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Quality Bicycle Products is the largest distributor of bicycle parts and accessories in the bicycle industry, with revenues of $150 million in 2008. In addition to wholesaling bicycles and components from other manufacturers, QBP owns and manufactures several brands of its own. QBP also participates in activities which support its community through cycling advocacy〔 and green building.〔 ==History== Founded by Steve Flagg and Mary Henrickson in 1981, QBP operated from a small office in St. Paul, MN. The company did $100,000 of sales during its first year. Business improved in the second year with sales reaching $250,000.〔 In 1983 the company continued to grow, achieving half a million dollars in sales.〔 It was mountain bikes, a new phenomenon on the biking scene in the mid 1980s that fueled the company’s dramatic growth. QBP specialized in importing hard-to-find mountain-bike parts from suppliers in Japan.〔 By the end of its fourth year, QBP hired its first employee and sold $1 million in parts.〔 For the next 26 years the company averaged 33 percent growth per year.〔 The number of employees tripled from 1987 to 1993, prompting moves to successively larger facilities in Richfield and then Bloomington. In 1996, when there were 60 employees, QBP purchased a warehouse on its current site in West Bloomington. QBP purchased Salsa Cycles in 1997, a California-based mountain-bike manufacturer. The following year, QBP entered the emerging single-speed bike market with its in-house designed Singleator chain tensioner. Later in 1998, this product and the new Rat Ride single-speed frame (soon renamed the 1X1) helped launch the company’s new start-up, Surly Bikes. After that, the company continued developing brands for under-served markets, adding specialty parts with Problem Solvers, value parts and accessories with Dimension, and high-end components with Winwood. QBP also became the exclusive U.S. distributor for Jagwire, a Taiwan-based manufacturer of bicycle brake and derailleur components including pads, cables and cable housing. By 2000, QBP employed 150 people and expanded its warehouse to . In 2004, the company was named a Tier 1 Distributor by Bicycle Retailer and Industry News magazine.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 Our Company - Awards: Past Awards )〕 That same year, QBP took first place in the Specialized Commuter Cup Challenge and was recognized by the U.S. Department of Transportation as the Best Workplace for Commuters. In 2006, QBP completed its distribution center and office complex. In addition to the environmental benefits of a LEED-designed building, QBP reduced waste further by introducing paperless order picking. At the height of its summer busy season, the company shipped 3,000 boxes in one day and achieved its first $3 million week.〔 The U.S. Green Building Council awarded the facility LEED Gold certification in 2007.〔 At the end of 2006, QBP launched Q-Active, a distribution enterprise catering to independent ski and run retailers.〔 Responding to the growing trend of bike commuting and “transportation-oriented” cycling, QBP created the Civia bike brand in 2007. The following year, QBP transformed Wheelhouse, its dealer-oriented wheel-building service, into Handspun, a consumer-oriented manufacturer of hand-trued and custom-built wheels. QBP also founded All-City, which offers single-speed and fixed-gear bikes, parts and accessories for urban bicycling. In late 2008, QBP was awarded Gold-level status as a Bicycle Friendly Business by the League of American Bicyclists (LAB).〔(【引用サイトリンク】 publisher = League of American Bicyclists )〕 In 2009, the company achieved Platinum-level status, the LAB’s highest designation.〔 QBP has opened a second distribution center in Ogden, Utah in the spring of 2010 that has also been awarded LEED Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council. QBP has opened a third distribution center in Middletown, PA in December 2011, and then moved to new facility in Lancaster, PA in January 2015. QBP was named one of America's Top Work Places by Outside Magazine in 2011. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Quality Bicycle Products」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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