Alan Clarke is retiring, stepping down as general manager of Sunrace Sturmey-Archer Europe BV.
More than 50 years ago, Clarke joined the export sales department of Sturmey-Archer, Nottingham, England, which was at that time the component arm of Raleigh Industries. His employer moved him 42 years ago, to their Dutch sales office on a ‘temporary basis’ and he was still there when the mother company went into liquidation in England in 2000.
The book ‘The Hub of the Universe’, commissioned by the UK Veterans Cycle Club, was jointly written by Clarke and Tony Hadland. Clarke is also responsible for the site www.sturmey-archerheritage.com which is a pictorial record of the company since it was founded in 1902 and is also a curator of the museum at the company’s premises.
Clarke had first assisted with the sale of the company to Sunrace, Taiwan and then led the introduction of Sunrace products to customers throughout Europe. Now Sunrace products are accepted throughout the EU and Sturmey-Archer is once again the “world’s second-largest” internal hub gear and hub brake manufacturer.
Sales and profits have grown since and now he is handing over the company ready to enter a “new phase of growth” under new management. His replacement, Ruud Bokhout, was sales and marketing director of Sturmey-Archer UK until 2000 and after that, he managed the P&A at Gazelle for several years.
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