Dorel expands in Bethel - Westfair Communications

Dorel Industries Inc. is expanding its Cycling Sports Group subsidiary, which produces Cannondale performance bikes.

Cycling Sports Group, which employs 160 people at its current facility in Bethel, is opening a new global research and development facility. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy disclosed the expansion Tuesday, without immediately providing additional detail.

Canada-based Dorel makes a wide range of consumer products, with its bicycle brands including GT, Mongoose and Schwinn.

This summer, Cycling Sports Group began selling Cannondale bikes directly to retailers in China, according to Martin Schwartz, CEO of Dorel.

“I was at the Shanghai Bike Show (in April) and saw first-hand that retailers in China are excited to see Cannondale back,” Schwartz said in a May conference call with investors. “We”™ve also launched ”¦ a series of luxury cycling tours that will combine Cannondale”™s best bikes at the world”™s best bicycling destinations in the U.S. and in Europe.”