HISTORY- PRE-HINCKLEY
Siegfried Bettmann founded the Triumph Cycle Company in 1887 and
promptly acquired premises in Coventry in which he began manufacturing
bicycles. As technology advanced the
company moved into the production of powered cycles in 1902. By 1905 the factory output had reached 500
motorcycles per year, with the machines being designed, manufactured and built
at the Coventry site.
For the next 18 years Triumph enjoyed steady growth and in 1923
the company added automobile production to their portfolio. By 1925 the motorcycle plant in Coventry
occupied 500,000-sq. ft. and employed 3000 people; with production at around
25-30,000 units per year.
The motorcycle industry remained fairly stable throughout the
early 1930s, and in 1935 the decision was taken to separate the car and
motorcycle divisions (the bicycle business had been sold off in 1932). In due course the motorcycle arm was sold
and renamed Triumph Engineering Co.
During the Second World War, the Government requisitioned virtually
all of the machines manufactured and, despite the Coventry factory being
destroyed in the 1942 Blitz of Coventry, production continued throughout the
war years, firstly at a temporary site in Warwick and then at a new factory in
Meriden.
Civilian production began again in 1946 and with supply lines open
again Triumph set about re-establishing a dealer network in America. In 1951 the BSA group bought Triumph,
although the Triumph marque was retained and the company remained a separate
concern within the group.
Production and sales had grown steadily since the war and by 1965
the Meriden plant was producing around 800 units per week, with 80% of these
destined for the USA. Production peaked
in 1969 at around 46,800 units per year. In 1968 the first triple - the Triumph
Trident - was produced (prior to this the company had concentrated on the
manufacture of singles and twins).
By the early 70’s the slow supply of parts, coupled with tooling
problems led to production delays and in 1972, in a Government sponsored
move, the BSA Group merged with Norton
Villiers and Norton-Villiers-Triumph (NVT) was formed. In 1973 NVT announced that the Meriden
plant was to close - which provoked a workers’ sit in. As a result production ground to a halt and
in the following year, 1974, virtually no motorcycles were built. In 1975, after much negotiation, the
Meriden Workers Co-operative was formed and, with capital provided by way of a
grant from the British government,
production of 750cc Bonnevilles and Tigers resumed at the plant. The co-operative subsequently bought the
rights to the Triumph marque from NVT and production gradually crept up to 350
units per week. Despite further
support from the government the co-operative went into liquidation in 1983.
The intellectual property rights to the Triumph marque were
subsequently bought by John Bloor. Thus
began the current era of Hinckley built Triumphs.
The new company needed a strong and stable
platform from which a range of competitive motorcycles could be developed, thus
the concept of the modular range was born. This concept enabled the range to
share common components, thus allowing a number of different types of machine
to be constructed from the same base which, crucially, could all be built on
one assembly line at the same time.
Design of the new range commenced in 1984 and by
1988 the company was ready to begin building a new factory (the old plant at
Meriden had been demolished in the early 80s).
A 10-acre site was purchased in Hinckley, Leicestershire, England and
construction commenced. As soon as the
first phase of the site was complete, pre-production began and the first models
were launched at the Cologne show of 1990.
Production of the first new model - the 4-cylinder 1200cc Trophy - began
in early 1991, with the factory initially building 8 - 10 new machines per day.
As production capacity steadily grew, Triumph
set about re-establishing a network of export distributors. Two subsidiary companies had been established
to prior to production commencing; Triumph Deutschland GmbH and Triumph France
SA and over the next couple of years the network expanded to encompass most of
the World’s major motorcycle markets, culminating in 1994 with the creation of
Triumph Motorcycles America Ltd.
By this time 20,000 new Triumphs had been built
and in January 1995 the Triple Connection clothing range and the accessories
range of products were launched to provide the Triumph customer with an
all-round package of Triumph apparel and equipment.
Production now stood at around 12,000 units a
year and as both retail sales and production capacity grew the company was able
to develop more single-minded machines that did not rely on the modular
concept. The first of these, the Daytona
T595 and the T509 Speed Triple, were launched at the 1996 Cologne Show. The range diversified further with the
introduction of the Sprint ST and an all new Tiger in late 1998.
1999 saw the introduction of the sporty, half
faired Sprint RS together with Triumph’s most ambitious new model yet - the
Triumph TT600. Lightweight and powerful, the TT600 is the first Triumph to have
benefited from substantial development time on the race track.
Triumph has now produced well over 100,000
motorcycles and output at the factory is steady at around 125 units per day,
which is the maximum that can be achieved at the existing site. In anticipation of this planning permission
for a new factory was sought and granted, a number of years ago. The construction of Phase one of the new
factory was completed in Autumn 1999 and the transfer of certain manufacturing
processes has already started. For
example all steel spine frames are now being made at the new site although assembly
of the Triumph range still takes place on the original production track.
The new factory, which occupies over 500,000-sq ft., will be fully operational by mid 2002, at which point Triumph’s
production capacity will reach 50,000 motorcycles per year.
CHRONOLOGY
1984
The new company is founded and work commences on
the new modular range.
1988
The 10 acre Hinckley site is purchased and
construction commences.
1990
The first phase of the factory is complete and
pre-production starts.
