Today in motorcycle history, March 15, 2002

The Triumph motorcycle factory, (in Hinckley, between Leicester and Coventry, England), suffers what many consider to be one of the worse – if not the worst – industrial fires in British peacetime history.  The intense gasoline fuelled fire reduced aluminum engine components to blobs of metal and it took nearly three days to completely extinguish.  Damage was estimated at over $100,000,000.   John Bloor had bought the rights to the Triumph name in 1983 with the intention of making England a world class motorcycle manufacturer again.  And, damn it, he was not about to let this horrific event stand in his way so instead of pissing and moaning he immediately set to work the following week with a strategy committee, and with the full co-operation of his insurance company, plans were put in place to rebuild the factory.  Since  Bloor owns the company outright, there were no government departments, no red-tape bullshit, no partners or investors to account to in his decision making.  Not only did he have the money, but he had the experience to map out exactly what he wanted and how to rebuild quickly.   Fortunately, the Triumph factory was housed on two separate sites and it was only the final assembly plant that was destroyed.  Much of the critical tooling and machinery was salvaged and design, development and engine assembly continued.    It took only four weeks to clear the debris. The heat from the fire had weakened the steel supports holding up the building and it had to be completely torn down.  New steel was soon rising and closed in followed by machinery, tooling and assembly lines by the end of July 2002.  Not a single employee was laid off and many even volunteered their time to assist with the recovery.  This was a wise investment in their own future and typical of the British and their attitude in times of adversity.    By September Triumph's were being produced on a limited scale and full production was reached by December 2002.    The factory is now known as one of the most efficient motorcycle factories in the world, and now produces 46,000 motorcycles per annum.