Electrical expertise firm ROAM continues to search out success in its native East Africa and is now increasing its manufacturing footprint to a brand new bigger facility that’s over 100,000 sq. ft in measurement. Within the coming years, ROAM intends to bolster is Air electrical bike manufacturing to fill the brand new facility’s capability of fifty,000 models per 12 months.
ROAM was based in 2017 beneath its authentic monicker – Opibus, though the corporate noticed a rebranding to ROAM in April 2022. Though ROAM’s origin has Swedish roots, it has all the time been headquartered in Kenya the place it develops, designs, and manufactures electrical bikes and buses to assist transition the African continent towards a way forward for extra sustainable transportation.
Final summer season, ROAM formally launched its Air electrical bike, full with two swappable battery packs that mix for 180 km (112 mi) of all-electric vary. The body of the ROAM Air was engineered to deal with each the city and rural terrains of Africa and gives a storage compartment the place a standard gasoline tank can be.
The result’s an electrical bike that’s gives class-leading carrying capability, vary, and high velocity that’s serving to ROAM in its purpose of easing mass adoption of zero-emission transport throughout Africa.
With companions like Uber already onboard to deploy its electrical bikes in East Africa, ROAM has expanded to maintain up with demand and enhance manufacturing efficiencies.
ROAM opens largest electrical bike plant in East Africa
ROAM shared particulars of its new 10,000 square-meter (~107,650 sq.-ft.) facility in Nairobi, Kenya earlier immediately. The relocation known as ROAM Park and can now grow to be dwelling to the corporate’s East African headquarters and growth/battery labs, along with its Air electrical bike manufacturing.
The brand new footprint which ROAM describes as “double the scale of the Worldwide Area Station,” has the capabilities for an annual manufacturing capability of fifty,000 Airs per 12 months. ROAM shouldn’t be at that output degree but, however intends to succeed in it in a few years – all whereas remaining a carbon-neutral meeting facility.
ROAM states the brand new facility permits it to mix manufacturing, distribution, and storage operations of the electrical bikes beneath one roof, lowering its total carbon footprint whereas concurrently bettering effectivity.
The corporate present employs over 150 extremely expert people native to East Africa and progress is predicted to proceed by 2023 to fulfill EV demand. Operations of the brand new facility are being lead by ROAM’s chief operations officer and former Tesla worker, Brett Mangel. Mangel spoke:
Transferring forward with this new manufacturing facility represents a big step ahead in bringing sustainable mobility options to Kenya. With among the brightest expertise, key companions, and entry to infrastructure and logistics community, Roam is assured that this new location is a step in the precise course.
The ROAM staff defined to us that its new facility in Nairobi caters particularly to bike manufacturing and that its all-electric transit buses are being assembled at a separate facility in Africa with a manufacturing accomplice.
