Firm hopes electric bikes catch traction

Popular models cruise into 2017 expo for test drive

This year, Robert Provost, CEO of ProdecoTech of Deerfield Beach, has been thrilled by the consumer acceptance of his company’s electric bikes.

Among his customers: eco-conscious commuters, hardcore mountain bikers, boaters and RV owners.

But even with the success, he knows that building consumer awareness about the merits of ebikes over traditional bicycles is the key to boosting sales.

That’s why ProdecoTech is offering consumers test rides of some of its popular models and newer designs through a local dealer at the 2017 Electric Bike Expo this weekend at Haulover Park in northeast Miami-Dade County.

“It’s [about] getting the brand out there and the awareness factor,” Provost said during a factory tour this week. “We get somebody on one of our electric bikes to test it, they fall in love with it. They’re sold.”

ProdecoTech, which recently relocated its operations from Oakland Park, designs and assembles its ebikes using both domesticand foreign-sourced parts. Those imported parts are typically duty free because the business operates as a foreign trade zone. And when the ebikes are completed, they’re “exported” into the United States duty free to gain the same advantages as other imported electric bikes would.

With the FTZ status, and other cost controls, Provost said he’s able to pass on the savings to customers in the form of lower prices.

“Our prices are typically 20 to 30 percent lower than our competitors for a similar type of product,” he said.

The company’s big-box retail distributors are Best Buy, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Rent-A-Center.

Three new Best Buy stores in South Florida (Hialeah, Miami and Doral) are show- Robert Provost, CEO, ProdecoTech, Deerfield Beach