Grand Opening
On Saturday, the 6th of August 2022, corratec celebrated the official Grand Opening of the new factory corratec SRL in Timişoara, Romania.
While bike production already runs since the beginning of the year, this was the opportunity for more than 160 local and international guests to visit the site first-hand. Representants from politics, industry and sports took the chance and travelled to Timişoara, a beautiful city in western Romania. Upon arrival on Friday, a divers program including a city tour followed by a traditional dinner allowed the guests to get an impression of the romanian culture.
On Saturday, everyone was welcomed in the factory buildings. By joining one of the factory tours guided by Konrad Irlbacher, Konrad Irlbacher Jun. and Johannes Irlbacher, the guests got an overview of the approx. 50,000 m² grounds, including approx. 30,000 m² built-up area. After enjoying some cold beverages and food in the production hall, visitors, press and officials gathered for the opening speeches. First and foremost, Member of the Bavarian State Parliament, Mr. Klaus Stöttner and CEO and owner of Paul Land & Co. OHG, Mr. Bernhard Lange congratulated Konrad and Cielo Irlbacher on their investment. Drawing from his extreme experiences in the mountains, professional climber Thomas Huber held a lauditio about objectives and challenges and highlighted the advantages of e-bikes for him personally. Then, corratec CEO and founder Konrad Irlbacher gave an overview of the process of finding a new production facility and the obstacles that had to be overcome. Special moments during the ceremony were a short video message of Vitali Klitschko, recorded the night before the event in his home country Ukraine, and the honoring of the director of corratec SRL, Loredana Pintea. The best mountain bike riders in the disclipine MTB Eliminator Sprint had their own moment on stage as well to advertise the 1st corratec race in the evening.
1st corratec Race Timişoara
At around 6 pm all guests and local spectators gathered in the main square of Timisoara, the Piața Unirii. There, everything was ready for three hours of electrifying mountain bike racing. While the temperature slowly (very very slowly) dropped, the athlets, amongst them world champion Simon Gegenheimer and world cup winner Marion Fromberger on their REVO Bows, showed their skills on the track around the square. Equipped with trumpets and clap hands, the spectators cheered on the bikers. Food and beverages at the event were delivered by the restaurant Thyme, located directly at Piața Unirii, and Timișoreana, the oldest romanian brewery. The official part of the day ended with the award ceremony, but a lot of the guests continue to enjoy the rest of the evening in one of the many bars and restaurnants around.
All in all, the Grand Opening in Timisoara was a great success! corratec is excited to work together with our new colleagues from corratec SRL Romania. The furture ist bright!