Efficient bicycle assembly line

Riese & Müller is a German manufacturer of premium e-bikes, cargo bikes and folding bikes. The company was founded in 1993 by Markus Riese and Heiko Müller and today has 550 employees at its facility in Mühltal, Germany, as well as an exclusive dealer network worldwide. Riese & Müller helps shape the mobility of tomorrow with its innovative products and as an industry expert in cargo bikes and fast HS bikes. The company is synonymous with a sustainable lifestyle, consumer-focused product development and pioneering e-bike technology. Alongside innovative product development, the company maintains a constant focus on people and the environment and is guided by four cornerstones: culture, ecology, social responsibility and economics. With the help of OCS overhead conveyor systems, Riese & Müller now has an efficient assembly line for its bicycles.

Need

As part of the planning of new premises, Riese & Müller wanted to upgrade its production to the latest assembly technology. After visiting a number of OCS’s other customers in the bicycle industry, Riese & Müller contacted us to discuss various assembly solutions using our overhead conveyor systems. The focus was the assembly of e-bikes and cargo bikes, including a SCADA system for controlling material flow and process times.

The project started with on-site meetings at Riese & Müller’s old production facility to understand the customer’s requirements and needs. Based on experience from previous installations, together with clear needs and requirements from the customer, we developed an optimal layout. Throughout the process, we maintained close and constructive dialogue with the customer to ensure that all requirements were met. Among other things, there was a clear request for frames and wheels to be delivered to the assembly lines via an additional system on the second floor, in order to avoid excessive material traffic in the assembly area. Customised product carriers were developed on site together with the customer.

Results

Thanks to the flexibility of the OCS system, Riese & Müller gained a compact buffer solution with the option of easy upgrades to meet future needs.

The solution is based on the OCS Heavy Duty system for production lines and OCS Medium Duty for transporting frames and wheels prior to installation. The SCADA system and integration with Riese & Müller’s material flow control and data storage were also included. Each trolley is equipped with an RFID tag to ensure clear identification of both the trolley and the product.

Sustainability – a key factor in supplier selection

Sustainability has been firmly embedded in Riese & Müller’s business strategy. Their vision is clear: Riese & Müller is to be the most sustainable company in the e-bike sector by 2025. OCS, in turn, is part of Axel Johnson International and its group-wide sustainability work, which is also a fundamental part of OCS’s business strategy.