Ross (bicycle company): Difference between revisions

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Ross was a U.S. built line of bikes between 1950 and 1989, somewhat rivaling Schwinn, up until the mid 1980's. They were manufactured in Allentown , PA, and had corporate HQ in Rockway Beach, NY. they sold everything from kids bikes to road bikes.They were one of the first bike companies to jump in and manufacture 2 to 5 models of mountain bikes when they were just coming into vogue in 1983.

History

The company was founded in 1940 as the Ross Galvanizing Works. It was located in Brooklyn, New York near the Brooklyn Navy Yards. During WWII the company had extensive contracts with the U.S. Government to coat (galvanize) the bottom of ships. When the war ended, at the suggestion of Sherwood Ross, and his brother in-law Sam Wilkens, the company switched to the manufacturing of wheeled goods including bicycles, tricycles, wheel chairs, lawn mowers and roller skates.

The company moved its manufacturing plant to Rockaway Beach, Queens, New York in the 1950's and by the late 50's solely manufacured bikes and trikes and was the 3rd largest domestic producer of bicycles after Scwinn and Huffy. The company moved again in the early 70's to a new facility in Allentown, PA. During the two oil crises of the 1970's (1973 & 1979) the company worked around the clock in three shifts and turned out over 1 million bicycles in each of those years.

Upon Sherwood Ross' retirement in 1969 the ownership of the company was turned over in equal shares to Sherwood's son Sherwood B. Ross and daughter Teddy. In 1980 my Sherwood B. Ross bought out his sister and remained the sole owner until the company went bankrupt in 1989. The company was unable to compete with imports from the Far East made with very cheap labor. The company tried to stay afloat by shifting it's bicycle manufacturing to leased factories in Taiwan and use the Allentown facility to fulfill government contracts that it had sucessfully bid on.

The name ROSS was purchased out of Bankruptcy Court by Rand Cycle, Farmingdale, NY. Sherwood B. Ross worked for Rand for 5 years as a consultant as part of the name deal. Rand never sunk enough money into marketing the ROSS name and although they still own it, they are not actively pursuing ROSS sales.

Sherwood B. Ross who was for many years the President of the Bicycle Manufacturers of America (BMA) is alive and well at 85 living in South Florida and is working part-time as the pre-eminent expert witness in bicycle product liability litigation.

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-Ross was a U.S. built line of bikes between 1950 and 1989, somewhat rivaling Schwinn, up until the mid 1980's. They were manufactured in Allentown , PA, and had corporate HQ in Rockway Beach, NY. they sold everything from kids bikes to road bikes.They were one of the first bike companies to jump in and manufacture 2 to 5 models of mountain bikes when they were just coming into vogue in 1983.
+'''Ross''' was a U.S. built line of bikes between 1950 and 1989, somewhat rivaling [[Schwinn]], up until the mid 1980's. They were manufactured in [[Allentown , PA]], and had corporate HQ in [[Rockway Beach, NY]]. they sold everything from kids bikes to road bikes.They were one of the first bike companies to jump in and manufacture 2 to 5 models of mountain bikes when they were just coming into vogue in 1983.
 == History==
-The company was founded in 1940 as the Ross Galvanizing Works. It was located in Brooklyn, New York near the Brooklyn Navy Yards. During WWII the company had extensive contracts with the U.S. Government to coat (galvanize) the bottom of ships. When the war ended, at the suggestion of  Sherwood Ross, and his brother in-law Sam Wilkens, the company switched to the manufacturing of wheeled goods including bicycles, tricycles, wheel chairs, lawn mowers and roller skates.
+The company was founded in 1940 as the Ross Galvanizing Works. It was located in [[Brooklyn, New York]] near the [[Brooklyn Navy Yards]]. During WWII the company had extensive contracts with the U.S. Government to coat (galvanize) the bottom of ships. When the war ended, at the suggestion of  Sherwood Ross, and his brother in-law Sam Wilkens, the company switched to the manufacturing of wheeled goods including bicycles, tricycles, wheel chairs, lawn mowers and roller skates.
-The company moved its manufacturing plant to Rockaway Beach, Queens, New York in the 1950's and by the late 50's solely manufacured bikes and trikes and was the 3rd largest domestic producer of bicycles after Scwinn and Huffy. The compnay moved again in the early 70's to a new facility in Allentown, PA. During the two oil crises of the 1970's (1973 & 1979) the company worked around the clock in three shifts and turned out over 1 million bicycles in each of those years.
+The company moved its manufacturing plant to [[Rockaway Beach]], [[Queens, New York]] in the 1950's and by the late 50's solely manufacured bikes and trikes and was the 3rd largest domestic producer of bicycles after [[Scwinn]] and [[Huffy]]. The company moved again in the early 70's to a new facility in [[Allentown, PA]]. During the two oil crises of the 1970's (1973 & 1979) the company worked around the clock in three shifts and turned out over 1 million bicycles in each of those years.
 Upon Sherwood Ross' retirement in 1969 the ownership of the company was turned over in equal shares to Sherwood's son Sherwood B. Ross and daughter Teddy. In 1980 my Sherwood B. Ross bought out his sister and remained the sole owner until the company went bankrupt in 1989. The company was unable to compete with imports from the Far East made with very cheap labor. The company tried to stay afloat by shifting it's bicycle manufacturing to leased factories in Taiwan and use the Allentown facility to fulfill government contracts that it had sucessfully bid on.
-The name ROSS was purchased out of Bankruptcy Court by Rand Cycle, Farmingdale, NY. Sherwood B. Ross worked for Rand for 5 years as a consultant as part of the name deal. Rand never sunk enough money into marketing the ROSS name and although they still own it, they are not actively pursuing ROSS sales.
+The name ROSS was purchased out of Bankruptcy Court by [[Rand Cycle]], [[Farmingdale, NY]]. Sherwood B. Ross worked for Rand for 5 years as a consultant as part of the name deal. Rand never sunk enough money into marketing the ROSS name and although they still own it, they are not actively pursuing ROSS sales.
-Sherwood B. Ross who was for many years the President of the Bicycle Manufacturers of America (BMA) is alive and well at 85 living in South Florida and is working part-time as the pre-eminent expert witness in bicycle product liability litigation.
+Sherwood B. Ross who was for many years the President of the [[Bicycle Manufacturers of America]] (BMA) is alive and well at 85 living in South Florida and is working part-time as the pre-eminent expert witness in bicycle product liability litigation.