American Bicycle Group, the Chattanooga-based maker of high performance bicycles such as Litespeed and Quintana Roo, is adding a new paint and assembly line at its facility.
The new line for Quintana Roo triathlon bikes at its 40,000-square-foot Chattanooga plant will allow athletes to order specific color combinations and bike configurations within a three- to five-day turn-around window.
The investment also provides benefits to QR dealers as ABG will no longer follow the industry practice of front loading dealers with heavy inventory levels, according to the company.
"The paint and assembly line investment supports ABG's on-going move toward a made-in-America philosophy and the made-to-order requests we're receiving daily from athletes," said ABG CEO Peter Hurley in a statement. "Athletes have told us they want more flexibility in paint schemes and the ability to fine-tune specifications to fit their needs, and they don't want to wait weeks or months for it. We listened and then invested."