After surviving from a suspension of business during the Great Depression of 1929, Shimano moved to new premises and in 1939 the production of freewheels grew to a million per month, which is evidence of the success of the brand and mainly, of its first steps on internationalization.
After the ending of the 2nd World War, as a stimulus to the recovery of the company, Shimano decided to begin producing all the components required to assemble an entire bicycle.
In 1965 Shimano launched its first trading post outside Japan, sited in New York (USA). The 70s marked the expansion of the company globally, opening several branches in Europe, Singapore, Malaysia. At the beginning of the same decade Shimano extended the business to the producing of articles for sport fishing.
Always focused on research and innovation Shimano never left any others overcome it in what concerns to the challenges of technology and at the turn of the century the brand was already present on all continents.
Currently Shimano also produces all accessories and equipments for winter sports and water. The company's goal is to approach people and nature, with high quality and so comfortable and attractive as possible. The brand is distributed in Portugal by Sociedade Comercial do Vouga since 1992, which became its official distributor for cycling products in the country in 1994.
