Schwalbe has historically divided the production of its tyres and tubes between its facilities in Vietnam and Indonesia. The move to focus production in Vietnam has stemmed from the tense situation in the bicycle industry.

Instead of being able to rely on long-term commitments, orders are now almost exclusively placed spontaneously. As a result, it is no longer possible to plan ahead to meet the demand from two parallel production sites.

Schwalbe is therefore positioning itself for the future in the best possible way and is pooling its strengths in Vietnam. Enormous investments have been made in the country over the years. With new factory buildings and machinery, the site allows for state-of-the-art tyre and tube production.

In addition, Schwalbe customers will be supplied directly from there, with a product mix that is perfectly tailored to their individual requirements. Thanks to bundled production, the cutting-edge site in Vietnam offers volume and logistics advantages for all Schwalbe customers.

Frank Bohle, CEO of Schwalbe said, "At Schwalbe, we see ourselves as an ecologically and socially responsible company that is proud to have created many new jobs. While we are expanding the team in Vietnam once again, the decision unfortunately also means that we will have to cut staff in Indonesia. That hurts us a lot."

“After analysing the development and the current situation in detail, this restructuring was unavoidable. We are retaining the option of resuming production in Indonesia in the future, but are now deliberately concentrating our efforts at our site in Vietnam, where we are in an excellent position,” he said.

He added that mould making, mixing operations, research and development, and administration will remain in Indonesia.