Austin Ramzy, A Maker of Bikes Now Makes a Point of Riding Them. New York Times, Sept 1, 2013.
Quote:
"Giant is the world’s largest bike manufacturer by revenue. Its factories in Taiwan, China and the Netherlands churned out 6.3 million bicycles last year, generating revenue of $1.8 billion. The company sells bikes under its own name and makes them for major brands like Trek, Scott and Colnago.
"the island’s two largest cities, Taipei and Kaohsiung, have launched bike-share programs.
"A major breakthrough came in 1977 when Giant’s chief executive, Tony Lo, negotiated a deal with Schwinn to begin manufacturing bikes for the iconic American brand. * * * Then Schwinn decided to find a new source, and in 1987 signed a contract with China Bicycle Company 深圳中华自行车公司 to make bikes in Shenzhen. Giant began focusing on building its own brand * * * Gradually sales of Giant-brand bicycles grew. At the same time Schwinn’s fortunes declined, and it filed for bankruptcy in 1992. The American company was never able to get cheaper production from its China Bicycle investment, said Jay Townley, an industry consultant who was an executive at Schwinn and later Giant’s American arm.
"Giant’s manufacturing is now largely based in China, where it has six factories. China dominates global bicycle production, but Taiwanese companies either own or operate the factories that produce about 80 percent of China’s bicycle exports, industry analysts say.
Note:
(a) "Mr [Giant founder King] Liu’s transformation, and that of many of his cycling compatriots, was motivated somewhat unexpectedly by a 2007 film, 'Island Etude,' about a young man who bicycles around Taiwan."
(i) Island Etude, which 纽约时报中文网 translates as 《练习曲》.
(ii) étude (n; French, literally, study, from Middle French estude, estudie, from Old French — more at STUDY; First Known Use circ 1837) www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/etude
(b) "In business he has shown the same determination. After graduating from a technical high school, he cast about at several professions"
(c) Schwinn Bicycle Company
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schwinn_Bicycle_Company
(founded by German-born mechanical engineer Ignaz Schwinn (1860–1945) in Chicago in 1895; after declaring bankruptcy in 1992, it is a sub-brand of Pacific Cycle, owned by the multi-national conglomerate, Dorel Industries [based in Montreal])
(ii) The German surname Schwinn is "of uncertain origin."
(d) “'If my stamina is better than when I was 73, that should be a big news story.'”
(i) stamina (n; Latin, plural of stamen warp, thread of life spun by the Fates) http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stamina
(ii) Unit Three: Agreement, Reference, and Case. in Traditional English Grammar. Instructional Systems Independent Study, undated http://www.zianet.com/jkline/u3svagr.htm
(“Nouns plural in[] form but singular in meaning, take a singular verb. The following words are almost always used with singular verbs: physics, economics, mathematics, news, politics, whereabouts, mechanics, ethics, mumps and stamina”)