Ride from the past into the future
If partnership is one of the cornerstones of two companies, then it will be celebrated on the occasion of the anniversary. For the celebration of the 50th anniversary of Paul Lange and SHIMANO Paul Lange commissioned the Stuttgart agency Full Moon Event under the direction of Till Elsässer, who planned, supervised and implemented the anniversary in great detail. Japanese elements met a Swabian, rustic-floral flair on the occasion of the solidarity of both partners: Japanese drummers rang in the evening, a sake ceremony brought the Asian tradition to Stuttgart and a live painting show by Akiko staged Japanese painting art to modern deep house sound. The most spectacular highlight was the hologram of Bernhard Lange from the future, who entered into dialogue with himself in the here and now.
As the anniversary motto "Ride from the past into the future" says, the entire evening was focused on the past, present and future. Under a gigantic igloo tent - 1,800 square metres mind you - the 550 or so invited guests of SHIMANO from Japan, customers from Germany and guests from the worlds of business and politics experienced the history of a partnership that has already lasted 50 years. And how can stories best be captured and survive the passage of time? Naturally, through a book that carries the story on from generation to generation. But in this case the book was four metres long and 2.30 metres high, stood in the middle of the 12-metre stage and had blank, white pages onto which a video was projected. This video vividly told the history and the present time of Paul Lange and SHIMANO. The motto of the evening was underlined by two bike shows of the Flying Bike Boys. They acrobatically staged the past and present era of the bicycle, which has become an indispensable means of transport and leisure fun for young and old alike.
The partnership between Paul Lange and SHIMANO is considered one of the most important in the bicycle industry. Not only does this partnership, which is now 50 years old, represent one of the longest and most successful cooperations of its kind in the German and international bicycle industry. Thanks to the partnership between Lange and SHIMANO, the components from Japan first became "acceptable" in Germany in the early 1970s and subsequently began their triumphal march to become the clear market leader today. This was made clear again and again that evening in the keynote speeches by Bernhard Lange, Managing Partner of Paul Lange & Co OHG, Taizo Shimano, Vice President of SHIMANO Inc. and Georg Honkomp, Chairman of the German Association of Bicycle Dealers (ZEG), at both industrial and political level in the speeches by the Lord Mayor of Stuttgart, Fritz Kuhn, and the State Minister of Transport, Winfried Hermann, MdL.
And what does the future of the bicycle look like? Bernhard Lange explained this to the guests in a very futuristic way. For this purpose, the agency Full Moon Event staged a hologram of Bernhard Lange from the future, which was projected alongside the real ones and entered into dialogue with him. Among other things, both exchanged information about "Stuttgart 51". "S51" - a slightly ironic side blow to Stuttgart 21 (short form: S21), - is a project for the future, which, according to Bernhard Lange from 2047, aims to provide a completely junction-free route for all major cycle expressway routes as well as a direct connection to the twelve largest cycle car parks in the city centre with their own entrances and exits.
„This anniversary is something very special in the bicycle industry and beyond, so it was clear from the very beginning that the celebration of it should also be something special. With the Full Moon Event we found a partner who not only advised us creatively and prudently, but also carried out the entire organisation and handling of the event in a highly professional manner",
said Bernhard Lange, who was highly satisfied with the concept and the smooth running of the anniversary celebration.
