To mark the 50th anniversary of the iconic Billingham brand, AP paid a visit to its West Midlands factory to see how its bags are made
Billingham bags have come a long way since newlywed founders Ros and and Martin Billingham started making fishing bags out of their spare bedroom to make ends meet.
Their current factory in Cradley Heath in the West Midlands is a fascinating mix of high-tech automation and hand-made craftsmanship. The company currently employs around 45 people, many of whom have been with the company for decades.
Not only does Billingham design and make its own camera bags, the company also uses 3D CAD to create all its own jigs and many of its own tools that are used to create the templates, giving the company total control of their product development from design and prototyping all the way through to finished product.
‘Primarily this helps us make better products,’ says Harry Billingham, son of the founders and now director of the company. ‘It makes us more efficient, it means we can make better things and we can employ more people and they can have a better, nicer working environment.’
Harry is largely responsible for the design and materials that go into Billingham’s products. ‘We source the best materials from around the world, so for example, Italian and Spanish leather,’ he tells us, as we examine the stacks of hides waiting to be cut and stitched onto canvas. ‘We used to buy everything from Britain years ago, but the best components aren’t just made in Britain, they’re made all over the world. Our brass comes from a family-run foundry in Korea. They make absolutely beautiful things for us. Our studs are made in Japan, and we get our thread from Germany. All of our webbing is made in the UK. The foam comes from just down the road.’
Looking around the factory there’s a real family feel to the business. At the heart of the operation are skilled artisans honing their craft with care and dedication, which is a rare thing to see these days.
Point your smartphone camera at this QR code to watch our video tour of the Billingham factory
