able to implement QiO so quickly,“ recalls the division manager. The development took just ten months, whereas a bike development typically takes twice as long.
With the growth that HARTJE, especially in the bicycle sector, experienced, the demands on the warehouse management in Hoya and the corresponding building capacities also grew. The expansion began with additional buildings in Deichstraße, followed by new halls in Hertzstraße in 2011 and in Hingster Straße in 2020. „That was an exciting time. The building process was challenging, but also a beautiful time,“ Frank Thies recalls. Back then, the management was responsible for building up the warehouse logistics, which is now run as its own business division as of 2020.
As early as the mid-2000s, HARTJE was already dealing with the now-common electric bikes and incorporating them into the product range, remembers Frank Thies. In 2014, the assembly of the „E-Manufaktur“ series from VICTORIA started in Hoya. Since 2010, there has also been a dedicated "E-bike service" taking care of service, repairs, and technical questions regarding bicycles and e-bikes.
The time has flown by, Frank Thies reflects on the years at HARTJE, „Up until 2020, everything was running at full speed, the bicycle industry developed dramatically. It’s nice to see how the company has developed, it’s a good feeling to create something.”
The 57-year-old continues to be responsible for bicycle purchasing, a substantial business area at HARTJE, as well as the cargo area with TERN and CHIKE. Cargo bikes have been experiencing a sustainable surge for several years, but: „I’m sure the cargo bike is still in its early stages,“ says Frank Thies. This subject will continue to develop in the future with many big and small ideas.
Frank Thies is certainly looking forward to the coming years: „So far, it has never been boring, and I am sure it will stay that way.”