SEPTEMBER 1990
The world launch of the first 6 models takes
place at the Cologne Motorcycle Show in Germany.
FEBRUARY 1991
Production of the Triumph 4-cylinder 1200 Trophy
commences.
MARCH 1991
The first motorcycles are shipped to Germany,
followed by distribution in Britain.
JUNE 1991
The first 3-cylinder models, the 750 Daytona and
900 Trophy, are manufactured.
OCTOBER 1991
Further export markets including Holland,
Australia and France receive their first bikes.
JANUARY-JUNE 1992
Distributors for many new export markets
including Italy, Spain, Switzerland and Japan are appointed.
OCTOBER 1992
Triumph UK take delivery of the 5,000th bike
produced, a Trophy 900.
OCTOBER 1992
The Daytona 900, Tiger and Sprint models are
launched at the Cologne Show, Germany.
NOVEMBER 1992
The 147PS Daytona 1200 is launched at the
Birmingham Show, England.
FEBRUARY 1993
Nearly 40 German dealers visit the Triumph
factory to ride home the first Daytona 900/1200 models, defying snow and ice to
launch the new models.
MARCH-MAY 1993
Further export markets, including Sweden,
receive their first bikes.
JULY 1993
Triumph UK take delivery of the 10,000th bike
produced, a Sprint 900.
SEPTEMBER 1993
The Speed Triple and Super III are launched at
the Paris Show, France bringing the line-up to 10 models.
JANUARY 1994
Triumph launch in Canada at the Toronto Show.
FEBRUARY 1994
Triumph’s plans to expand their production
capacity into the next century are secured by the granting of planning
permission for a new factory on a 40-acre site.
MARCH 1994
Triumph Motorcycles America Ltd is established
and planning proceeds towards a 1995 product launch.
JULY 1994
Triumph Motorcycles return to motorcycle sport
with the inaugural ‘Speed Triple Challenge Race’ at the British Grand Prix,
Donington Park, England.
OCTOBER 1994
Triumph launch the long and eagerly awaited
Thunderbird model at the Cologne Show, Germany.
Triumph re-enters the USA, completing their
return to all the world’s major motorcycle markets.
Triumph France take delivery of the 20,000th
bike produced, a Sprint 900.
JANUARY 1995
Launch of the Triple Connection clothing and
Triumph accessory ranges.
APRIL 1995
Triumph Motorcycles UK launch the Mobil One
Speed Triple Race series.
JUNE 1995
Triumph Motorcycles USA launch the Transatlantic
Speed Triple Challenge Race series.
New distributors are appointed for South Africa
and Singapore.
AUGUST 1995
Triumph Australia take delivery of the 30,000th
bike produced, a Thunderbird.
SEPTEMBER 1995
The completely restyled and redesigned Trophy
900/1200 and the all new Adventurer models are launched at the Paris Show,
France.
A UK rider completes 250 000 miles on his
Trident 900 - equivalent to one trip to the moon.
APRIL 1996
Triumph Australia take delivery of the 40,000th
bike produced, a Trophy 1200.
SEPTEMBER 1996
Triumph launch their own Hinckley based owner’s
club named ‘Riders Association of Triumph’.
Distributors for Malaysia and Thailand are
appointed.
OCTOBER 1996
Launch of the stunning new supersports bikes,
the T509 Speed Triple and T595 Daytona, at the Cologne Show, Germany.
JANUARY 1997
Production of the T500 series of models starts.
They are the most eagerly awaited Triumphs ever produced.
MARCH 1997
Triumph UK take delivery of the 50,000th bike
produced, a Daytona T595.
MAY 1997
Nick Sanders completes the fastest ever journey
around the world on a motorcycle - 19,930 miles in
31 days 20 hours on a Daytona 900.
SEPTEMBER 1997
Thunderbird Sport and Sprint Executive launched
at the Milan Show, Italy.
OCTOBER 1997
Triumph is awarded Motorcycle Manufacturer of
the Year by the Motor Cycle News.
NOVEMBER 1997
Triumph USA take delivery of the 60,000th bike
produced, a Thunderbird Sport.
MARCH 1998
A T595
wins the Pro Thunder race at Daytona Race Week.
MAY 1998
Aimed at both novice and experienced riders, the
new Legend TT is launched.
JUNE 1998
Triumph France take delivery of the 70,000th
bike produced, a Trophy 1200.
SEPTEMBER 1998
At the Munich show, Triumph
unveils the new Sprint ST and a completely redesigned Tiger.
JANUARY 1999
Triumph America take
delivery of the 80,000th bike produced, a Daytona 955i.
APRIL 1999
Construction of the first phase of Triumph’s new
factory begins.
JULY 1999
The 90,000th bike rolls of the
production line – an Italian Speed Triple.
SEPTEMBER 1999
Launch of Triumph’s versatile new sports bike,
the Sprint RS, at the Milan show.
OCTOBER 1999
Construction of phase one of the new factory is
complete and the first production team – the weld shop – moves to its new home.
NOVEMBER 1999
The eagerly awaited TT600 is unveiled at the
International Motorcycle Show, Birmingham
JANUARY 2000
The factory builds the 100,000th bike
– an Lucifer Orange Sprint RS, destined for Italy