Azerbaijani-made bicycles soon to enter domestic market
By Amina Nazarli
Soon bicycles with the inscription “Made in Azerbaijan” will be seen riding along streets throughout the country.
The Bicycle Plant, which has been under construction since 2014, is slated to open in Azerbaijan’s Ismayilli region by the end of the year.
Mahmud Sulyemanov, an official at the Ismayilli City Executive
pOwer, said that construction is underway and that the equipment
used in production will meet all European standards.
He said that most of the technological equipment has been brought
in from Bulgaria, since some 49 percent of the plant’s shares are
owned by Bulgarian company, and the rest by Azerbaijan.
Ismayilli bikes will be produced under the Bulgaria’s popular “Drag” brand, but will be assigned a new name that will be decided in the near future.
Drag bicycles have received worldwide fame thanks to their use in the numerous victories by the Ukrainian women's national cycling team. Meanwhile, many participants in the "Tour de Azerbaijan," held annually since 2013, have also used Drag bikes.
The first bike plant in Azerbaijan will produce a number of bicycle categories, ranging from bikes for children and recreational cycling, to those used by professional riders.
Moreover, alongside bicycles, the plant will produce wheelchairs
as well as sports and other equipment on demand.
The plant is being constructed over eight hectares and will be able
to produce 30,000 bikes per year.
It is expected that 100 people will work on the plant and until now many applicants have already applied for jobs.
Suleymanov added that training professionals is a very important process. Initially, the plant plans to send 30 employees to Bulgaria for job training.
The ultimate goal is to ensure demand for these products in the local market, he stressed.
Earlier, the head of the Ismayilli City Executive Power, Mirdamet Sadigov, said that bicycles produced in Azerbaijan would stand out for their quality and affordability.
--
Amina Nazarli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on
Twitter: @amina_nazarli
Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz