VDL Groep, the Dutch industrial family company headquartered in Eindhoven, will produce and supply aluminium bicycle frames for QWIC. The new venture, VDL Bike Frame Technologies, is finalizing a fully automated production line. This VDL investment involves millions of euros. Starting this summer, production will begin on this assembly line at VDL Steelweld in Breda. QWIC is the first customer of VDL Bike Frame Technologies. Over the next three years, VDL will deliver 50,000 bicycle frames to this Dutch bicycle brand.
Significant milestone
Taco Anema, Founder and CEO of QWIC, said, “We are proud to announce a long-term strategic partnership with VDL Groep for the automated production of QWIC e-bike frames in the Netherlands. This marks a significant milestone for QWIC as we strive to establish ourselves as a leading brand in the market. The partnership contributes to our goals of controlling our supply chain, improving quality, reducing lead times, and accelerating product innovation. With VDL Groep’s expertise in advanced manufacturing methods, we optimize our premium products for efficient production. Local frame production makes us more flexible, innovative, and sustainable, resulting in better products for our customers.”
Competitive production
Willem van der Leegte, President and CEO of VDL, said, “The Netherlands is, of course, the cycling country par excellence, but the foundation of the bicycle, the frame, is primarily produced outside of Europe. With VDL Bike Frame Technologies, we bring this production back to our country and enable our customers to significantly reduce their carbon footprint. Having a fully automated production line allows us to compete in terms of production costs. We are proud of this collaboration with the Dutch brand QWIC, a leading brand in the market.”
Ambition
Currently, the production line of VDL Bike Frame Technologies in Breda has a capacity of 70,000 frames per year. The ambition is to expand the modular production process based on market demand. Jason Koevoet of VDL Bike Frame Technologies said, “In Europe alone, more than 22 million bicycles were sold in 2021, and this market is growing. The majority of frames for all these bicycles are still produced in Asia, and the bicycles are then assembled in Europe.”
Photo (from left to right): Jos Schutte (Innovation Lead, QWIC), Sander van Herpt (Sales, VDL Bike Frame Technologies), Edwin Willems (Senior Vice President, VDL Groep), Taco Anema (Founder and CEO, QWIC), Bas van der Leegte (Senior Vice President, VDL Groep), Egemen Tumturk (COO, QWIC), and Jason Koevoet (VDL Bike Frame Technologies).
