Market: The Polish manufacturer KROSS is currently building its own frame factory directly at the company headquarters near Warsaw. The special thing about it is that you will only be dealing with carbon as a material. Among other things, EU subsidies for the region make it possible. Initially, they will focus exclusively on research, before finally moving on to the production of series frames.
Carbon components made in Europe: This is a real rarity in our globalized world and is usually limited to components such as handlebars or seat posts. Carbon frames from Europe are a real specialty and usually not affordable for most people. However, this could change in the next few years. Polish manufacturer KROSS is currently setting up frame production near Warsaw that will deal exclusively with carbon fiber. In the long term you want to become the main producer in Europe.
The official, rather stilted title of the mammoth project is "Innovative pilot line for the development and production of bicycle frames made of carbon fiber material" and is also made possible by funding from the European Union. As the name suggests, however, it is not just about the production of bicycle frames, but also about their development. This means that the first step will be to deal with the manufacture of the frames and the processing of the material itself. The first frames will be used by the pros of the KROSS Racing Team, whose feedback will in turn feed into the development of the consumer models.
Anyone who is now wondering how and why a manufacturer like KROSS, which is rather little known in this country and internationally, dares to take this courageous step: In Poland, KROSS bikes account for almost a quarter of all bicycle sales and despite the limited sphere of influence, this is definitely a part of the larger manufacturers on the continent. The aim of this new factory is to close the gap to the big players: Since the painting and assembly also takes place in Poland, you can react much faster and more flexibly to market developments than the competition, which is to a certain extent on the drip of production in Asia hangs.
In the long term, the aim is to offer a complete range of MTBs with carbon frames made in Poland.
All in all a very exciting development. We are curious to see whether the ambitious plans will work out.