Sorry if this has already been posted but I've just come across an Apex Auctions sale of a load of manufacturing machines from the Hinckley factory - and I guess it's not to be replaced with more modern kit. I know it's been on the cards for the last few years but gave me a bit of a jolt. Not sure why it matters, but it does...... Whaddya mean, Southern softie??
Southern softie or not, it's a sad thing to see the machinery sold off. The rebirth of Triumph has been a national success. They even display the British flag proudly on their bikes. Now it feels like they're selling off our manufacturing pride.
Sorry but you are in danger of sounding like footie fans. YOU don’t own the club. THEY do. YOU are merely a purchaser of their entertainment. YOU can take your patronage elsewhere but don’t presume to pick the team or style of play. Clearly Hinckley is becoming a design and prototyping hub with offshore production. They require different skill sets and depth of investment. Business gurus will be familiar with the Value Chain concept introduced by Michael Porter in his 1985 best-seller, Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance (yawn!) For those of you that prefer pictures......
Going bust with uncompetitive pricing is even more sad...... and, let’s be honest, big bikes in the First World are expensive toys. This way we assist Thai economic development but ultimate profits are repatriated to the UK.
I do get it, honest! I worked for years with all sorts of companies to help them develop internationally. What that doesn't change is my emotional reaction.
I share your emotional reaction, Triumph is / was a fantastic British Marque, however I am also pleased to see that they are forward looking enough to identify their profitable markets and adjust manufacturing capacity accordingly - I would rather have Triumph made in the Far East or India than no Triumph at all Similarly I’m impressed with the way Royal Enfield are coming back based on manufacture in India, although not sure how long the Retro Bubble will last ...... hopefully they can both design (in the U.K.) the next generation of middleweights that are truly World Class
If building bikes were only about marketing and logistics we'd all be riding BMWs. I'm with @andyb57 - I get the business angle, I just think it's a shame the world works that way these days, and I'm not convinced in the long term we're not selling off the silverware.
If you ask the skilled workers who helped build that brand at Hinkley you may get a different answer.
https://www.indeed.co.uk/cmp/Triumph-Motorcycles/reviews?fcountry=GB&floc=Hinckley An interesting mix. Pretty close to what you might expect, especially given the recent turn of events. On balance pretty positive......
Those staff feedback reports are pretty much the same as they were 25 plus years ago when I worked in a factory, and exactly the same issues from the production line staff Interesting though that there appear to be so many agency staff, usually a sign of short term / insecure futures - suspect Triumph were thinking of moving production from Hinckley for a long time... lining the ducks up to minimise termination costs Wonder how long ago they stopped recruiting full time staff to replace leavers?
What I don't quite 'get' about moving all production abroad is if you look at the car world almost every car made in the UK is 'owned' by a foreign maker - including 'British' makes like Jaguar, Land Rover, Bentley and even Rolls Royce. It used to be said they did this to get around EU single market restrictions but that argument won't hold after January 2021, and (apart from Honda) non of them looks to be moving out anytime soon. In fact it looks like Nissan are going to expand Sunderland and make even more models there. It begs the question if the car makers love it here why doesn't Triumph?
UK car market is huge, so they make and sell them here post Jan 2021 who knows The main bike market though is India and Asia not UK
............if a widget costs a finite sum to manufacture abroad, usually in the Far East, how much would that same widget cost to manufacture in Blighty? What sort of difference are we talking about X2, X10 or what? Why is it considered feasable to manufacture some cars in the UK and not other goods? How is it that so many European brands still exist and manage to manufacture in their home countries as well as abroad? Dare I say it, but I suspect that pride plays a part. So much of modern manufacturing is automated from what it was in my time with hundreds if not thousands of people working in a factory back in the day - walk around a large modern UK factory (those that remain) and way fewer people are evident. Is it really just wage costs that are the problem?
Perhaps we are weighed down by the sludge of bureaucracy and middle management costs? Perhaps it is just easier abroad to take a risk and get on with it? And perhaps they are hungrier for the work?
