Europe : UK: Birmingham gun-maker, Westley Richards has stood test of time
on 2009/11/27
In the latest instalment of our Survivors series, