SPECIALIZED FINDS SPECIAL HOME IN UTAH

By David R. Ward

Publisher

Specialized Bicycles has chosen Salt Lake City as home for all its bicycle and accessory manufacturing and assembly. Lieutenant Governor Olene Walker joined Specialized founder Mike Sinyard, company president Tom Albers and a host of industry personnel and media on Wednesday, September 23, for the grand opening of Specialized's new facility at 1137 South 3800 South.

In the spring of 1997, Albers retired from Trek Bicycle, where he had been employed for 15 years, and was then hired as a special consultant by Specialized. It was in that role that the move to Utah was first conceived and put into motion.

Also instrumental in the decision to move to Utah was former Utahn John Maver who relished the idea of returning to Utah himself. Maver is the General Manager of Specialized's new Salt Lake facility.

Mike Sinyard, who founded Specialized in 1975, outlined the reasons for choosing Salt Lake for this facility. "We wanted a place where we could combine the manufacturing and distribution in one. When we looked around, we thought Utah valuewise really hooks up well, with clean living, the outdoor environment and the strong work ethic. We saw that as perfect. John Maver . . . pushing this idea of Utah, and the more we looked we said, 'This is a great idea.'"

Specialized began assembling all its wheels and bicycles in its Salt Lake facility eight weeks ago. From here, they are shipped to the rest of the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia.

Next in line is the move of its entire helmet manufacturing process to the new Utah facility. This is expected to be in place within the next three months.

When fully operational, Specialized will employee 150 people at its Salt Lake facility.

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