fEvidently nobody at Riese and Müller cares much about the latest consumer trends or the latest management fads. Nevertheless, or perhaps because of this, the company based in Mühltal east of Darmstadt is now one of the leading and most innovative manufacturers of expensive electric bicycles on the German market. In 2012, Riese and Müller had a good 70 employees, now there are 850 and another 60 are currently being sought. The factory premises in the foothills of the Odenwald, which we just moved into in 2019, will already reach their capacity limit in 2023 with the current development – despite the expansion work that has already begun. Therefore, Riese and Müller are already planning another location north of Darmstadt.
The turbulent growth will continue, says Sandra Wolf, without showing the slightest doubt. Wolf is the managing director of the company together with the two founders, Markus Riese and Heiko Müller. “There are good reasons for further growth,” says Wolf. “People are finding that the cars in the inner cities cannot go on like this, regardless of whether they drive with combustion engines or electrically. They are changing their lifestyle and doing without the car, and not only in the classic cycling cities. ”During the pandemic, cycling also gave a feeling of security, and afterwards many remained true to this newly discovered means of transport. After all, there are cities like Paris that are increasing interest in and opportunities for cycling with plans to largely ban cars from the center.
