Prince Philip celebrates British engineering as he opens new bicycle factory
THE Duke of Edinburgh has celebrated British engineering and ingenuity as he opened a new factory producing the famous Brompton folding bicycle.
Prince Philip opened a new Brompton folding bicycle factory
One of the great manufacturing success stories of recent years, sales of the handmade bicycles favoured by commuters and Hollywood A-listers alike have surged.
Demand is now so high that the firm has found itself needing to expand - despite a shiny new Brompton rolling off the assembly line every 210 seconds.
Having risen from humble beginnings in a west London flat, Brompton now sells 44,000 of its desirable lightweight, collapsible bicycles to customers around the world every year.
The Queen and Prince Philip celebrate the Duke of Edinburgh Award
Admittedly the award-winning bicycles - with their coveted “made in Britain” labels - come with a hefty price tag. Prices range from around £800 for an entry-level model up to around £2,400 for a steel/titanium version with tyres made of bullet-proof Kevlar.
There are an estimated 90,000 of the bicycles being pedalled around London alone, by owners from the time-poor financier to the image-conscious fashion designer.
Brompton sells collapsible bicycles to customers around the world every year
Hugh Jackman, Orlando Bloom, Owen Wilson and even petrolhead James May have been photographed astride a Brompton.
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, too, has been seen in the saddle.
Since inventor Andrew Ritchie first sketched out designs for a bicycle that folds to just a third of its size while looking out at the Brompton Oratory, South Kensington, in 1975, more than 450,000 Brompton Bikes have been produced in the UK.
Prince Harry rode a Brompton bike at the Invictus Games in 2014
Philip met Mr Ritchie and tour the company's new factory in Greenford, west London, today where he will be shown the bicycles' journey from drawing board to delivery.
He also met the range of skilled craftsmen and women who engineer and manufacture the bicycles - one of which was seen being ridden by Prince Harry at the Invictus Games in 2014.