Shimano components for 10,000 bikes have been stolen in a daring, pre-planned, heist by a gang that targeted the Czech bike company Bike Fun International.
The company believes the criminals had a Shimano distribution facility under surveillance as one of its trucks was being loaded with the components before following the truck on its way from Germany back to the Czech Republic.
When the driver pulled in at a trucker's stop off a German motorway, where he had to sleep overnight, the thieves tracked him all the way and pumped gas into the cab of the lorry to knock-out the driver.
The gang then set about unloading the truck's container of everything bar a few very low-end boxes of components. And just before they escaped - one assumes in another truck which they loaded on the roadside - they sprayed a fire extinguisher all over the back of the container to destroy any forensic evidence they may have left behind.
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The robbery happened in Germany on January 21st, though news of it is only emerging now. Bike Fun International says it is concerned the theft, coupled with the world wide shortage of bikes and components, could not negatively impact its business for almost a year. It has decided to speak out now as a warning to others in the bike industry.
The company is the biggest bike firm in the Czech Republic with brands like Superior, Rock Machine and Frappe Cycles. It paints and builds over 150,000 bikes annually, though that number looks set to be much lower this year.
"From the consignment loaded mostly with expensive e-bike and bike parts, only nine boxes of low-end components were left in the truck," said Bike Fun International's supply chain director Petr Krkoska. "This will delay the production of some models by almost a year, as there is no alternative on the market for many of the parts from this shipment.
“We really haven’t seen this situation before. Even Shimano has not been faced with a targeted robbery of a shipment on a similar scale. We decided to communicate this matter to warn other producers, because it could happen to them also,” he added.
