Bicycle production in Central Europe: WSF builds bikes according to automotive standards
A local series production of bicycles has now been realized by the Upper Austrian company WSF in Regau. While the continuously increasing demand ensures steady growth for the bicycle industry, its rigid production standards have so far proven to be resistant to optimization, the company explains. Numerous manufacturers from German-speaking countries would resort to assembly service providers from Eastern Europe or Asia, who produce strictly according to plan, instead of using the assembly process for cost optimization and quality assurance of the bicycles. Sourcing and purchasing, logistics, and customs of the necessary components usually remained the responsibility of the manufacturers, complains the provider. WSF Bicycle Technology now wants to counter this with a holistic approach: The Upper Austrians offer all services along the bicycle value chain and locally manufacture (e-)bikes as contract manufacturers in Regau. The assembly processes modeled after the automotive industry are aimed at immediate problem-solving, maximum efficiency, and quality - in the interest of the manufacturers as well as the end customers, advertises WSF.
“Assembly service providers typically produce according to formula. They receive the components along with instructions and then assemble several hundred and sometimes thousands of bicycles of a model before moving on to the next series, the next order. However, the functionality of the bicycles is not their responsibility. They do not, for example, consider whether design changes in the early phase of product development or assembly conditions would achieve a better result in terms of economy, quality - especially reproducible quality - etc.,” explains Alexander Schnöll of WSF Bicycle Technology, which offers a new, more efficient way of bicycle manufacturing.
Together with Roland Wallmannsberger, Schnöll founded the company in December 2020. Prior to that, the two native Salzburgers had been working in the automotive industry for over ten years. One of the projects they realized, among others as buyers, managers, and consultants, led them to the bicycle industry - and its developmental lag came into view.
“We were amazed at the entrenched, outdated standards of the bicycle industry. In terms of efficiency, it lagged behind comparable industries by certainly a few decades. Little has changed in this regard to this day. The optimization potential is huge but not exploited. That's exactly what we set out to do with WSF,” recalls Roland Wallmannsberger.
Thinking Ahead is the Order of the Day
In the assembly process, this primarily means one thing: thinking ahead. “It may sound trivial, but we approach the matter with an attitude that is largely hard to find in the bicycle industry. Everything we do is designed to get the best out of a bicycle by controlling the underlying processes from a single source. From checking components to sample construction, assembly, packaging, and shipping, we identify sources of errors, provide problem solutions to our customers, and implement them right away. This has been standard practice in the automotive sector for decades. We are now applying it to the bicycle,” Schnöll describes the concept of WSF. This way, errors during assembly can be detected and corrected, which the manufacturer might not have been aware of and which could lead to complaints from end customers.
“We approach the matter differently. We view manufacturing not only from the perspective of assemblers but also from the perspectives of bicycle enthusiasts, engineers, and end customers. Even if problems arise, we find a way to produce functional, high-quality bikes with the delivered components and also provide the customer with a solution on how to prevent the problem in the future,” says Wallmannsberger.
The Golden Mean between Line Production and Individual Workstation Assembly
“In the end, we save our customers time, money, and frustration,” summarizes Roland Wallmannsberger, who also points to the high flexibility of WSF manufacturing, which, unlike usual in the industry, relies on a combination of line production and individual workstation assembly. This hybrid concept promises the best of both worlds but requires a high level of expertise in its industrial implementation to achieve the desired effect while being economical. Through this concept, bicycle models can be assembled based on demand, meaning small and large series can be immediately adapted to customer needs and thus end customers or retailers can be specifically supplied with the needed bicycles.
Batch Size One as a Benchmark
On the other hand, the assembly system allows for batch size one. “This means we can deliver a customer-specific bicycle within one week from order placement,” says Roland Wallmannsberger. The customers of the Austrian company primarily include OEM manufacturers of bicycles and e-bikes, but also bicycle retailers who bring out premium private labels. Numerous manufacturers from the DACH region already have their bikes produced in WSF's plant in Regau, and WSF also manufactures (e-)bikes for OEM manufacturers from the UK, Canada, and the USA.
From Sourcing to Shipping
However, the assembly of the bikes is only part of WSF's service offering. Upon request, the company takes over all steps in the manufacturing process, starting from considering which supplier or producer offers the right components, their procurement including quality control at the manufacturer, the import of components to Europe, to storage prior to assembly. WSF delivers the finished bikes directly to the end customer (dropshipping) or to the retailer or OEM manufacturer. “This comprehensive service offering with such depth is unique in the bicycle industry in the DACH region. Whether the entire package or only individual services are used is, of course, up to the customer. Large manufacturers are particularly interested in our assembly – and are often surprised that we reduce their costs while simultaneously increasing the quality of their bikes. Small manufacturers and newcomers, who often have not yet made contacts in Asia, additionally benefit from our sourcing and procurement expertise. They just need to provide us with a spec, and we take care of the rest,” Wallmannsberger promotes the concept.
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