Walter Grüter, originally from Hochdorf in the canton of Lucerne, trained as a
mechanical engineer. He launched his own firm on 1
May 1983, concentrating on retailing and servicing European makes of motorcycle
with a particular emphasis on the venerable Moto
Guzzi. In 1985 the firm became an authorised retailer of two further makes,
also with long traditions – BMW and Ducati. Walter
Grüter has always loved tinkering with things mechanical. Not content with
simply selling and repairing motorcycles, he took a close
look at each new model as it came out to see if anything could be modified or
improved, especially in terms of visuals. The firm’s
premises in Ballwil, acquired and converted in 1995, today house an assortment
of custom parts and accessories developed in-house
and destined for distribution worldwide.
First toe in the water
1994 eleven years after founding the company, Walter Grüter decided it was time
to try his hand at building something himself.
This turned out to be the GG duetto, a stunning motorcycle-sidecar combination
built to the firm’s own design and specifications.
By 1999 more than thirty GG duetto outfits had been sold around Europe and in
Japan.
1998 the GG Spartaco, a custom cruiser based on the Moto Guzzi 1100 Sport, was
realized.
2000 saw Walter Grüter come up with yet another custom creation, the GG Cruso.
Its two models, the
GG Cruso Classic and GG Cruso Sport, met with considerable success around
Europe.
2001 Walter Grüter’s innovative ideas brought him to the attention of BMW
Switzerland, which invited him to develop two prototypes
for the Swiss Army’s new motorcycle. BMW won the bidding and contracted Grüter
to customise the resulting 600 BMW bikes.
Feisty, slender and elegant
2004 the final breakthrough came with Walter Grüter’s GG Quad in the year 2004,
the product of thousands of man-hours of
development and sheer hard work, all of it imbued with a pioneering spirit and
entrepreneurial drive. Casually characterised by
Grüter as a “toy for boys”, the GG Quad is a four-wheeled motorcycle, 200 of
which have been sold worldwide within today
More power with the 4 cylinder motor
2006 the development of the actual creation, the GG Quadster with a BMW K 1200
S motor, has started. The homologation in
Germany and Europe is done, the first GG Quadsters have been delivered in
September 2007.
Over the years Grüter and his team have established a global network of
distributors and dealers: “To sell this product, you have to
be seen promoting it,” he declares. For a small manufacturer of custom vehicles
such as Grüter, this means taking exhibition space
at international shows attended by the trade and the general public. He has
been halfway around the globe in his travels, visiting
the whole of Europe, Japan, Russia, the Middle East and the USA. Plans are
afoot to expand into other markets.
Playing safe
To be able to launch no fewer than five in-house developments in the space of
twelve years, you need a certain level of
infrastructure – and this Grüter + Gut GmbH has achieved, along with its
spin-off company GMG-Technik GmbH. For 20 years now’
the engineering workshops (which boast three CNC machining centres and a
high-tech Makino machining centre) have been
manufacturing custom parts and accessories for other companies and for Grüter’s
in-house projects. Despite his success over the
years, Walter Grüter intends to remain “lean”. His two companies currently
employ 18 people, spread over the motorcycle workshop
(inclusive of apparel and accessories), the development department, the
engineering workshops and administration. At this time,
three apprentices are also being trained up to become motorcycle mechanics.
It goes without saying that Central Switzerland has long been conscious of this
global player in the world of motorcycle
customisation. In autumn 2005 Grüter + Gut GmbH became the proud recipient of a
prize for innovation, courtesy of the Central
Switzerland Chamber of Commerce.