Batavus

In 1904, Andries Gaastra opened a shop in Heerenveen Holland selling clocks and small farm machinery. Within two years, he began making and selling bicycles under the Batavus brand.

By 1917, Batavus had taken over a large bicycle factory and continued trading until World War II which saw the temporary shutdown of the factory. Business resumed in 1945 and demand for bicycles increased. The company invested in a new factory with modern assembly lines, which brought it to the forefront of bike manufacturing.

In 1948, Batavus was one of the first factories to develop and manufacture its own moped. In 1956, 52 years after Gaastra opened his shop, a new factory opened in the industrial park in Heerenveen primarily to be a bicycle manufacturer. However, in 1969, Batavus acquired the bicycle and motorcycle production of another Dutch company, Magneet and in 1970, Batavus joined the Dutch Laura group, which made Laura engines used on Batavus mopeds.

In 1972 total production of bicycles was 250,000 and mopeds 60,000 a year.

During the 1986 and 1992 Olympic Games, Batavus was official supplier of the Dutch Cycling Union (KNWU).

In 2008, Batavus was a co-sponsor of P3Transfer-Batavus teams. Bobbie Traksel rode a Batavus to victory in the 2008 Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen.

Today Batavus is still a hugely successful bicycle manufacturing business in Holland.