"GO YOUR OWN WAY" – a brief history of passion and creativity

In our centenary year of 2007, contact was re-established for the first time with the English motorbike brand ‘Triumph’, the germ cell of the company we are today. The ‘Deutsche Triumph Fahrradwerke Aktiengesellschaft’ founded by Nuremberg native Siegfried Bettmann (1863-1951) is generally known to have been a subsidiary of his ‘Triumph Cycle Company’ in Coventry, which Bettman had founded ten years beforehand following his move to England.

Whereas the first English motorbike had already been assembled in 1902, the first German Triumph motorbike, a four-stroke engine-
driven (2 or 2 ½ hp) bicycle with a reinforced frame, was released onto the market in Nuremberg in 1903. In 1907, however, the German Triumph factory gave up motorbike manufacturing for the time being and concentrated on the expanding bicycle business, before beginning typewriter production in 1909 with the successful ‘Norica’ model. In 1913, the German Triumph factories separated from their English parent company and the companies went their separate ways.
Whilst such legendary motorbikes as the ‘Knirps’, the ‘KV 200’ and the 350 cc ‘Boss’ were released in Germany between 1919 and 1937 alongside the ever-increasingly buoyant office machine sector, a rapid development in mobility in England occurred at the beginning of the 20th century, ensuring that the English Triumph brand became one of the leading motorbike manufacturers in the world as early as the 1920s. The English were to hold onto this pole position until the 1960s. Two difficult decades followed in which Triumph was temporarily forced to abandon its position as leader to other manufacturers. However, a combination of inventiveness and team spirit enabled the British motorbike foundry to navigate through the economic peaks and troughs of the 1970s and 1980s.

Brand-new models and state-of-the-art motorbike engineering enabled the traditional brand to relaunch itself in 1990 and to play a decisive role on the world market in engineering and design. Since then, many models elected best in category by the specialised motorbike press have come from the Triumph factory. In 2002, Triumph celebrated 100 years of motorbike manufacture as the oldest motorbike plant still in operation. At the core of our philosophy is the development of unmistakeable motorbikes that represent something special in their appearance, their performance and their character. Trust in engineering, love of detail and the certitude that the thrills will not be long in coming continue to inspire motorcyclists both male and female around the globe, as much today as they did yesterday.

The history of Triumph in England dates back over 100 years. The company has remained in private hands until today. The motorbikes are developed, built and tested in the company’s own factory. This factory, in Hinckley in the heart of the Midlands, one of the regions with the richest industrial tradition in England, houses one of the most modern motorbike production facilities in the world. Triumph motorbikes have always had a lot of character and many classic bikes have been created by Triumph over the course of time. This spirit is still alive today.

Passion and creativity accompanied by absolute quality are attributes that both Triumph brands have always embodied and continue to embody today. These attributes have ensured that each company has been able to achieve extraordinary success in its own domain and reach the absolute peak of its respective industry. Whereas the motorbike foundry is proud of being an English company and of beating competitors internationally with its quality products, the German TA Triumph-Adler GA has focused on its core competence in the office sector and has become the market leader in the document business.