2008 was an extremely successful year for Schwalbe manufacturer Ralf Bohle GmbH. The company group was able to increase its turnover by 20 percent to 101 million euros. A total of 12 million tires were delivered from the company headquarters in Reichhof/Germany all over the world last year.

As Schwalbe writes in a press release, the same growth rates are not expected for the current year. The "first signs of a slowdown" in demand can already be felt. Nevertheless, Schwalbe Managing Director Frank Bohle is confident that the bicycle industry will be less affected by the current crisis than other sectors of the economy. The reason for this are two major trends in recent years: the proportion of cycling tourism continues to grow and significantly more people are using bicycles to get to work. According to Bohle, manufacturers of high-quality parts in particular can benefit from this.