A Chattanooga-based bicycle maker showed off its Litespeed titanium road, gravel and mountain bikes on the lawn of the White House today during the 3rd annual "Made in America" Showcase.
The American Bicycle Group was the Tennessee representative among 50 U.S. companies which displayed their goods at the White House at the event hosted by President Donald Trump.
Peter Hurley, president and CEO of the American Bicycle Group (ABG), said the 4-hour showcase helped highlight Litespeed, which he said "started a revolution in handmade titanium frames that vastly improved performance for serious cyclists."
In the 1999 Tour de France, Lance Armstrong rode a titanium Litespeed Blade painted and labeled as a Trek during time trials. Several professionals have ridden Litespeeds painted as other brands during other Tour De France tournaments.
For a product to qualify for today's showcase and be called "Made in the USA," the product must be "all or virtually all" made in the United States, according to the Federal Trade Commission.
U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Tennessee, attended the White House event to help recognize the business from his hometown.
"I applaud Litespeed Bicycles for their dedication to preserving the American standard of manufacturing and for illustrating the innovative spirit of hardworking Tennesseans," Fleischmann said today. "Over the past 30 years, Litespeed has embodied the power of small businesses and the promise of American entrepreneurship."
This marked the second consecutive year in which a Chattanooga business represented Tennessee in the annual showcase of American-made goods. Last year, the Chattanooga Bakery Co., showed off its Moonpies on the State Floor of the White House while other products were displayed on the south lawn.
"We want to build, create, and grow more products in our country using American labor, American goods, and American grit," President Trump said. "When we purchase products made in the USA, the profits stay here, the revenue stays here, and the jobs - maybe most importantly of all - they stay right here in the USA."
ABG produces Litespeed, Quintana Roo and Ocoee brand bikes at its 48,000-square-foot facility on South Creek Road off Amnicola Highway in Chattanooga, where the company has about 40 employees.