At this year’s Taipei Cycle Show, it’s not only about new products for Holland Mechanics, a leading manufacturer of automated wheel building machines and assembly lines in Taiwan.
The show marks the first large event for Silvia Wu as Holland Mechanics’ [Hall 1 / L1221] new representative and main contact for Taiwan. Following the long and successful tenure of Wonders Lin, she has some boots to fill as the new face of the machine building specialist in Taiwan. Taipei Cycle is the first big meeting where Wu can meet with existing and prospect customers. And she has some interesting new products to show, as Holland Mechanics is highlighting three new machines this year.
The Robot ANT (short for advanced nipple truer) claims to be the fastest truing machine currently on the market, offered in configurations with six, four, or two robotic hands. Each pair could be configured for a specific nipple size. This saves time and adds flexibility. Compatible with 12- to 32-inch wheels, the Robot ANT’s updated algorithm allows for high accuracy, superior spoke tension uniformity and is also capable of automated de-winding to actively release spoke torsion, eliminating internal stress.
With the Spaceline Assembly conveyor, Holland Mechanics developed an advanced assembly line that can be tailored to the space at hand. It offers more space to load and unload bikes than its predecessor, the Airline. The new Spaceline comes with a range of bicycle clamps to choose from, for regular bikes and heavier e-bikes. Special attention has gone into an ergonomic design to assemble bicycles more efficiently. Finally, the Tubeless Taper ensures fast, precise, and airtight application of tubeless tape across a large range of rim widths and diameters, and an equally fast and precise way to change the exact settings.
Founded in 1971, Holland Mechanics’ first product was a lacing machine. From there, it moved on into complete wheel assembly solutions, developing machines that automate every stage of the wheel production process, from spoke insertion and lacing to tensioning and wheel truing, resulting in the complete production lines commonly seen in many factories across the industry.
From the start, the mission was to create innovative machines to help the world build better bikes. Headquartered in the Dutch city of Purmerend, Holland Mechanics has grown to become a global player within the bicycle industry. Its staff currently stands at about 120, with a sister company in China and offices in the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, France, China, Taiwan, India, and Brazil. Sales, service and mechanical specialists provide installation and support globally. The portfolio includes a comprehensive range of standard and tailor-made wheel building machines, and, now, bicycle assembly lines with the acquisition of Marchetti in 2019.