From a press release:

TRIUMPH MOTORCYCLES UK MANUFACTURING FACILITY FULLY OPERATIONAL BY SEPTEMBER 2002

Triumph Motorcycles Begins Construction Work Today to Rebuild Production Areas Affected by Recent Fire in Hinckley, UK to Create Most Advanced Motorcycle Assembly Line in the World

NEWNAN, GA.— April 16, 2002 – Triumph Motorcycles (America) Ltd., released that construction starts today on rebuilding production areas which were affected by the recent fire at Triumph Motorcycles in Hinckley. Triumph Motorcycles Limited Managing Director, Karl Wharton has announced plans for a rebuilding program which will enable new Triumph motorcycles to be rolling off the assembly line by the start of September, 2002.

Triumph will be working around-the-clock to rebuild the factory on Jacknell Road to create the most advanced motorcycle assembly line in the world.

Triumph has been able to react and commence reconstruction so quickly due to the prompt and supportive response from their insurers, led by the Zurich and with co-insurers Royal Sun Alliance, GroupAMA and Allianz-Cornhill. Working together, Triumph and their insurers have been able to plan and agree to a speedy recovery plan for the company, as set out below, to minimize disruption to Triumph’s business and customer support.

To enable construction to start quickly, Triumph has appointed the same firms of architects, structural engineers and project management team who were responsible for the original building. “Their previous experience and knowledge of the site will support Triumph’s goal of producing new motorcycles in Hinckley at the start of September,” says Karl Wharton.

Key stages in the reconstruction are:

– Demolition of the damaged area will be complete within the next seven days

– Steel work order has already been placed

– The rebuilding of the factory is planned to be complete within 14 weeks from today

To enable production to start in September, 2002 all processes need to be back on line concurrently, so a number of production processes and machinery are being relocated to other areas within Triumph’s manufacturing facilities.

This means machinery which was only affected by smoke, as well as new equipment which is being installed as required, can be commissioned prior to completion of the rebuilding works.

Meanwhile, Triumph is maximizing resources at their three additional sites in Hinckley to build up components ready for the new assembly line, and to ensure a continuous supply of spare parts to Triumph dealers worldwide.

Design and development facilities are unaffected and continue to operate as usual on Jacknell Road. The assembly line paint shop is expected to be back on line by the end of April.

Spare parts, accessories and clothing distribution operations are unaffected and supplying stock as usual. For some years, due to Triumph’s paint shop being mainly used to meet production requirements, spare parts have been predominantly painted at an outside facility.

In addition, the company has rented an additional building at Magna Park in Lutterworth as a temporary store. The unit, which is fully computerized and linked to the main Triumph systems, will receive all deliveries of production stock until new warehousing facilities are rebuilt on Jacknell Road. “This will enable us to receive all parts deliveries that were scheduled for the next few months without interruption, thus building up the stock needed for production to recommence starting September,” adds Karl Wharton.

Triumph, who manufactures more than 33,000 motorcycles in Britain a year, supplies bikes, parts and accessories to over 25 different countries, including those in western Europe, the United States of America, Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates and several markets in Latin America.

Said Karl Wharton: “Triumph, which dates back to 1902, is one of the oldest and most recognized names in motorcycling. Many famous models have been built in the last 100 years and Triumph plans to continue to produce more great motorcycles when production is up and running again at Hinckley at the start of September, 2002.”

Triumph Motorcycles (America) Ltd., is a wholly owned subsidiary of Triumph Motorcycles, Ltd., the manufacturer of Triumph motorcycles and accessories. Triumph Motorcycles (America) Ltd., is located in Newnan, GA and services the Triumph dealer organization throughout the United States, Canada and Latin America.


Internal Arrangements

While they are rebuilding the Jacknell Road factory, Triumph is making internal arrangements to enable motorbike production to come back on stream at the earliest possible date.

Machinery which was affected by smoke and soot in the Jacknell Road factory – known as T1 – is currently being cleaned by a combination of specialist and Triumph staff. The areas affected include the three and four cylinder crankcase and cylinder head lines, the engine assembly, chrome plating plant and the paint shop.

Once cleaned, to allow affected machinery to be recommissioned before rebuilding work is complete, the layout of T1 and that of the company’s latest factory in Normandy Way – known as T2 – will be reorganized so that some equipment can be relocated from T1 to T2.

As the crankcase and cylinder head lines for the twin cylinder engine are already located in T2, this will combine all engine manufacture and assembly processes in T2.

The paint shop, which will remain in Jacknell Road, is expected to be back on line by the end of April. This does not affect the supply of spare painted parts, which are painted by an outside source.

Plans for recommissioning the areas destroyed in the fire – the chassis and final assembly, powder coating and production stores – prior to completion of the new building, are also in place.

The powder coating and chassis assembly will be relocated to areas of T1 that were unaffected by the fire, which will be available because of the move of certain equipment to T2.

The majority of the rebuilt area will become the new production stores and assembly line.

Temporary Stores Arrangements

In preparation for recommencing production in August, Triumph have rented a unit at Magna Park in Lutterworth as a temporary stores facility. This unit is fully computerized, including links into Triumph’s systems.

It will receive all deliveries of production stock until the rebuilding of T1 is complete and new racking is in place.

This means that Triumph can continue to receive parts deliveries that were scheduled for the next few months without interruption, thus securing the stock necessary for production to recommence starting September.

This policy will also protect Triumph’s suppliers against loss of business and ensure the future supply of components, particularly those from smaller, specialist companies.

To ensure that Triumph’s high quality standards are maintained within this period, company inspection staff will be working at the Magna Park facility.

Once the new warehousing is in place at T1, stock will revert to being delivered into T1. The Magna Park facility will continue to feed production until stock is exhausted by which the time the T1 facility will be fully stocked and operational.


Manufacturing Arrangements

Manufacturing at T2 has not been interrupted and is ongoing to ensure the continued supply of spare parts and to build adequate stocks of components for when production recommences.

Design and development facilities were unaffected and continue to operate as usual. If anything, development of new models may be slightly accelerated, as the department currently does not have to respond to any production issues.

The spare parts, accessories and clothing distribution operations are unaffected and are supplying stock as usual.

Office functions are fully operational and working from temporary offices at T2.

Plans for the company’s limited component manufacturing facility in Thailand were unaffected by the fire. As announced last September, this facility will be producing some components towards the second half of this year, controlled by Triumph engineers and personnel.

Production Arrangements

Production will recommence starting September. Initially, the plant will operate at 25% capacity, building up to full production over a twelve week period.

During these initial weeks, Triumph will produce a mixture of all models and all market specifications to ensure a fair distribution of product.

While Triumph have stock of most models at the present time – except the Speed Four and Bonneville models, which are in very short supply – they anticipate that stocks will run very low by the time production recommences. In fairness to customers, delivery of stock within each market will be prioritized to meet retail orders.

Staff Arrangements

Staff in many areas are working as usual. There was, for example, minimal interruption to Triumph’s spares operation, which was despatching orders by close of business on the Monday immediately following the fire.

Bike dispatch resumed the Tuesday after the fire and all IT systems and temporary offices were functional by the Wednesday.

Staff in the areas specifically affected by the fire are working on a rotating basis to assist with the clean up operation. They are keen to be involved and team spirit remains high.