Helkama buys Tunturi and may bring production to Hanko

Finnish bicycle maker Helkama is buying the rights to the Tunturi brand and its stock of finished bicycles from the bankrupt Accell Group, and is considering restarting production in Hanko. Yle reports that the timing and location of production have not yet been decided.

Helkama will keep the Tunturi name, which will become a brand of Helkama Velox. The company’s principal owner and board chair, Satu Helkama, said the family-owned business began looking into a purchase as soon as Accell’s financial difficulties became clear. The deal was completed in about two months, but Helkama has not disclosed the price.

Accell, a Dutch company that owned Tunturi for about 20 years, went bankrupt in August. Tunturi bicycle production stopped as a result. The bicycles had been made in Hungary for the past 23 years.

Helkama says it will restart Tunturi production, though it has yet to decide where or when. Production could move to Hanko, where Helkama already makes its own bicycles. The factory currently operates on one shift, and its production facilities have recently been upgraded. Satu Helkama said the purchase could also bring new jobs, but she could not yet estimate how many. Helkama companies employ about 400 people, including around 30 at the Hanko factory.

The purchase comes during a difficult period for the bicycle industry. After pandemic-era stockpiling, rising prices and interest rates, and fears of unemployment have weakened consumer demand. Helkama’s past two years have been the hardest in its history. Its bicycle-making company Velox recorded a loss of 1.5 million euros two years ago, and the loss doubled last year. This year is also expected to be unprofitable, while the company hopes to return to profit next year. Production at the Hanko factory is currently paused during the longest furlough period in Helkama’s history, which is due to last until the end of the month.

Tunturi had sales of more than 30 million euros last year, although that figure included sales of other Accell brands. Helkama’s revenue was below 20 million euros. Helkama says the acquisition offers an opportunity for growth and could strengthen the company’s ability to keep production in Finland.

About half of the bicycles Helkama makes are electric, which account for most of its revenue. The company’s best-selling model by unit volume is the Jopo.