SHAD-NAD celebrates 50 YEARS as a world leader in motorcycle seats and cases

The Barcelona-based company continues to expand its structure and consolidate its customer portfolio thanks to an advanced product and a powerful team.

This year marks the half-century of the history of the NAD Group, owner of the SHAD brand. The company founded in Mollet del Vallès (Barcelona) by Jaume Xicola Gascón celebrates the event with a consolidated activity and sustained growth in all its productive areas. With the founder’s son Jaume Xicola Serrano as the new CEO, they face the new challenges of globalization and the constant change in personal mobility.

Design and innovation have been their keys to success and the differential feature that makes them leaders. The development of solutions is carried out by a highly qualified design and engineering team, and the registration of its own patents and international design awards are proof of its importance, certifying its focus on R&D+i.

“We have a great team of workers and suppliers that provide the necessary strength to get here and to continue growing year after year. Projects have been carried out for major brands with disruptive solutions. All expandable products in the motorcycle sector are produced in our facilities (BMW and SHAD). We also produce high-end seats with integrated electronics and technologies that seek comfort and durability. All this evolving our product line with a style that is already recognized for its design and innovation.” Jaume Xicola Serrano, CEO SHAD-NAD

THE EXPERIENCE OF 50 YEARS:

Jaume Xicola Gascón started manufacturing motorcycle seats for local brands such as DERBI, MOTORHISPANIA, MOTO VESPA, MONTESA, SANGLAS, etc.

During the following decade of the 80’s, collaboration with the Spanish subsidiaries of global brands such as HONDA, YAMAHA and SUZUKI began.

In the 1990s, the company began to collaborate with international companies. PEUGEOT, MBK and BMW will be the first customers outside Spain.

In 1992 NAD started a new adventure, creating its own brand to start selling in the Aftermarket under the name of SHAD, which in its beginnings manufactured accessories for motorcycles and bicycles.

At the end of 1994, a new challenge arrived for NAD: to develop and produce OEM cases for one of the most “premium” brands in the industry. Together with BMW, they start the project and the production of their first OEM case for the iconic R1200C model.

From that moment on, it was decided that the company’s vision would focus on international commercial expansion, which has led them 50 years after their birth to become a world reference in the manufacture of seats, cases and other accessories for motorcycles.

At the NAD facilities in Barcelona, they maintain the production of 70% of their turnover, giving importance to process control and their own technological development. Its subsidiary countries account for the rest of the production, 25% in China and 5% in Indonesia, which has allowed them to have a presence in more than 80 countries around the world.

Its entire design and engineering team is located in Barcelona and has its own production centers in Barcelona, Jakarta and Shanghai. In 2022 SHAD exceeded 900,000 products sold for the first time, demonstrating the brand’s potential.

FUTURE CHALLENGES

“The future always awaits us with uncertainties, but at the same time with better preparation and capacity.

The global production model is faltering, costs and raw materials are more variable than ever, and mobility is in the midst of a major transformation process that should also bring about significant improvements in the sustainability of the planet.

This is the scenario in which we live and on which we focus our efforts and strategies. After 50 years we are strong and prepared, with the aim of coming out stronger and more competitive than ever.” Jaume Xicola Serrano, CEO SHAD-NAD .