Allen Chou was born on June 13, 1938, in Changhua City. He moved to the Japanese concession in Shanghai with his parents in 1941 to run a pastry shop. Due to frequent wartime disruptions, his father and four siblings passed away within three years. In 1948, at the age of nine, Allen, carrying only a rubber ball, fled with his mother alongside the CKS Nationalist Army to Keelung harbor Taiwan during the Shanghai Campaign. After settling in Taichung City, he lived in a small community near the Taichung Sugar Factory where his mother, Ms. Chou Xie Yueyun, raised him alone in an era of extreme scarcity.

During his youth, Allen apprenticed at a rickshaw shop and a children’s toy car store. Eventually, he opened his first bicycle shop next to the Taichung Sugar Factory, specializing in dismantling, cleaning, and refurbishing used bicycle parts and providing basic repairs for the workers at Sugar Factory. At 18, he married Ms. Lan Xiufang through an arranged marriage, and they had their first daughter, Chou Shu Mei. Subsequently, he welcomed his eldest son, Chou Ting Tsai, second son, Chou Zhen Cang, and youngest son, Chou Bi Qin (Jian Hua).

During this time, a nascent bicycle industry in Taiwan began to take shape. In the early years, Taiwan lacked a complete bicycle supply chain and all bicycles were imported; mainly the brands Raleigh from the UK and Fuji from Japan. A few years later, Allen established a domestic bicycle sales store called “Shunji Xing”, where he began assembling bicycles for sale. He promoted the Shunji and Baitie brands, gradually gaining recognition in the Taiwanese market.

In 1979, he founded Shunji Xing Co., Ltd. in Dali Township, Taichung County, marking the beginning of his legendary journey in promoting bicycle exports. Due to a challenging environment, Shunji Xing ceased operations in 1981. Undeterred, Allen rented a small factory in 1983 that covered an area of 150 ping (approximately 500 square meters) in Dali, Taichung, and established Fritz Jou Manufacturing. The company later relocated to the Fuxing Industrial Zone in Changhua, then moved to its current location in 1988.

Over the past 41 years, Fritz Jou Manufacturing has flourished in Taiwan, with branches established in Penang, Malaysia, Santa Maria, California USA, Dawangshan in Guangdong Province, China, and Jinghai in Tianjin, China. In 2016, FJM opened a European factory in Águeda, Portugal, and in 2024, established a factory in the Mobius 5 Industrial Zone in Binh Duong Province, Vietnam, officially commencing production. This steady growth ensures Allen’s bicycle manufacturing legacy remains strong through his next generations.