Contract manufacturer WSF

Crisis in the bicycle market caused millions to go bankrupt

Alexander Schnöll (left) and Roland Wallmannsberger had founded WSF.

(Bild: Markus Wenzel)

They fulfilled the bicycle industry's awakened dream of "made in Europe" and were particularly in demand when the manufacturers themselves could barely keep up with the enormous demand. However, the combination of high stock levels and stuttering demand caused contract manufacturer WSF to stumble. The result: a restructuring process.

"We want to shake up the bicycle industry with an innovative range of services. By combining the best of the worlds of the automotive and other high-tech industries, we are setting new benchmarks," says WSF Bicycle Technology GmbH from Regau on its website.

15 employees affected
Seven vacancies can be found there, all online since Wednesday, April 24, 2024, which means they all date from the day restructuring proceedings were initiated against the company. According to Creditreform, the contract manufacturer's liabilities amount to around 2.3 million euros and 300 creditors are affected by the insolvency, including 15 employees.

WSF was founded in 2020 by Alexander Schnöll and Roland Wallmannsberger. The capacities of the Regau-based company were in particularly high demand at a time when demand for bicycles and e-bikes was booming.

Capacity utilization had fallen sharply
However, because there are currently too many bicycles on the market and demand has also returned to normal, this had dramatic consequences for WSF Bicycle Technology GmbH: Capacity utilization fell enormously and the restructuring process was unavoidable. The creditors were offered a 20% quota. The insolvency administrator is Klaus Schiller.