Florian Blattner becomes new Managing Director of KSR Swiss GmbH

The company name KSR Swiss GmbH may not be very familiar to many motorcyclists. The brands that this Thurgau-based company imports into Switzerland are all the more so: Royal Enfield, Brixton, Malaguti, CFMOTO 4-wheel, Niu, Lambretta, Italjet and Motron are all part of the portfolio of the company founded in 2003 by Jakob "Jack" Bruderer. Last year, KSR Swiss GmbH delivered around 3200 machines to its distribution network of 200 specialist dealers and service stations, making it one of the major players on the Swiss two-wheeler scene.

Jakob Bruderer, who was born at the present company headquarters in Happerswil and trained as a master motorcycle mechanic, remembers:

"I wanted to be active in the business world from a very early age and started to build up a trade in accident motorcycles and spare parts right after my apprenticeship. I delivered all over the world, especially to Eastern Europe. After this business became less attractive due to geopolitical developments, I started importing motorcycle wear parts such as chains or brake pads in large quantities from Japan and supplying them to wholesalers all over Europe. In 2003 I entered the motorcycle trading and import business and founded the company JB Töffhandel GmbH based in Happerswil. Among the first brands were motorcycles of the Hyosung brand and quads of the Kasea brand. Over time, more and new brands were added to our portfolio, especially when we took over the general import for all brands of the Austrian manufacturer KSR in 2011. The cooperation with the KSR parent company became more and more intensive over the years, so that JB Töffhandel GmbH became the property of the KSR Group in Austria in February 2020 and has been operating under the name KSR Swiss GmbH ever since."

Today, the KSR Swiss GmbH portfolio includes a total of eight "brands": Royal Enfield, Niu, CFMOTO 4-wheel, Lambretta and Italjet, as well as KSR's three own brands Brixton, Malaguti and Motron. In the quad and ATV sector, KSR Swiss GmbH has been the number 1 in Switzerland with the CFMOTO 4-wheel brand since 2018.

After 40 years in a leading position at an important company in the Swiss two-wheeler market, "Jack" Bruderer, who is now 62 years old, now wants to take a step back, but he will continue to be available to KSR Swiss GmbH as a consultant. Bruderer's successor, 30-year-old Florian Blattner, knows the business inside out. He joined the company in 2017 as a power tool mechanic, trained as a sales manager and technical merchant, and was promoted internally to sales manager just two years later. Florian Blattner experienced the transition from JB Töffhandel GmbH to KSR Swiss GmbH first-hand.

"I'm looking forward enormously to my new tasks," explains Florian Blattner. "Of course, I'm happy to have Jack continue to support me with his vast experience. My goal is to maintain as much stability as possible in the business, to develop it further in small steps, to continuously increase market shares and to further consolidate our position as a reputable partner to the vehicle industry. With our brand portfolio, we are very well positioned and very broadly based, particularly in the small and medium displacement classes. We also have a strong presence in the emerging electric segment. In addition, we still see great growth potential in French-speaking Switzerland. With this in mind, I would like to thank all our brand dealers throughout Switzerland, thanks to whose trust and efforts our impressive growth in recent years has only become possible."