Sources: De Standaard, Belgian Cycling Factory

The LEVA-EU member is Belgium’s largest bicycle manufacturer and anticipates a turnover of 80 million euros in 2026. Its founder, manager and owner, Jochim Aerts, was interviewed by major Belgian newspaper De Standaard about the company’s beginnings, milestones and factory capabilities.

Aerts’ Belgian Cycling Factory (BCF) boasts a business portfolio of bicycle brands: Ridley, Merckx, British mountain bike brand Nukeproof, and, more recently, electric city bike company Aeres.

A former cyclist in the 1980s, Aerts has applied his longstanding passion and expertise in bicycles to make BCF a highly successful business. In 2025, the company reported a 30% turnover increase and expects the same for this year, with a total turnover of 80 million euros, as it anticipates reaching 100 million euros by the end of 2027.

“As soon as we are operating at full capacity, we will need a hundred extra workers,” says Aerts.

The beginnings of BCF

Aerts started working on and painting bicycles when he had to use his brother’s bicycle, leading him to build on these skills as a part-time profession, which involved him welding and painting racing frames for Bioracer, while simultaneously training and participating in cycling races.

The demand for his bicycle expertise took the lead over his racing ambitions, with other brands requesting his painting work, which required him to employ staff and secure contracts.

Then in 1997, Aerts decided to create his own bicycle brand, Ridley, naming it after his favourite director, Ridley Scott. The company grew rapidly with the help of Paul Kumpen and the Limburg Reconversion company through the years, which Aerts has since bought out, resulting in him owning 97.5% of the company.

Having faced challenges alongside the rest of the bicycle industry in recent years, Aerts remains confident about BCF’s abilities in staying up to date with advanced innovations, highlighting that it has been selected as equipment sponsor for the UnoX racing team.

“We have good engineers, and our suppliers make top-tier frames that can perfectly compete with the best brands in the peloton. The proof: the Norwegian Tour team UnoX chose us as their equipment sponsor, and some teams with a different bike sponsor still opt for our time trial bikes.”

Effects of the pandemic on BCF

The fluctuation of demand from the coronavirus situation led many companies to produce an oversupply of bicycles that became unsold, resulting in numerous bankruptcies in the industry.

Aerts anticipated the oversupply, ahead of time, and drastically reduced 2023 orders. While industry players experienced great difficulties in the post-pandemic era, Aerts saw industry opportunities in acquiring Nukeproof (saving it from bankruptcy) and strengthening its sales team.

“The downturn means that in recent years we have been able to recruit highly experienced international salespeople from major bicycle brands. As a result, we can collaborate with many more bike shops abroad. Our model, in which we do not require bicycle retailers to place large advance orders, is catching on increasingly. Moreover, the problems at other brands mean that space is becoming available in stores, where we can then display our range.”

Expanding the Belgian Cycling Factory portfolio

After a challenging few years, Aerts has also outlined other milestones, such as the company innovating cheaper Ridley models through Asian manufacturing, re-launching its Merckx brand in 300 stores, as well adding the Aeres electric city bike to its portfolio.

“Many feel that we are very late to introducing electric bikes, but I also launched Ridley decades after the racing bike was invented, so when is it ever too late? Our engineers have thoroughly studied other electric bikes and drawn lessons from them for potential improvements.”

BCF’s advanced factory capabilities for fulfilling customer demand

Its factory, next to its Beringen headquarters in Belgium, employs 80 workers and produces approximately 120 bicycles a day, with only the more expensive models being assembled there. It also has a production facility in Moldova, as well as sites in China and Vietnam, with the help of Taiwanese suppliers.

Aerts has noted that for the aluminium frames of its electric bikes, it is looking for partners closer to Belgium. Currently, the company is working on a project with Dutch company VDL to produce frames from recycled aluminium using highly automated production.

At its dust-free paint shop in Beringen, it also provides custom frame painting for customers with a wide selection of options and variations available.

In terms of assembly, its digital factory processes are very efficient, with Aerts integrating methods he learned from car factories. It rolls off a bicycle off the line every four minutes, thanks to ten people working on an assembly line, with the help of sub-assembly lines for different components, such as handlebars and wheels, for example.

The company is already running a second assembly line in Beringen for peak periods, and plans to build a third one to fulfil expected demand increases.

“Capacity will be increased from 30,000 to 80,000 bicycles per year. When all the new lines are running, around a hundred extra workers will be added,” says Aerts.

Aerts’ comprehensive interview can be read in full online on De Standaard.