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Merida Industry Co., Ltd (MIC; ) is a
The original Merida factory was organized after the
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
-based company with R&D headquarters in Germany that designs, manufactures and markets bicycles globally in over 77 countries. Founded in 1972 by Ike Tseng (1932–2012), the company designs and manufactures over 2 million bicycles a year at its factories in Taiwan, China and Germany. After Tseng's death in January 2012, his son Michael Tseng became the company's president.
After making bicycles as an original equipment manufacturer
An original equipment manufacturer (OEM) is generally perceived as a company that produces non-aftermarket parts and equipment that may be marketed by another manufacturer. It is a common industry term recognized and used by many professional or ...
for numerous other brands, the company established its own brand, ''Merida'', in 1988. The company currently designs and manufactures bicycles primarily for its own brand — and for brands with which it shares financial interest, including the now German brand Centurion
A centurion (; la, centurio , . la, centuriones, label=none; grc-gre, κεντυρίων, kentyríōn, or ) was a position in the Roman army during classical antiquity, nominally the commander of a century (), a military unit of around 80 ...
.
Merida has been a publicly traded company on the Taiwanese stock exchange since 1992 and is valued as of 2012 at approximately £350 million, making it one of Taiwan's largest companies.
The name ''Merida'' derives roughly from the translation of its three syllables ''ma-ri-da'', which mirror the company's goal to manufacture bikes that enable the customer to reach their destination.
History
The original Merida factory was organized after the Raleigh
Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...
Nottingham factory as the company began by making Raleigh bikes for the North American market. Tseng would later develop his own welding robots to meet his production goals.
In 2001, Merida bought 49% of Specialized for a reported US$30 million, with its CEO and founder Mike Sinyard Mike Sinyard is the founder and chairman of Specialized Bicycle Components, an American manufacturer of bicycles and cycling components. In 2022, he retired as the CEO of Specialized Bicycle Components, a company he had led for 48 years.
Early Car ...
remaining the majority owner. In the past, Merida manufactured bicycles for companies including Mongoose
A mongoose is a small terrestrial carnivorous mammal belonging to the family Herpestidae. This family is currently split into two subfamilies, the Herpestinae and the Mungotinae. The Herpestinae comprises 23 living species that are native to so ...
. In 2007, Merida invested $7 million to renovate its 35-year-old factory in Taichung, without halting production.
Sponsorship
Merida has been co-sponsor of the Multivan Merida Biking Team, with athletes such asJosé Antonio Hermida
José Antonio Hermida Ramos (born August 24, 1978 in Puigcerdà, Girona) is a Spanish cyclist of Galician origin specializing in competitive mountain biking. He won the silver medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece after havin ...
and Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjå
Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjå (born 10 February 1973) is a Norwegian cross-country and marathon mountain biker. She won the women's cross-country gold medal at the 2004 Olympic Games and is a multiple World Champion. She has won six World Championsh ...
, and of bicycle racing events such as the TransUK and TransWales mountain bike races. Since 2004, the team has been scoring over 30 World Cup wins as well as Olympic gold and silver medals.
In 2013 Merida became co-sponsors of the Pro-Tour Lampre-Merida
UAE Team Emirates () is an Emirati road bicycle racing team. The team competes at UCI WorldTeam level and has done so since the UCI World Tour was formed as the top category of road cycling in 2005. However the team was temporarily suspended fro ...
road racing team and changed to Bahrain–Merida Pro Cycling Team
Team Bahrain Victorious () is a UCI WorldTeam cycling team from Bahrain which was founded in 2017. Its title sponsor is the government of Bahrain.
History
The idea for a Bahrain pro cycling team was started in August 2016 by Sheikh Nasser bi ...
in 2017, which is called Team Bahrain Victorious
Team Bahrain Victorious () is a UCI WorldTeam cycling team from Bahrain which was founded in 2017. Its title sponsor is the government of Bahrain.
History
The idea for a Bahrain pro cycling team was started in August 2016 by Sheikh Nasser bi ...
since 2021.
See also
* List of companies of Taiwan *Rebranding
Rebranding is a marketing strategy in which a new name, term, symbol, design, concept or combination thereof is created for an established brand with the intention of developing a new, differentiated identity in the minds of consumers, investors ...
* Original design manufacturer
An original design manufacturer is a company that designs and manufactures a product that is eventually rebranded by another firm for sale. Such companies allow the firm that owns or licenses the brand to produce products while having to engage in ...
(ODM)
References
External links
* {{Sports equipment brands Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1972 Cycle manufacturers of Taiwan Taiwanese brands Multinational companies headquartered in Taiwan 1972 establishments in Taiwan Mountain bike manufacturers