L’industrie stéphanoise du cycle et des pièces — L’Officiel du cycle, 1 May 1954, Georges Boudet on Saint-Étienne Cycle and Parts Makers and the Export Markets

From L’Officiel du cycle, du motocycle et du camping, 1 May 1954, the paper’s special export number, printed in French, English, Spanish and German, pages 71 and 73: L’industrie stéphanoise du cycle et des pièces: statement by M. Georges Boudet, president of the Chambre Syndicale de l’Industrie du Cycle de Saint-Etienne, on French bicycle and spare-parts makers and the export markets; French and English, with a portrait. The title, headings, captions and lists are transcribed as printed; the text is summarized in Ebykr’s words, and the page images carry it in full.

— Page 1 —
L’INDUSTRIE STÉPHANOISE
DU CYCLE ET DES PIÈCES

Voici, sur la production française de Cycles et Pièces détachées, l’avis de la « Chambre Syndicale de l’Industrie du Cycle de Saint-Etienne », exprimé par son Président, M. Georges BOUDET :

We give here the point of view of the «Saint-Etienne Cycle Industry Association» on bicycles and spare parts as it was expressed by their Chairman, Mr. Georges BOUDET :

[Ebykr summary; the article’s text is not reproduced. In the French statement, set in quotation marks, Boudet answers a request for the Saint-Étienne chamber’s opinion on the present possibilities of French cycle and spare-parts makers on the export markets. He says the technical possibilities are very wide, for two reasons: before the war French producers held a privileged position on all export markets, with a large share and an established reputation for quality; and since the war the makers who still look to export have greatly expanded their means of production, aiming not only at more output but, more important, at higher quality. These two reasons justify the greatest optimism. French goods have always had a name for quality and finish and are also credited with an elegance and a finesse that are not always the strength of other makers’ products; great efforts have been made here too, and the makers can claim to offer on the international markets goods that stand comparison with the finest creations in the world. French manufacturers have studied every problem, and many new products are able to make French makes and French quality prevail on many markets. French goods have often been reproached with a lack of adaptability and with trying to impose French production and French dimensions on foreign markets without regard to the tastes and needs of foreign customers; if that reproach was ever justified it no longer is, and every French house specializing or wishing to specialize in export has built a range in harmony with foreign needs and tastes. New tooling and a new generation of technicians allow any product to be taken on with a guarantee of quality and very short delivery times. He concludes that, on purely technical and commercial grounds, the French producers of cycles and cycle spare parts can stand any comparison and any competition in quality and finish on any market.]

[Ebykr summary, English version. After a heavy rule the same statement is printed in English under a large drop capital Y, point for point as in the French: the present-day capacity of French bicycle and spare-parts makers on export markets, extremely high from the technical standpoint for the two reasons given, the prewar preferred position and the postwar growth in production and quality, with the claims for the elegance of French goods, the reply to the charge of lack of adaptability, and the conclusion that French producers can meet any competition. The English text breaks off at the foot of this sheet in mid-sentence (« If this reproach were justified at one time, it is no ») and continues on the next image.]

[A text page opening a trade statement, with a title panel and one halftone portrait, on a plain ground with no advertiser. At the upper left a ruled box holds the two-line title in heavy slab-serif capitals, L’INDUSTRIE STÉPHANOISE over DU CYCLE ET DES PIÈCES, and under it an italic introduction in French and then in English, each with the name BOUDET in small capitals and a small eight-pointed star ornament in the left margin. At the upper right a halftone portrait shows a bald man of middle age with a heavy jaw, a dark jacket, white collar and a dark patterned tie, looking toward the viewer against a dark graduated ground. Below, the French statement runs in sans-serif type in two columns under a large drop capital V, followed beneath a heavy horizontal rule by the English version under a large drop capital Y. No caption, credit line, artist signature or agency mark is visible, and no text from the reverse of the leaf shows through.]

— Page 2 —
He aquí la opinión del Sr. Georges BOUDET, Presidente de la «Cámara Sindical de la Indústria del Ciclo de Saint-Etienne» acerca de la producción francesa de ciclos y piezas de recambio :

Hier folgt die Ansicht der « Syndikats der Fahrrad-Industrie von Saint-Etienne » über die französische Produktion des Fahrrades, und der Einzelteile, ausgedrückt von seinem Präsidenten, Herrn Georges BOUDET.

[Ebykr summary; the article’s text is not reproduced. The top of this sheet carries the end of the English version of the Boudet statement, which began on the previous image: French firms that specialize or intend to specialize in exporting have created a range perfectly adapted to foreign needs and tastes; new equipment and a new body of technicians allow any product to be made with a high quality guarantee and extremely short delivery dates; and the conclusion is that, technically and commercially, French bicycle and spare-parts makers can bear comparison with any foreign competitor on any market as to quality and finish.]

[Ebykr summary, in Spanish. The Spanish version, in italic type under a large drop capital N, repeats the statement: the opinion of the president of the Saint-Étienne cycle chamber on the possibilities of French cycle and spare-parts makers on the importing markets; very wide technical possibilities for two reasons, the privileged prewar position with an established reputation for quality and the postwar growth of production means and of quality; the greatest optimism; the recognized elegance and finesse of French goods and the great efforts to keep them at the level of the finest creations in the world; the makers’ study of every problem; the answer to the reproach of lack of adaptability, with ranges now in harmony with foreign needs and tastes; new tooling and new technicians with quality guarantee and very short delivery times; and the conclusion that French makers of cycles and their spare parts stand any comparison on any market.]

[Ebykr summary, in German. The German version, under a large drop capital S, gives the same statement point for point: very wide technical possibilities for the same two reasons, the prewar preferred position on all export markets and the postwar growth of production means and of quality; the elegance and fineness long credited to French goods and the great efforts made in this field; the makers’ attention to every problem; the reply to the reproach of lack of adaptability; new tools and new technical staff with a quality guarantee and exceptionally short delivery times; and the conclusion that French makers of bicycles and bicycle parts can stand any comparison and competition in quality and finish on any foreign market. The German text ends with the closing guillemet.]

[A full page of type with no illustration, advertisement or credit line, on a plain ground. The page holds the continuation of a trade statement in three language versions stacked in two columns each and separated by heavy horizontal rules: at the top the last lines of the English version in sans-serif roman type, in the middle the Spanish version in italic type with a roman introductory line and a large italic drop capital N, and at the foot the German version with an italic introductory line, a roman closing name in small capitals, BOUDET, and a large drop capital S. The paragraphs begin with a closing guillemet mark. The French version printed on the preceding sheet is not repeated. No signature, drawing or agency mark is visible, and no text from the reverse of the leaf shows through.]