Source: Belgian Cycling Factory

The LEVA-EU member continuously looks for ways to help it operate more efficiently and sustainably. Most recently, it has revealed how the small improvement of re-using masking plugs in its paint shop has made a significant impact.

Belgian Cycling Factory’s in-house paint shop operates at its Bike Valley site in Beringen, Belgium, where it gives thousands of bikes a unique finish every year according to customer preferences.

Finding a way to re-use masking plugs

Rubber masking plugs are used during the painting process to seal frame openings to keep them free of paint. Normally, part of the process involved discarding the plugs because they were covered with paint residue after use.

Benjamin Mertens, BCF’s Painting Operations Manager, evaluated if the discarding of the plugs was really necessary and questioned whether they could be cleaned or used again for internal use.

“Manually removing the paint residue is very labor-intensive. That’s why we started looking for another solution to make the plugs reusable.”

He uncovered a cleaning solution for the plugs by placing them with stones in a rotating concrete mixer. This process caused the paint residue to break off and wear away gradually, leading it to eventually becoming a professional method for arranging plug re-use.

A visible difference in encouraging sustainable production

With the new cleaning solution in place, masking plugs are now re-used several times, which not only decreases waste but also brings significant cost savings. To put it into context, each frame requires 9 masking plugs during the painting process, therefore a noticeable difference is achieved when the plugs are re-used for tens of thousands of bikes per year.

The company summarises that the new method demonstrates how innovation often starts on the shop floor, with Mertens aspiring to uncover further optimisations.

“I always try to look at the painting process with a fresh perspective. If we can work more efficiently or more sustainably somewhere, we will explore it.”

Belgian Cycling Factory’s COO, Robby Stas, states that this new initiative perfectly aligns with the company’s vision in becoming more sustainable.

“We will implement this as a standard process in our paint shop. It’s a great example of how a smart process improvement can simultaneously be more sustainable, more efficient and cost-saving.”