THE INTERVIEW

AC Stuart, Norton seems poised to really put on a spurt in growth. How many people have you got working here in the factory, which seems to have grown a bit since I was here last time?

SG Our workforce here at Donington now numbers 120, including a dozen new apprentices. They serve a roughly two-year apprenticeship before being fully employed in the business, as most of them do choose to become. We still have the original 45,000ft² factory, but we’ve already added another 10,000ft² for the separate shop where we do all our welding and fabrication. Then with the several new models coming through, we have another 12,000ft² of covered space being built right now, which we’re hoping to occupy by April. This will house new dedicated production lines for the 650 twins and the V4s, leaving the Commandos still being built in the main factory.

AC How many Nortons did you build last year?

SG We delivered just under 1000 bikes in 2018. But obviously, as the V4s come in, we’re on the verge of a substantial increase in volume, and the 650 twins will also start production in April – hence the addition to the factory. We’re right at the start of a really hectic couple of years of growth, all based on firm orders under deposit. We still have the scars from 2011 of going to market too early with the first Commandos, which was really thanks to pressure which we put on ourselves, and was a ridiculous thing to do – but we didn’t know any better at the time. We were new in the industry, and we thought we were doing the right thing getting the bike out quickly to satisfy everybody who was agitating to get hold of one. It was exactly the wrong thing to do, so the reason we were six months late this time around getting the V4 production started was entirely that – we’ve learnt from our mistakes, and now press the button to start production only when we’re ready.

AC How many V4s have you delivered so far?

Just a few dozen, because we’re right at the start of