Claeys Brothers

"In 1825 Alexander Claeys, a blacksmith by trade, married into the Dombrecht family, who owned a blacksmiths shop in Zedelgem, Belgium. Alexander’s dowry was the forge, and he set up his own business. His son Louis began making agricultural tools, and the first bicycle was manufactured in 1896.

Louis had seven children, one of whom, Aimé, was to become the driving force behind the Flandria brand. Together with his brothers and sisters, Aimé chose the name De West-Vlaamsche Leeuw (The West-Flemish Lion). By 1910 the Claeys had sold 150 bicycles; the bicycle was becoming the favoured mode of transport for the working man.

1912. Aimé Claeys in his bike shop

After the First World War, four of the brothers, Alidor, Aimé, Remi, and Jerome, founded the Werkhuizen Gebroeders Claeys (The Claeys Brothers Limited) in 1924, for the production of bicycles and other products. By 1927 the new company had produced over 25,000 bicycles.

1924. Werkhuizen Gebroeders Claeys

During the Second World War, Aimé decided to modernize the factory and its production techniques using new technologies, and in 1940 changed the brand name of the bicycles from De West-Vlaamsche Leeuw to Flandria. Immediately after the war Aimé purchased modern machines from America and England, and from then on, new equipment was brought in every year, resulting in increasing efficiency and output. Demand for bicycles was increasing and a second factory was built in Zwevezele to keep up. By 1952 the company was selling more than 250,000 bicycles annually. Mopeds were added to the Flandria product line, and in the first year of production, more than 25,000 were sold.

Aimé continued building his empire and the dawn of the new decade would bring Flandria’s most successful period, which saw the formation of the Flandria professional cycling team in 1959 that would go on to become one of the most successful and influential teams of all-time. Many cycling legends rode in the red and white of Flandria over the years. The most famous of all is double World Champion Freddy Maertens, who holds the record for the most professional victories in a single season. Maertens recorded 54 victories in 1976, equalling the previous record set by Eddy Merckx five years earlier.

In the 1960s Flandria became the largest supplier of bicycles and bicycle components in Western Europe. At its peak, yearly production of bicycles topped 350,000.

When the professional team was formed in 1959, every single part of the Pro's bikes was made in-house by Flandria - even the tyres, tubes, cables and handlebar tape. The only part Flandria did not produce was the Brooks saddle.

It seemed that nothing could halt the expansion of the company. But behind the scenes, all was not well, as sibling rivalry was beginning to surface. Aimé and Remi often disagreed and this eventually led to a bitter family feud, which came to a head in 1956. Werkhuizen Gebroeders Claeys was dissolved and the new factory in Zedelgem was split between the two brothers. A brick wall was built, right down the middle of the factory. So bitter was the feud that brand-new, unmoveable machines, costing millions of Belgian Francs, were cut in half and the wall built straight through them - neither brother would make a concession.

Aimé kept the Flandria brand name, calling his new company A.Claeys-Flandria, whilst Remi named his half of the Zedelgem factory Remi Claeys-Superia. This caused the quarrel to escalate even further – Superia was the name of the best selling Flandria moped at the time. Remi, however, did not have his older brother’s vision or genius, as far as two wheels were concerned. Superia often copied Flandria’s models, but without much success.

Although the rise of Flandria had been steady, its decline was swift. Bicycle sales were strong, but moped sales fell off rapidly. New Belgian legislation making the wearing of helmets mandatory, and a law limiting mopeds to 40km/h (25mph) contributed to a sharp decline in their popularity. Production of mopeds fell from over 100,000 units in 1969 to almost half that in 1973. However, the biggest contributor to the decline was the influx of Japanese mopeds and motorbikes that were beginning to flood the market. Sales of bicycles also began to decline, and by 1979 production had dwindled to just 32,000." (from www.flandriabikes.com)