Svenja Grauthoff can sometimes see the results of her work after just a few days.

When the engineer develops a new bike with her colleagues, the computer helps her.

It converts the three-dimensional design data of the many components so that a 3D printer, for example, can read them - and print fully functional prototypes in just a few days.

“The technology helps us to test new ideas much faster and more often,” says the 30-year-old.

Grauthoff studied mechanical engineering and has been working as an engineer in product development at the bicycle manufacturer Derby Cycle since July.

The company from Cloppenburg in Lower Saxony includes the brands Kalkhoff, Raleigh and Focus.

With a turnover of more than 400 million euros most recently, Derby Cycle is the largest bicycle manufacturer in Germany and also the largest employer in the German industry - the company has just under 1000 employees.

Auto industry pays better

According to a study by the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment, Energy and the Institute for Work and Technology at the Westphalian University of Applied Sciences in December 2020, the manufacturers of components, bicycles and e-bikes employed around 21,000 people in 2019.

Compared to the 833,000 direct employees in the German auto industry, the bicycle industry is still a rather small employer - albeit a growing one.

Compared to 2014, the number of employees grew by almost 15 percent.

Even when it comes to salaries, the bicycle industry cannot quite keep up with the car manufacturers, reports David Eisenberger, head of marketing at the Zweirad-Industrie-Verband (ZIV).

"But the companies pay very good wages."

Svenja Grauthoff switched from a manufacturer of waste collection systems and protective cabinets to the bicycle manufacturer - a conscious decision: "I noticed my passion for the mechanics of bicycles as a child in my grandparents' bicycle shop," she says.

She also wrote her bachelor thesis on a modular bicycle garage.

Your change is not an isolated incident.

"Overall, the industry has become much more attractive as an employer," says Eisenberger.

Specialists are rare

Because the market for bicycles is booming - driven also by the trend towards more environmentally friendly means of transport and by the Corona crisis. It quickly became clear that cyclists have little risk of infection in the fresh air. In the lockdown, cycling was also one of the few possible pastimes. In the Corona year 2020, the German bicycle industry recorded a sales increase of almost seventeen percent, with e-bikes it was as much as 43.4 percent. The manufacturers sold more than five million bicycles. That made for a turnover of 6.44 billion euros - an increase of a whopping 60.9 percent.

An end to the upward trend is not in sight, especially for e-bikes. This is the result of a current analysis by the management consultancy Deloitte. "The e-bike market is also benefiting from the increased awareness of more sustainable mobility," says Kim Lachmann, Senior Manager of the Sport Business Group at Deloitte. In cities in particular, more and more people and companies are using e-bikes or cargo bikes as alternatives to cars.

But despite all these trends: "Trained engineers with experience from the bicycle industry are rare," reports Martina Blum, HR manager at Kalkhoff.

The bicycle industry is definitely affected by the shortage of skilled workers, reports Eisenberger from the ZIV.

This is true more for the trade than for manufacturers and also there more for the skilled trades.

But: "The high and increasing demand for bicycles means that even more workers are needed - including engineers."

Variety with e-bikes

Anyone interested in a job as an engineer with the industry leader Derby Cycle “should love the bike,” says HR manager Blum. When hiring, the company pays close attention to bicycle affinity. And the engineers should be able to think creatively. “We also ask: What do you envision in the bicycle industry in five years? What gadgets could there be? ”A degree in mechanical engineering or vehicle technology or comparable qualifications are nevertheless a must everywhere.

Anyone looking for engineering positions in the bicycle industry will find them on the usual career networks or on the manufacturers' websites. In addition to Derby Cycle, in Germany there are for example Diamant from Chemnitz, Cube from Bavaria or Hercules from Cologne. Martina Blum has another tip: “We support students with their Bachelor and Master theses. This results in a lot of takeovers. "

With the advent of e-bikes, the job as a bicycle engineer has become more diverse, says ZIV spokesman Eisenberger. “Dealing with batteries and motors requires completely new skills.” Svenja Grauthoff also reports on a “very varied everyday work”. Sometimes she is busy with a plastic component, sometimes she discusses the results of the last roller test with the test laboratory, sometimes it is about analyzing the load-bearing capacity of components. So far, she has not regretted switching to the bicycle industry.