Today we are talking with Karl Wiedemann from Thule. Thule is the well known Swedish car rack company, but not as many people know that they manufacture a majority of their products for the North American market right here in the USA. Can you give 50 BUILT readers some background on yourself, your time at THULE and your current role? I have been at Thule for 5 ½ years and I am currently the Communications and Sponsorship Manager for our North American Brands (Thule, SportRack, Chariot, Croozer, TracRac and UWS). After racing mountain bikes in college, I took a job in the bicycle industry working at a company that made bicycle tools and cleaning products. After ten years there, I joined Thule and it has been a wonderful place to work. Thule is the type of environment where work hard / play hard is a way of life. Everyday up…Continue Reading
Today’s interview is with Steve Malchow of Trek Bicycles. Trek Bicycles was founded in 1976 and is headquartered in Waterloo, Wisconsin, where they still manufacture their high-end carbon bicycles. Can you give 50 BUILT readers some background on yourself and your experiences at Trek up to this point? I joined Trek almost ten years ago. The prior twelve years were spent in smaller companies focusing on custom products for capital equipment for the food and pharmaceutical industries. The bicycle company intrigued me for two reasons: 1) I felt I needed some consumer products experience for personal growth. 2) I love outdoor recreation, and who wouldn’t want to fill their days with something they can be passionate about? I have the privilege of leading our Operations group which includes Engineering, Proto, Design, Manufacturing, Sourcing, Testing, Quality and Warranty. There are no silos, and we can make decisions very quickly without…Continue Reading
Bike builder and designer, Garry Alderman, is behind the Chicago-based Method Bicycles. Specializing in custom steel framed bikes for everyone from racers to weekend riders. If you’re in the market for unique one of a kind bike built for you specifically, you can only get it from companies like Method. Every bike takes into consideration sizing needs, component needs and riding preferences. (VIA TYLER GOURLEY)