International Dealer News 161 June/July 2021 IDN161 June/July 2021 | Page 50

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Zieger parts and accessories

It is a classic motorcycle industry story . Man wants a part for his motorcycle . Man can ' t find the part he wants . Man makes part for himself . Man finds himself in the motorcycle parts industry ! In 2005 , Frank Zieger was looking for a very particular style of high-quality holder for his motorcycle ' s licence plate . Not being able to find the design he wanted he made one for himself , out of sheet metal , in his basement . That was the beginning of IBEX GmbH , which today has grown into one of the market ' s leading motorcycle accessories specialists . Working on his own , designing and fabricating the parts himself as one-off pieces , Frank says : " My first series produced licence plate holders were made for me by a jobbing shop . As the business grew , I was able to move to a garage and start producing small series myself ." Just two years after founding the company , Frank bought his own bending machine . From 2010 on he was able to offer his customers everything from a single source : from cutting to bending to welding . The goals he had set for himself personally and for IBEX were achieved slowly and carefully , step by step , setting ever more ambitious goals as he achieved success . A larger production hall followed , and in 2016 , Frank was able to invest in a new , fully automated ERP system . " This not only helps to maintain an overview , but also ensures speed and a lower error rate . I
Seen here on the Triumph Tiger 900 Rally , the Zieger range extends from travel equipment to centre stands , crash bars , engine covers and more - including , of course , licence plate holders .
integrated production planning into the system in 2017 and have been able to continue adding to capacity ever since . " I have been able to add new technologies , such as pipe laser cutting , a welding robot for even more precise welding , and a lathe and milling machine , and , as I did that , I was able to grow the product portfolio and with the new products came continuous sales growth . " After just five years , by 2018 it became apparent that the current location was already too small again . There was a lack of storage capacity , and being able to incorporate my own powder-coating plant would give the production capacity and turnaround speed a huge boost ." From ground-breaking in February 2019 to being able to occupy the new 1,900 sq m facility in Pirna , Germany ( on the Elbe between Dresden and the
Czech border ), only took around eight or nine months . The new building houses powder coating , warehousing and sales operations . The original facility at Dresden ( 2,500 sq m ) deals with production , development and accounting . The company currently has 35 employees , and is still growing . Previously Frank had mostly relied on the internet for sales . Now , however , he has been able to staff and equip a new in-house sales department in order to drive dealer and distributor sales and grow exports , and has hired respected industry veteran Dieter Klann to run it . Now Frank has even greater capacity and opportunity the investments are continuing . November last year saw a new , fully automatic bending cell put into operation in the new facility . At the beginning of the year , Frank decided that his manufacturing business , IBEX GmbH , should be just that , the manufacturing company name only . Since it is Frank who designs most of the products , he is now branding the motorcycle parts and accessories that IBEX produces as Zieger . " By deciding on this brand name , I am documenting that I not only stand behind the products with my name , but also vouch for their outstanding quality ." This year has also seen a first Zieger parts and accessories catalogue published - at 184 pages , it shows just how far the brand has come , how much the range has grown from just that one original licence plate holder ! The winter saw a lot of new products developed , and the additional space has meant that Frank could add
Frank Zieger : " By deciding on the Zieger brand name , I am documenting that I not only stand behind the products with my name , but also vouch for their outstanding quality ."
substantially to the inventory the company can hold . With Dieter Klann driving Sales and Marketing , the plan now is to add importers - with partners sought for Spain , France , Austria , Switzerland , Sweden and the Czech Republic among others .
IBEX GMBH Pirna , GERMANY Tel : + 49 ( 0 ) 3501 5719732 info @ ibex-parts . de www . ibex-parts . de
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