2024 PBN Innovative Companies Awards
MANUFACTURING: igus Bearings Inc.
ABOUT THREE YEARS AGO, igus Bearings Inc. had this ambitious goal to come up with a way to use plastic waste for a more meaningful purpose than just filling up landfills.
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Learn MoreAccording to CEO and President Felix Brockmeyer, the German-based manufacturing company with East Providence as its North American operations home has experience making wear-resistant plastic parts and industrial moving pieces. When igus’ owner was recently riding on the beach on a rusty beach cruiser, an idea came to mind, Brockmeyer says.
The result: A bicycle made using up to 92% of recyclable plastics called “RCYL.”
“Our owner decided that it should be possible for us to make a bicycle that is mostly out of plastics, cannot rust and uses plastic waste to a large extent,” Brockmeyer said. “We came up with this idea of ocean plastics to motion plastics, which is really our tagline that we started this campaign under.”
Originally founded in 1964, igus focuses on “anything that moves in an industrial environment out of plastic materials,” Brockmeyer said. The East Providence location is the main production facility, including assembly, production and distribution for the U.S. market.
Igus, which employs approximately 4,800 employees across 32 locations, partnered with a design firm from the Netherlands that had already experimented with plastic bicycle frames to pursue the product.
The bicycle is fully recyclable, so it can be turned into a new bicycle after the end of its life or if it breaks. Plastic replaces any metals that may rust in an ordinary bicycle.
This initiative by igus aims to promote circular economy principles by reusing plastic materials, thereby reducing environmental impact. Igus’ mission is to have a carbon-neutral footprint, Brockmeyer said.
The bicycle launched for serial production in Europe this spring. The company is in the process of getting approval to sell it in the U.S.
“It will be the first, true, more or less, fully plastic bicycle that can be produced anywhere in the world,” Brockmeyer said. “It gives a purpose for plastic waste better than the landfill, and it ultimately takes lubrication off the street, which is another big mission from igus.”