Pivot opens Stuttgart office, bolsters international team and adds aluminium Switchblade
Pivot has taken its international office tally to three with the opening of a sales hub in Stuttgart, Germany.
The news comes in tandem with a range of new hires, including Ron Koch, former Bicycle Magazine editor, to the role of Media Relations and Content Coordinator.
“One of the most common questions I’d get at the magazine is what bike should I buy?” Says Koch. “Pivot and even Titus before that were always on that list. In recent years Pivot has dominated my recommendations across categories so spreading the brand’s message will come from a sincere place – it’s a company with product and people that I truly believe in.”
Pivot has also hired John Pentecost to help lead its International Sales team. Pentecost got his start in the industry as a co-founder of Evil Bikes and E.Thirteen Components, and he’s since served in senior sales and marketing roles at Race Face and Yeti. He brings more than 15 years of experience to Pivot’s already industry-leading sales team.
“When we first discussed expanding our international sales staff months ago, we’d intended to hire a more junior candidate to grow into the role,” said Daniel Limburg, Global Sales Manager at Pivot. “But when John contacted us last summer and expressed an interest in joining our team, we saw his unique blend of international sales and marketing experience as an opportunity to fast forward a few years and grow our business more rapidly.”
The brand’s staff now believes Pivot to be the fastest growing mountain bike brand in the United States.
“We have seen incredible sales increase both in the US and internationally”, says Daniel Limburg, Global Sales Manager at Pivot. “This growth has created a need to expand our sales offices and warehouses around the world.”
“We are very thankful for the support from all of our customers,” added Chris Cocalis, CEO and President of Pivot Cycles. “This growth wouldn’t be possible if it weren’t for our loyal customers, dealers and distributors worldwide. Our goal is to continue to provide the best customer service to all our customers. By having the correct people in each location, we ensure product delivery and availability, and I get to focus on my favorite activity – designing the next bike.”
On the subject of bikes, Pivot has just released detail of a new aluminium iteration of its Switchblade (pictured top), available as a complete bike in four different builds, each build available as 29” or 27.5”+.
“Using our next-generation, hydro-formed aluminum allows us to achieve the same strength, stiffness and on-trail performance as the carbon Switchblade,” said Cocalis of the bike. “The difference is that more people can experience that for themselves now.”
The Switchblade Aluminum and Switchblade Carbon share the same progressive geometry, suspension hardware and 135 millimeters of DW-link suspension.
To take stock of the Switchblade in the UK, contact UK distributor Upgrade Bikes on 01403 711 611.
Further to the addition of Limburg and Pentecost, Pivot has also appointed the following staff around the globe in recent months:
Recent hires include: Mark A Skidmore (Controller, US), Ryan Williams (Credit and Collections, US), Kevin Sommer (QC & Assembly Tech, US), Nate Veselenak (Warehouse Assembly Tech, US), Katie Shaw (Customer Service Representative, US), Derek McKee (Warehouse Assembly Tech, US), Damon Williams (Demo Driver, US), Zach Martin (Demo Tech, US), Damon Glysson (Warehouse Assembly Tech, US), Grady Weiler (Warehouse and Assembly Tech, US), Florian Reichenberger (Demo Driver, EU), Marco Felske (Demo Driver, EU), Matthais (Banyan) Laschczok (Sales and Customer Support, EU), Christoph Scholz (Marketing Specialist, EU), Hannah Deusch (Marketing Project Management, EU), Emily Landeryou (Operations Manager/Credit and Collections, EU) and Adan Chen (Accounting and International Shipping Coordinator, TW).
