Stathis Stasinopoulos may not have cycled from Athens to Bremen, but it was his bicycles that brought him to the city on the river Weser. Unable to find the perfect folding bicycle for his commute to work on the Athens metro, the mechanical engineer developed his own. The bike, called ‘Folding Project’, is lightweight and comfortable and folds up in five seconds. Stasinopoulos now sells his bicycles across Europe, has moved to Bremen with his family and has founded his own business, Velo Lab GmbH.
He was one of a very small number of people who cycle across Athens to work in the morning. But Stasinopoulos paid little attention to the odd looks from his fellow commuters. The semi-professional cyclist has already covered thousands of kilometres on his bike, although cycling is not a very popular sport in Greece. “Athens simply isn’t a bike-friendly city, as there are very few cycle paths. No one uses a bike there,” he says.
He did, but he could not find the ideal bike for his commute to work, 30 kilometres across the city including a stretch on the metro. Racing bike, mountain bike, city bike – they were either too uncomfortable, too heavy or too unwieldy, so the 41-year-old mechanical engineer decided to build his own in his spare time. The bike, called FP (as in Folding Project), folds up in only five seconds, weighs less than twelve kilograms, and is fast and comfortable. It doesn’t have the usual triangle shape – Stasinopoulos might not have reinvented the folding bicycle, but his design certainly sets it apart from the competition.
Stasinopoulos completed his first prototype in 2012. A couple of eventful years later, he presented his first model at the 2014 Eurobike in Friedrichshafen. All he had at Europe’s leading trade fair for the cycling industry was a stand he built himself and his bicycle, and he slept in a caravan in the car park. “But my bicycle was well received. A comfortable folding bike that also looks good was a rarity. I immediately had a lot of prospective buyers from Germany, the UK, Switzerland, France and Spain,” he says.
Back in Athens, he concentrated on his bicycles. He gave up his engineering job and set about developing other models, including an e-bike and a cargo bike. He found distribution partners, including one from Münster, at other trade fairs. But the economic situation in Greece became more difficult, especially for a start-up like Folding Project. “At the moment, it’s very difficult to realise one’s business aspirations in Greece,” Stasinopoulos says. That is why he made the decision to look for a new site in northern Europe.
Bike-friendly Bremen is the ideal place to settle
The choice was either Denmark, the Netherlands or Germany, as they are all strong markets for cycling. “Living costs in Denmark are quite high. I had got as far as making contact with the Dutch embassy – but in the end, the connection with my distribution partner in Münster was what led me to choose Germany,” says Stasinopoulos. At the time, one of his friends was working as a shipping agent in Bremen, and he got to know and love the city through him. “Bremen has a great central position in north Germany, it’s not as expensive as Hamburg or Berlin, and the city is very bike-friendly and runs many interesting initiatives like BIKE IT!,” he adds. So, Bremen it was.
Via a Google search he found Bremeninvest, the international brand of WFB Wirtschaftsförderung Bremen. He received a quick response and support from Kolja Umland, project manager for international relocations. That helped him make up his mind up to move from Athens to Bremen with his wife and three children, aged two, eight and ten.
Legal form, workshop premises, funding, bank account – this was all new to me, but thanks to the support from BremenInvest I quickly found everything I needed to start my business.
Stathis Stasinopoulos, founder of Velo Lab GmbH
In spring 2017, Stasinopoulos founded Velo Lab GmbH and opened his workshop in Bremen-Woltmershausen. The aluminium components are still made in Greece and the bikes are assembled in Bremen. But that is set to change, with Stasinopoulos looking for business partners in the greater Bremen area so that all process steps, from raw materials to paintwork, can be carried out in Germany. In the meantime, his bikes are becoming better known and more popular. His Cargo Bike Monkeys brand won the 2017 Cycle Award for its cargo bike, and it is now on sale in independent shops in Münster and Kassel.
“Bicycles and cycling are my passion,” Stasinopoulos says, “and I don’t mind working on them night and day.” But he cannot do that indefinitely, so his childhood friend, Chris Papanatsidis, helps him to assemble the bikes, and Jap Kellner recently joined Velo Lab to take charge of sales. This year, they might sell 100 bikes, but in the future they hope to sell 1,000 annually. There is enough interest. “When I cycle around Bremen, people often stop me to ask where I got my bike from. I get to chat with a lot of people this way, and they are all very open and interested, which is fun.”
