2009 Prototype Exhibited at Milan Motorcycle Show

Ossa Business 2008–2015

The following was compiled from a variety of sources (most were originally in Spanish and translated by Google).  I hope to augment and improve this section as I learn more.

In 2008, Ossa Factory, S.L. was formed with an initial investment of 4.5 million euros.  Note that the resurrected name is not all uppercase, so was not intended as an acronym. 

Jordi Cuxart was president and Joan Gurt served as general manager.  Other principals included Alexandre Laplaza, financial director, and Joan Roma director of the Motor Division.  (As well as selling motorcycles, Ossa formed a Fashion Division.)  Another key figure was chief engineer Josep “Xiu” Serra who had been instrumental in the design of GasGas's Pro model.  Marc Colomer (1996 world champion) was originally slated to be the brand manager and in charge of testing.

The factory was headquartered on a modern industrial estate in Girona, Spain.  The prototype TR280i on display at the Milan Motorcycle Show in November 2009 was well received.

It was estimated the Girona plant would employ around fifty, and have the capacity to produce 6,000 motorcycles per year between August and December.  From January to July, the company would conduct research and develop new projects.  Optimistic forecasts were expected to see the close of 2011 having manufactured the first 1,250 trials bikes.

An insider recalled an initial production run of 200 machines.  In 2011, a Spaniard agreed to buy 250 bikes, but they were of such poor quality that he only took 100 (or maybe 150).  Ossa could no longer sell bikes in Spain and was forced to sell them abroad.

The standard 2011 TR280i had an MSRP of 6,640 euros.  The 2011 TR280i Factory (Six Day) version cost 7,540 euros and production was said to be limited to 100 units.  The corporate books closed 2011 with a turnover of 7.5 million euros. (Although “turnover” is used in Europe and Asia, I was not familiar with the term in a financial context.  It can be applied to accounts receivable, inventory, and working capital.  But I think in this instance it might just be a synonym for what Americans would call “revenue.”) 

In January 2014, it was announced that Ossa was merging with GasGas, but the brands would continue to be separate.  Ossa's staff would be absorbed by GasGas and operations would continue at the larger GasGas facilities in Salt, Girona.  The Catalan Institute of Finance provided a bailout loan of 2 million euros.  Ossa's owners negotiated royalty payments in return for a manufacturing license but collected “not a penny” from GasGas.  The Ossa brand license continued in the hands of Gurt, Roma, and Laplaza.

In January 2015, GasGas filed for bankruptcy when it could not restructure 20 million euros in debt.  Operations ceased in February 2015.

OSSA Factory Press Release, dated 2 February 2016

From OSSA Factory we want to communicate to our customers, importers, suppliers and friends our determination to continue working to offer the best product and service possible. To this end, we want to clarify some points about the current situation and the near future:

1: OSSA has been greatly harmed by the bankruptcy Gas Gas has gone through in the last year. Although they have never ceased to be separate companies, many OSSA departments were integrated into the structure of Gas Gas, and the process Gas Gas has gone through has paralyzed the activity of OSSA. As of today and until the Gas Gas bankruptcy process finishes, OSSA will not recover its freedom to manage its activities freely and independently. Fortunately this will happen in the coming weeks.

2: We want to thank our customers, importers, suppliers and friends for their patience and trust during these difficult months.

3: We are working to offer new and exciting products in this 2016, we are confident that they will return to seduce our customers.

Soon we will give more information on the immediate future in our website www.ossamotor.es. We also want to remind that any information about OSSA that may appear in means other than our official channels should be considered lacking in reliability. Greetings and thanks for your confidence.

OSSA Factory team