Marwi Group is one of the world’s largest pedal manufacturers
| Marwi Group owns the brand name UNION (famous in Europe and USA) and XERAMA (famous in Asia and South America). The total production capacity of Marwi Group exceeds 30 million pairs of pedals and 6 million saddles. Besides pedals and saddles, Marwi Group also produces chains, water bottle cages, high-end lighting systems, stainless steel and titanium spokes. |
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UNION．The 110 year history of a bicycle component brand
| 1899 |
The company was founded in January 1899 by Wilhelm Feuerhake in Fröndenberg (Germany), and known as “Wilhelm Feuerhake & Co.”. Feuerhake started to produce bicycle chains with 13 blue collar and 2 white-collar employees in rented facilities. Two years later the company built their own factory in Fröndenberg.
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| 1905 |
By the end of 1905 UNION® had started the production of Bicycle-Pedals and the number of employees increased up to 210 blue collars and 15 white collars. Two years later they started their own production of spokes and nipples.
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| 1913 |
By 1913 Union was a mass producer of bicycle components and by the end of the year showed results with production numbers of 43.700 pieces of chain, 68.5 millions of spokes and nipple as well 387.000 pair of pedals. The number of employees amounted to 535 blue and white-collar workers.
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| 1914 |
 In 1914 UNION® started to produce front and rear hubs.After the First World War a big demands for bicycles helped to increase the bicycle industry. By 1919 Fröndenberg employed 613 people and the production facilities started to become too small.
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| 1921 |
In 1921 the plant in Werl started production on 4.000 sqm. In 1925 they reached 6.000 sqm and employed 235 workers. They produced handlebars, brakes and crank mechanism.
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| 1927 |
In 1927 the UNION® facilities in Fröndenberg were increased and in 1928 a new hall for pedal production was built. Employees increased also to nearly 1.200 people.
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| 1937 |
In 1937 a reflector started to be included in the pedal and became very important to the pedal market. UNION® bought the licence rights, but was not allowed to produce reflectors themselves. Therefore they had to look for a supplier, which they found in Eisenach/Thüringen.
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| 1964 |
In 1964 UNION® bought the former “BERKO”-factory in Berlin, which was a traditional producer of lighting systems. The production of UNION® dynamos started in Berlin. The facilities in Berlin-Tegel covered 6.000 sq metres and employed 130 people. In 1988 UNION® Berlin delivered nearly 2 millions bike dynamos and more than 2.7 million bike lamps.
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| 1979 |
In 1979 UNION® went to America to enforce its market there. The plant “UNION Fröndenberg USA” in Olney / Illinois was founded in order to produce pedals and spokes. In 1979/1980 UNION® built new facilities on the outskirts of Fröndenberg in order to move out from the old, and now way too small, plant in the centre of the town.
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| 1995 |
Since 1995 the UNION® brand belongs to the MARWI® Group.
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