A First for Triumph
Triumph Motorcycles, the venerable British motorcycle company, will move production of all of its volume production models to Thailand, according to Motorcycle News. This is the first time in the company’s long history that it will move all regular production abroad. In the UK, the company will continue to build around 4,500 motorcycles each year at the Hinckley factory.
The only models that will still be built at the Hinckley factory eventually will be the high-end Triumph Factory Custom motorcycles and other special edition builds. Currently, only about 10 percent of the company’s total output comes from the Hinckley facility, so this move has been a long time coming.
This move to shift production overseas will impact the UK workforce. According to Motorcycle News, the company is talking with around 50 employees about job loss. Many of those workers could be assigned different roles within the company, but at this time it’s unclear where they could end up.
Nick Bloor, the CEO of Triumph said the following about this move:
“We are now preparing for Triumph’s next wave of strategic growth. We want to maximize the growth opportunity for the brand globally, particularly in the Asian markets. This is why we are increasing our design resources here in the UK and focusing our mass production capabilities in Thailand.”
Triumph will refocus efforts in the UK on research and development. The company said it will develop a 16,000-sqft dedicated R&D facility and plans to hire more workers to staff it. The company said it has already increased engineering headcount by 40 percent and new model investment by 80 percent. The future of Triumph could be bright, but it will certainly be different.
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