Conquering the international bicycle market
In the medium term, Stasinopoulos hopes to break into the US market. “Cycling is becoming more popular over there, and bicycles ‘Made in Germany’ are in demand,” he says. The Sirius Business Park provides the ideal environment to expand his workshop. A large room was sufficient for the beginning. “The start has been very promising and demand is growing, but I need an investor to make the leap forwards in terms of quantity and employees.” In May 2018, he moved his workshop to a larger premise in Bremen-Burg.
For now, Stasinopoulos wants to widen his network and take care of his family, so that they feel at home in Bremen. The whole family is busy learning German, but starting school was still a bit of a shock to the system for the children. Not to mention the weather, which cannot compete with sunny Greece. But at least they can cycle to school safely in Bremen.
The person to contact for international relocations to Bremen is Kolja Umland, project manager for international relocations, T +49 (0) 421 9600-339, umland@bremen-invest.com.
Bike-friendly Bremen: Did you know that more people cycle in Bremen than in any other German city with a population of over half a million? (article in German language)
Kolja Umland
Team Bremeninvest
Project manager Turkey
P +49 (0) 421 9600-339
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Geographical distance and cultural differences make it hard to relocate or start up a company in another country. Luckily, help is at hand from the team at the World Trade Center (WTC) in Bremen. They'll do all they can to make your international business a success.
In December 2016 ministers from the European Space Agency (ESA) member states met to determine the roadmap for the European space sector for the years ahead. Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria and Bremen submitted joint recommendations. In the following interview Dr Peter Vits, Bremen's State Coordinator for the Space Sector, talks about Bremen's strengths and opportunities.
The sky is not the limit, at least not in Bremen. All parts of the aerospace sector are represented in the city, from R&D to production. Aeroplane wings, Ariane rockets and Galileo satellites – Bremen is one of the leading locations in the international aerospace industry. Here are five factors behind Bremen’s story of success.
In 2015 Bremen won the right to host the International Astronautical Congress for the second time, after having successfully held the event in 2003. Its bid was the result of a collaboration between the Bremen regional government and Bremen’s space industry and space research sector. Event partners include the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy and the German Aerospace Centre.
The Bremen region has long been a pioneer in electric mobility and is now set to enjoy further success after Mercedes-Benz and Borgward announced that they will be making electric vehicles in the city.
Bremen knows how to make cars: the Mercedes-Benz plant by the Weser river has been in operation for almost 40 years, is the focal point of the city’s automotive industry and automotive clusters, and is now the company’s biggest global facility in terms of vehicle production numbers. Reason enough for an ever-growing number of suppliers and logistics firms to base themselves in Bremen.
For 30 years, the Cargo Distribution Centre in Bremen has delivered excellence – as an investment location and a logistics hub. Today more than 150 companies employing approximately 8,000 people are based at the site. It offers direct links to the ports, the autobahn and has a close proximity to Bremen City Airport.
Language barriers, unfamiliar legal and fiscal systems, qualifications that need to be recognised. There are many additional hurdles that entrepreneurs have to overcome when setting up a new branch or a new company in a different country. Bremeninvest is committed to offering you advice and support from the outset.
You might expect a Bremen-based company specialising in innovative instruments and implants for spinal surgery to be located at the Technology Park. But you'd be wrong. NuVasive Germany GmbH has its head office at the heart of the city centre next to Wallanlagen Park. Now employing a team of 44 people, the company generates annual revenue of more than €10 million – a figure that looks set to rise.
David Zhou came to Bremen three years ago with the aim of conquering the market – and a new continent – with LEDs. He started his business selling LED lighting and electronics at the World Trade Centre at Bremen Airport and has gradually built it up over the past few years.
What makes an aircraft fly? You don't have to be an aerospace expert to be fascinated by what goes on behind the scenes at one of the largest aircraft construction companies in the world. The Airbus Group in Bremen turns the dream of flying into ...
Revolutionising house hunting in cities using virtual reality. Training people to live a sustainable lifestyle using an app. Introducing food-sharing ideas to tackle our throw-away society. Offering professional HR management methods to smaller trade ...
