After a long time, here’s a look behind the scenes at RCYL. This time Jens, our Head of Production, introduces himself in an interview. He sits in the latest igus hall, which was built directly opposite the main building on the other side of the road. There is enough space here for the production of the RCYL bike.
Hello Jens, please introduce yourself briefly.
Hi, I’m Jens and I’m in charge of setting up the production of our RCYL bike here in Cologne.
How long have you been with RCYL / igus?
I started at igus in May 2023, first part-time as a project manager and since October 2023 full-time as a production manager.
What did you do before?
Before I came to igus, I worked for a mechanical engineering company for 16 years. Among other things, I was responsible for quality management, sustainable projects and technical and commercial apprenticeships.
How did the switch to igus come about?
Having grown up with my last employer, so to speak, I was itching to take on a new challenge after all these years. Having the opportunity to be involved in a sustainable product like our RCYL bike from the very beginning is an opportunity that I simply wanted to seize. It’s nice to see how a vision becomes reality.
Do you have a Cologne background?
I grew up in Bergisch Gladbach on the border with Cologne, so I would say YES! Most of my leisure activities take place in Cologne.
What tasks do you have at igus and what will RCYL production look like in the future?
The fact that we are currently able to start on a greenfield site means that there are many. It starts with the procurement of individual components through to production, quality management and dispatch. Together with our partner MTRL from the Netherlands, we also develop machines for manufacturing the various components on the bike.
The bike is sold at approx. 90 % from parts produced here in Cologne. This means that we not only do the final assembly of the bike here, but also produce all parts on our rotomoulding and injection moulding machines. In the injection moulding process we produce, among other things our ball bearings, freewheels and components such as pedals, cranks, etc. We manufacture large components such as frames, forks and wheels using the rotational moulding process.
We also have several test stations where individual components and complete bikes are put through their paces. As for the future of production, you can stay tuned to see what develops here in Cologne.
Speaking of development: we are currently also working on the development of a process to place machines that can recycle plastic waste and produce bicycle parts from it at the world’s rubbish dumps. In this way, we want to turn waste into a resource for the production of our bikes.
