So What Happened After '83? (Part Three)

For the third part in this series, I thought it might be interesting to find out what happened to CCM bicycles after the company was purchased by Procycle in 1983. To that end, I contacted Raymond Dutil, founder and CEO of Procycle, who agreed to answer my questions by email. Although he has told me that the negotiations that led to his takeover of CCM could fill a book, in and of themselves, you will see that Mr. Dutil is, for the most part, a man of a few words. What follows is a transcript of my interview with him. Regards, John

• Me: When Procycle began in 1977 was it a bicycle manufacturer from the outset?
• Mr. Dutil: Yes
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• Me: Did Procycle’s purchase of CCM in 1983 include the factory in Weston?
• Mr. Dutil:  No
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• Me: What happened to the inventory of parts and bicycles on hand at the time.
• Mr. Dutil: Transferred to Procycle St-Georges, Beauce, Québec
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• Me: How soon after its purchase of CCM did Procycle begin to manufacture CCM bicycles?
• Mr. Dutil: 2 years after
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• Me: What set the CCM line apart from the other lines of bicycles being produced by Procycle?
• Mr. Dutil: We started to offer only to IBD. After we went to mass merchant.
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• Me: Was the CCM line always manufactured in Canada?
• Mr. Dutil: Up to 2004 Yes
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• Me: When and why did Procycle cease production of the CCM bicycle line? 
• Mr. Dutil: USD/CAD
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• Me: When did Procycle sell the rights for the CCM bicycle line to Reebok?
• Mr. Dutil: 2006
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• Me: Do you know when those rights were transferred to Canadian Tire?
• Mr. Dutil: No
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• Me: The making of bicycles in Canada has always been a difficult proposition. What were/are its greatest challenges?
• Mr. Dutil: Easy access to Asian producers