Brompton Bike factory

The Business Studies students visited the Brompton Bike factory in West London in early December. The students were surprised to see that London still has some manufacturing.

After looking at a brief history of the unique folding bike, the students were given a guided tour around the vast open-plan factory. It is new, as the expanding company have out-grown their original factory. Half the factory is full of skilled braziers [specialist welders], who make and put the bike frames together.
We then went to the other half of the factory, where craftsmen and women construct the bikes by hand to the individual specifications of the buyer [orders given over the internet or in bike shops the day before!] The students could walk around each of these areas and ask questions. They could see all the business ideas and theories learnt in class being practised in front of them for real. The final highlight of the tour, apart from the free tea and biscuits, was that everybody could get a ride on a newly made electric bike, before getting the tube home.