Big Stan visits those lovely people at SCK to see what’s going on and find out what’s new.
Scooter Centre Koln is relaunching its website under the slogan ‘All You Need’! Stan visited the home of BGM to see what’s new.
It’s easy to believe a small workshop can thrive on the passion of its owner but what about an international supplier? If there’s a point at which passion gives way to corporate identity, Scooter Centre Koln hasn’t heard of it. From the moment I arrived at their shop it was clear this is a place run by scooterists.
The two men behind the name are Ulf Schroeder and Oliver Kluger, and theirs is the original ‘enthusiasts made good story’. “When I left school I went to work for my Uncle,” began Oliver. “The understanding was that when he retired I would run the business but when that time came, his son took over. I didn’t know what to do so I took some holiday time and went to Italy. There I found a TS125 with a ‘for sale’ notice on it. I spoke to the owner, bought it, threw it in the back of my car and came back to Cologne. I sold it almost straight away and used the profit for another trip.
“I reinvested, bought a bigger car, then a trailer and then a van.
It wasn’t big money but I was doing OK.” Meanwhile, in another part of Cologne, Ulf was also buying up scooters, but he had eyes on a different market. “I don’t think I was as organised as Ollie,” he laughed.
“I was travelling to the UK buying up everything I could at parts fairs. I’d met Stuart Lanning at various events and would call to see him in the Scootering office. Sometimes he’d let me see the classified advertisements before the magazine went on sale. If anyone sold their scooter to a crazy German in the early-1990’s it was probably me!”
Eventually the inevitable happened and after trading between themselves for a while the pair joined forces, taking over a succession of relative’s garages and lock up units to house their ever-increasing stock of machines and spares. This was a busy time in German scootering and the pair found a ready market for their spares and expertise. Taking a leap of faith they leased a small unit, formally opening in January 1994.
The company grew rapidly and soon moved into the upper floor of a purposebuilt industrial unit. “We never thought that we’d fill all that space,” said Oliver. “I’d just bought some Apes and the only way we could get them into the lift was by tipping them onto their tailgates!”
The rest as they say is history. Scooter Centre outgrew the building’s upper floor and in 2008 the moved into another purpose-built unit across the street.