Bicycle manufacturer plans expansion
Factory produces its 1,000th bicycle
Berlin’s Real Bicycle Co celebrated its first milestone on Friday – their 1,000th product since opening their doors in February.
The R20m bicycle factory, located in the Berlin Industrial Zone near King William’s Town, has created 20 jobs for people with disabilities, most of whom graduated from a three-year production technology course at the Mercedes-Benz SA training skills centre in East London.
The factory is funded by MBSA.
While the new factory’s production rate is about 60 products weekly, they are aiming for 200,000 bicycles annually (about 4,000 a week) by the year 2022.
Real Bicycle Co is an entity of Qhubeka Charity, a non-profit organisation that aims to mobilise and assist disadvantaged children, particularly those who have far to walk to school or to health facilities.
Jan-Mari Swart, Real Bicycle Co’s PR agent, said their recruitment process was in line with the enterprise supplier development (ESD) funder’s requirements.
“We were required to absorb labour from their academy, specifically people living with disabilities.
“All other vacancies have been advertised on different electronic platforms and candidates are selected from there.
“RBC is an employer of equal opportunities but maintains a bias to people living with disabilities and vulnerable individuals. We have about 35% full-time disabled employees and close to 50% of our staff are female,” she said.
Swart said although they had created about 20 direct jobs, they expected to increase the number to 171 per shift in June 2021, and more than double that, to 350, with a second rotation shift in October 2021.
“From the bicycles manufactured weekly, we expect to jump to 300 by the end of this year, with the introduction of an additional robotic welding cell.
“Further projections indicate a massive increase to 40,000 units annually in 2019 (about 800 a week), which is expected to quadruple by the following year to 150,000 in 2020 (about 3,000 a week) and ultimately a target of 200,000 units in 2022.”
The man behind Qhubeka, Anthony Fitzhenry, said he had started the organisation when he became exposed to the plight of the people living in townships and rural villages in the 1980s. He founded the organisation in 2005.
“More than 12 million children spend two hours daily walking to school and back – close to 8km.
“Some don’t have shoes, some drop out, and on top of that, they don’t have access to health facilities.
“With bicycles, people can save time and have more time to do homework and get to school. We have seen the results and the impact made by the 90,000 bicycles we have already distributed in SA, with the hope of building 200,000 in 2022.
“Our aim is to change the lives of the underprivileged – get them educated so they can be employed and become self-sustaining,” he said.
Ngqamakwe-born Philela Zonke, 29, who polishes the bicycle frames, said she was learning a lot from the factory.
“Many of us here started with no skills in bicycle manufacturing, but we have learnt a lot over the year and have seen 1,000 bicycles come out of our own hands,” she said.
Stock controller and quality assurance officer Xoli Dyongman, 44, said the new job had boosted his confidence.
“Nobody wanted to employ me when I lost the sight in my left eye. I am the breadwinner so you can imagine how difficult it was.
“Now my dignity has been restored and I am able to look after myself and my five children,” he said.