Bailey of Bristol welcomes back the Bailey Owners’ Club for their Works Rally factory visit
The main attraction of the event for members is the opportunity to visit the company’s South Liberty Lane manufacturing facility where they received a guided tour of the premises by the Bailey Operations Team. Here they witnessed first-hand the assembly process from start to finish, giving them a greater understanding of how their caravan or motorhome was produced using the Bailey patented Alu-Tech construction system. There was also chance to see how the Alu-Tech bodyshell panels were manufactured at the company’s Large Panel Laminating Plant, located on a separate site in Clevedon, North Somerset.
Bailey has been building leisure vehicles in South Bristol since 1948 and is considered a central part of the local community. The majority of the company employees live nearby and been with us for a long time (average length of service is 10 years). As result, the workforce possesses the necessary skill and experience to successfully manufacture a complex range of caravans and motorhomes in the same plant.
Unlike its competitors all Bailey full-time technicians are salaried to ensure everyone working here is focused on quality as well as quantity. In this way, employees are encouraged to take ‘ownership’ of the production process, work more closely as a team and greater participation in the development of our products. As a result, staff satisfaction, morale and motivation levels are high, which is why productivity at this plant remain amongst the highest in the industry.
Whilst a product is only as good as the people behind it, it is important that they have the tools to do the work required. Consequently, over the past two decades in particular Bailey has invested heavily in its South Liberty Lane production facility, to the extent that it is now widely regarded as one of the most advanced in Europe. Central to this was the installation of the UK’s first and to-date only mechanised assembly line, which means our technicians can devote all their time to building our leisure vehicle improves both the speed and accuracy of the production process.
In addition to the factory tours, visitors were also allowed a sneak preview of some the new caravan and motorhome models being launched at the forthcoming NEC show. As is traditional, Bailey also held its extremely popular parts and accessories sale in aid of is chosen charity, The British Heart Foundation. Owners Club members once again generously dipped into their pockets to raise a total of £2,000 for this very worthy cause.
The BOC was founded in 1970 and now has over 500 members making it one of the largest in the UK. It is open to the owners of all Bailey leisure vehicles, both caravans and motorhomes. For more details on how to join the club and to take advantage of this unique opportunity to visit the Bailey factory click here.
Commenting on the weekend Nick Howard, Managing Director of Bailey of Bristol said: “We always look forward to welcoming the Bailey Owners Club to Bristol as it a great opportunity for the whole Bailey Team to meet people who are genuinely interested in what they do and who have a real passion for the leisure vehicles they manufacture”.
