BIG INTERVIEW
FAMILY BUSINESS
Schwalbe is one of the manufacturers leading the way in regards to tackling its own ecological impact head on in the cycling industry. Daniel Blackham speaks to Felix Jahn, the brand’s CSR manager
F
or Felix Jahn, his relationship with Schwalbe is different to that of a traditional employee. As the grandson of company founder Ralf Bohle
and nephew of current managing director Frank Bohle, the German tyre brand has played a big part in his life. “You could say that,” said Jahn. “We are a very bicycle centric family. “It’s a little bit of a cliche where as a child at work, I would ride around with my balance bike in the warehouse - it was significantly smaller back then. So it’s quite nice to have seen this type of development and to grow up with the Schwalbe family
“I’ve known a lot of these people for all my life, but they’ve been working for 30 years now. We’re at a stage now where
The new sustainably made Schwalbe Green Marathon tyre
their children are even in Schwalbe. So you have second generation employees. It was just incredible. And we are very proud of the fact that we are a family-owned business.”
Responsibilities With Jahn having known the company and many of its employees for all his life, he sees his position within the corporate social responsibility (CSR) team as fundamental to everything Schwalbe is trying to achieve. “[CSR is] a buzzword these days but it really has always been with us since the very beginning,” said Jahn “On the social side we do a lot of social engagement, social action and justice - like so many family owned businesses do. “And then of course we have huge leverage to implement environmental responsibility through our products and through our operations. “We are in luck that we are positioned within the cycling industry and the bicycle promotes health, emission free mobility and less congestion.” Within his role as CSR manager, Jahn sees it as Schwalbe’s
duty to make the bicycle itself as sustainable as possible. This is why the brand has invested in the CSR department
to grow it to five people. “We are a total of five people covering huge topics,” said
Jahn “A little bit broader perhaps than a traditional sustainability management department. We do chemical assessment,
20 | September 2023
www.bikebiz.com
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