Will Butler-Adams: Brompton Bicycle’s evangelist-in-chief

theguardian.com:

Will Butler-Adams jumps on a Brompton and races off towards some industrial sheds at a rapid pace, almost as fast as he is talking. The engineer, who has been the chief executive of the British folding bikes firm for 14 years after joining 20 years ago, is enthusing about its new marketing, testing, spares and refurbishment facilities, which opened near its headquarters in Greenford, west London, last year.

Inside the rather dull grey sheds is an array of colourful bikes, some being “tortured” in testing tanks or waiting patiently to be fixed in a wall of cubicles – the physical manifestation of the more exciting rapid expansion of the brand during the pandemic.

The number of Bromptons sold rose by a third to 93,000 in the year to March as city-dwellers around the world turned to two wheels as a way to stay healthy and avoid potential infection on crowded public transport. That came after a strong year in the previous 12 months when pre-tax profits soared 60% to £9.6m and the company paid out more than £1m to its shareholders – who still include the founder, Andrew Ritchie, who designed the bike in his shed in 1975.

The group now employs 800 people worldwide, including 650 at its UK manufacturing base in Greenford, up from about 400 five years ago. Together they pump out 100,000 bikes a year from one shift – or about 600 a day – all overseen by AI technology that helps workers choose which frame to assemble next.

The spacious, airy facility is responsible for making 70% of the bike’s parts and assembling them. Brompton is one of just two commercial-scale bike makers left in the UK, the other being Pashley.

While sales of most bikes are expected to fall in the UK this year, as the pandemic boom for leisure cycling reverses,