Beistegui Hermanos

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

BH bike model London, with some added parts

Beistegui Hermanos S.A. (B.H.) is a Spanish bicycle manufacturer. Established at the beginning of the 20th century (1909), the Beistegui brothers founded a factory, where they initially manufactured firearms. In the early 1920’s, BH took their manufacturing expertise and turned their focus to bicycles. From BH’s very beginnings as a bicycle company they believed that through sponsoring cycling teams and racing, BH would develop technically superior bicycles.

BH is headquartered in the city of Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain. Vitoria is the capitol of the Basque Country with a rich history in cycling. During the 60’s, the main BH factory in Vitoria actually manufactured 100% of the bicycle (not just frames, but everything from the saddle, to the spokes, to the handlebar).

Today, BH has two large manufacturing and assembly facilities in Vitoria and one in Portugal. They also have manufacturing facilities that include CNC laser machining which (in addition to bicycle products) produces the highest end fitness equipment in Europe as well as parts for both BMW and Mercedes Benz.

In the early 90’s, BH purchased the French bicycle manufacturer Peugeot, and founded Cycleurope. Other companies were incorporated in the next several years (Cycleurope owns Bianchi, Peugeot, and Gitane). Under BH, Cycleurope developed into one of the largest and most successful bicycle companies in the world. In 1996, BH sold Cycleurope in order to concentrate on the growing demand for BH Bikes in their home markets of Spain and Portugal. In 2001, BH re-focused on the European market where they have met with great success from the cycling press, racing teams, and cyclists throughout Europe.

Today, BH remains one of the largest Spanish bicycle manufacturers. BH manufactures close to 200,000 bicycles per year, with 50% of their sales to European countries other than Spain. Over the past several years BH’s growth and popularity as one of Europe’s premier high-end road brands has grown exponentially.