From the seat cover to the gray card holder… Ouikeep or the common sense of recycling

Seat covers transformed into gray card pockets or saddlebags, reused foam for ottomans, belt clips in coat racks… At Ouikeep based in Lesquin, we have ideas. And raw material.

In 2020, France produced just over a million cars. As soon as they leave the factories, some of these vehicles are transformed by specialized companies which, for example, use them for people with reduced mobility. They are boned of all unnecessary parts (benches and rear decks, seat belts, etc.) and fitted with specific equipment.

Resell or transform

Sometimes these new parts are resold, often they are stored before being discarded when they are in perfect condition. “A waste”, estimates Alexandre Mas who launched Ouikeep a year ago and now collects some of these elements from around ten bodybuilder partners in France. “There, we have just received 15 pallets, or 45 seats from Narbonne,” he gives as an example.

Some of the equipment that reaches Lesquin is now sold via the young company’s website. But who buys car rear seats? “Someone whose dog has eaten the foam from the seat, the belt, which has stained his seat,” lists the young leader of 27 years. Advantage for the customer: the price. A new back seat can cost 2,000 euros. On the site, they are sold 200 and 1,500 euros. A rear shelf will be sold 50 to 100 euros against 500 to 700 euros in concession.

Find other recycling outlets

Non-resold parts are recycled… in a very short circuit. Ouikeep moved to the site of the Vitamin T integration group in Lesquin. It is here, in the Confection workshop, that the foams become gray card pockets. “We also have a social mission, it is a win-win relationship where we contribute to local employment,” he underlines. Since the start of the year, 4.1 tonnes of materials have been recycled through sales, while 10.9 tonnes have been recycled.

Alexandre Mas, whose office is a rear deck resting on trestles, has no shortage of plans for the future. He plans to find other recycling outlets for the various elements (bags, recycled plastic parts printed in 3D, etc.), but also to provide more detailed support to customers looking for equipment: “If a building contractor wants add three folding seats in his van, we must be able to sell him the right reference, but also to support him in the design and approval of his vehicle on the road ”.

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