TOUR visits Kask: An exclusive insight into the production of the Italian helmet manufacturer
Thomas Goldmann
· 25.10.2022
The entire production chain of the company, which was founded in 2004 and is based near Lake Iseo, is located in Italy. TOUR visited Kask at the beginning of October 2022 and took a look at the Italian company's production facility.
Click through: How the outer shell of Kask helmets is produced
While the polystyrene helmet shell and outer shell are manufactured at one location in a factory hall in an industrial area near Lake Iseo near Bergamo, the final assembly up to the finished helmet with padding and harness system takes place at another location.
The process is divided into three steps for which three large machines are required. A Kask employee stands at the first station. He grabs a prefabricated plastic blank, places it in a press and pours paint into a mould from above. The machine then presses the colour onto the blank, which does not yet show that it will later become part of a bicycle helmet. It is surprising to outsiders that this production step is carried out by human hands due to its simplicity and is not yet fully automated.
Bicycle helmet outer shell: Production step one of the Kask helmets in VIDEO*
At the second station, initially only a person can be seen operating two large levers on a machine. Only when the perspective changes does it become clear what is happening here. The flat plastic blank with the colour is heated and pressed into its final shape. This is done using a raw mould of the helmet's inner shell, which is pressed into the plastic blank from below and pulled out again. Looking into a window on the side of the machine, the inner workings become visible and it becomes clear that this production step for the outer shell of the bicycle helmet only takes a few seconds.
Bicycle helmet outer shell: production step two in VIDEO*
The raw mould of the helmet shell moves out of the machine onto a table. A Kask employee cuts off the excess material with a knife. From there, the process continues to the third station, a huge glass box in which a robot arm is used. A milling machine is used to separate the upper and lower parts of the outer helmet shell and cut them to size. The robot arm mills the necessary holes in the plastic cover of the upper part of the bicycle helmet shell.
Bicycle helmet outer shell: Production step three in VIDEO*
The outer shell of the Kask helmets is given the finishing touches by hand. A member of staff uses a file to remove the grade from the shell and carries out a quality check on the product before the outer helmet shell is finished.
The assembly of the lower and upper outer shell with the rest of the bicycle helmet then takes place in another factory hall, as does the insertion of the straps, which can be seen here in this picture gallery.
Kask not only manufactures bicycle helmets
Kask has not only made a name for itself with bicycle helmets or other sports helmets. The Italians also produce helmets for rescue and occupational safety, for example. Product Director Luca Viano illustrates the different requirements placed on the company in the manufacture of helmets for the individual areas.
For safety helmets, such as those used on construction sites, the cut-outs for attachments such as visors, ear or neck protection are a particular challenge when planning new models, says Viano. Equestrian sports also require completely different helmets to those used on bicycles. TOUR was able to take a brief look behind the scenes at the production of riding helmets.
Different requirements
"One fundamental difference is the customer's wishes," explains Viano. He is referring to the customised design of helmets, which is virtually non-existent for bicycle helmets. While cyclists attach great importance to aerodynamics or ventilation, the visual aspect often plays the biggest role for riders. We see helmets for riders with a wide variety of decorations: Sometimes with a huge Italian national flag, sometimes with a completely glittering surface. Accordingly, some items can cost a four-figure sum.
There is also a significant difference to bicycle helmets in terms of safety requirements - even for Kask helmets. Cyclists rarely fall on their side at a 90-degree angle. With riding helmets, on the other hand, the side area of the helmet should be particularly stable, as it can happen that a rider is thrown off his horse in front of an obstacle and the animal kicks the owner lying on the ground on the side of the head with its hoof.
What riding and cycling helmets have in common is that they should fulfil high safety standards. Kask has developed a special test for bicycle helmets, which was introduced under the name "Rotational Impact WG 11". How the test works and how it differs from the TOUR helmet test can soon be read here at TOUR Online.
*Video source: Kask
