History
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1949
1949 - The Beginning
The story of Berini begins in December 1949 in The Hague (Netherlands) when 'het eitje' (Dutch: the egg) was first revealed to the public. It was a little auxiliary engine, with an egg-shaped gas tank, which could be fitted on every sturdy bicycle. The idea of an engine driven bicycle was rather old but the fact that the engine was sold separately and could be used with almost any available bike was revolutionary. Even though often regarded as Italian, the name Berini was simply derived from the names of its inventors (BErnhard Neumann, RInus Bruynzeel and NIco Groenendijk).
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1951
1951 - More Eggs
Due to the increasing success, the production facilities in The Hague quickly became too small. So the production was moved to a new factory building in Rotterdam. This increased the capacity from 9,000 produced 'eitjes' in 1950 to 28,000 in 1951.
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1952
1952-1956 - M13
Next to 'het eitje', in the meantime re-named to Berini M13, new engines and models are developed and put on the market, amongst them also an outboard motorboat engine. In 1954, Berini introduced its first 'real' moped: the M21. Before, they produced not more than bicycles with auxiliary engines. A variety of versions of the M21 followed.
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1958
1958 - Speed-o-matic
With respect to a new legislation requiring mopeds in the Netherlands not to go faster than 40 km/h, Berini introduces the Speed-O-Matic. Instead of curbing the engine with a smaller carburetor or exhaust pipe, which also decreases acceleration, the Speed-O-Matic uses a smart disc system, which cuts of the gas supply as soon as the speed limit is reached. By that the moped accelerates conventionally while following the legal regulations.
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1964
1964-1966 - The movement of production
Between 1964 and 1966 Berini changed owners twice, finally ending up in a collaboration between Laura Motoren (engines) and Gazelle (frames). The change in ownership also resulted in the move of the engine production to Limburg.
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1981
1981 - The turning point
All production facilities and the complete inventory are sold and shipped to Korea.
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1991
1991 - Berini's new start
During 1991 Berini made a comeback. Still based in Rotterdam, Berini B.V. is set up and the brand Berini is registered internationally again. In search of a manufacturer for their new product line, Berini ends up in far India, at TVS. Here, the famous M48 engines were (and are still) produced.
TVS was a part of Suzuki Ltd. and consisted of a colossal factory with over 1000 employees. The factory had purchased the original molds of the former owner of Berini and was producing massive amounts of M48 engines. -
2000
2000-2003 - Time for modernisation!
After selling the EKO and Striker for a couple of years Berini thought it was time to reinvent itself.
Seeking out to uphold high quality standards Berini representatives talked to many manufacturers from different parts of the world.
After years of negotiation and market observation Berini selected a few producers to assist them in setting up a new product line. -
2004
2004-2018 - The Berini of the future
n 2004 they kicked off their new collection with the Speedy. In 2005 this model was followed by the Retro-hit, the Bella Milano. Currently, the collection holds 6 models of which the Striker is the latest addition. Ranging from Sporty to Retro, Berini tries to satisfy all of their customer's needs.
For 2018 we expect great things to happen, starting with the launch of our new model upcoming spring.