Shortage of Bike spares in future

[Brains]

An interesting article in Forbes magazine
Brooks Saddles, made in the UK, can not be sold in the UK

I suspect a lot of other smaller European manufacturers will stop (re)importation into the UK. It simply will not be worth the paperwork and additional cost.

The current UK Government still seems to think "they need us more than we need them"
https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlto...ycle-saddles-made-in-england/?sh=326bf64c5bbd

 

[Accy cyclist]

'Brooks England was founded in 1866 and has been producing bicycle saddles from its factory in Smethwick, West Midlands, since 1882. It has been owned by an Italian company since 2002 and the made-in-England saddles are shipped to Italy for worldwide distribution, including back into the U.K'

Quite simply nationalise the company,pay meagre compensation and bang!,problem solved!!🧐

 

[DCLane]

I'm guessing there will be at least a short-term parts shortage. My LBS is struggling to get certain items. To plan ahead I've bought a year's worth of chains, tyres, cassettes, cables and other bits I'll use anyway.

 

[Brains]

'Brooks England was founded in 1866 and has been producing bicycle saddles from its factory in Smethwick, West Midlands, since 1882. It has been owned by an Italian company since 2002 and the made-in-England saddles are shipped to Italy for worldwide distribution, including back into the U.K'

Quite simply nationalise the company,pay meagre compensation and bang!, problem solved!!🧐

The problem is there are actually English Nationalist that think like that !

 

[Accy cyclist]

The problem is there are actually English Nationalist that think like that !

It's daft though wouldn't you agree that all their saddles are shipped to Italy. I'm wondering why the Italian owners of Brooks can't distribute them from the place where they are made?🤔

 

[screenman]

I think many suppliers will look after the larger customers first, makes a lot of sense. As for the Brookes thing they have obviously worked out that was the best way for them to operate, having a distribution base here costs money which they feel was better spent over there.

 

[steveindenmark]

'Brooks England was founded in 1866 and has been producing bicycle saddles from its factory in Smethwick, West Midlands, since 1882. It has been owned by an Italian company since 2002 and the made-in-England saddles are shipped to Italy for worldwide distribution, including back into the U.K'

Quite simply nationalise the company,pay meagre compensation and bang!,problem solved!!🧐

Problem solved. Not really.

 

[Cycleops]

It does say the situation is ‘temporary’ but I’m sure some bright spark at Selle Royale will find a way to fulfil U.K. orders from its base there.
Can’t see there will be a ‘shortage of bike spares’ just like there will be ‘chaos at the ports’.

 

[DRM]

It's not rocket science to leave a percentage of production in the UK, to sell in the UK, honestly, people wonder why nothing gets done in this country.

 

[screenman]

It's not rocket science to leave a percentage of production in the UK, to sell in the UK, honestly, people wonder why nothing gets done in this country.

You would have to employ people to run the department, I do agree it seems an odd situation.

 

[Cycleops]

I expect they don’t have the processes in place so it will take a while to set up.

 

[screenman]

I expect they don’t have the processes in place so it will take a while to set up.

Then maybe realise that the cost and time could be better spent elsewhere.

 

[srw]

It's not rocket science to leave a percentage of production in the UK, to sell in the UK, honestly, people wonder why nothing gets done in this country.

Ahem. 100% of Brooks' production is in this country. At the moment.

 

[mjr]

Ahem. 100% of Brooks' production is in this country. At the moment.

Yes and all that production gets shipped to Italy. @DRM is suggesting leaving some of it here, undoing what was presumably an economy of scale that was part of the reason SR bought Brooks and making the Brooks division less profitable. Another benefit of Brexit(!)

 

[Brains]

It's daft though wouldn't you agree that all their saddles are shipped to Italy. I'm wondering why the Italian owners of Brooks can't distribute them from the place where they are made?🤔

The issue is the word "MADE"

A Brooks saddle is basically a metal frame and a leather cover.

Steel frame:
Iron ore dug in Australia, shipped to China for smelting.
Coal from South Africa to smelt the iron ore into steel in China
Raw steel billets shipped from China to Thailand to be turned into wire
Chrome ore, from Indonesia, smelted in India, added to wire in Thailand.
Chromed wire shipped to Taiwan for cutting and bending into saddle shapes
Saddle shapes shipped to Brooks in the UK.

Leather:
Cow slaughtered in Argentina for Fray Bentos Pies
Leather by product shipped to Morocco or India for curing and dyeing (Using Dyes mostly made at Runcorn or on the Humber)
Treated and dyed leather then shipped to Brooks in the UK for cutting

Copper Rivets - from Chile
Bolts - from Taiwan
Packaging - Trees from Canada, Norway or Russia to make cardboard boxes which are shipped to Italy for packaging the product.

...... and so on.

If any single link in the chain becomes too expensive or more paperwork than it's worth, the global supply chain can over a period of months simply switch to another source.

For Brooks, the simplest solution may be to load the Birmingham factory into the back of a few lorries and relocate to Italy.
Given the large shoe industry in Italy they won't find a problem getting experienced leather workers.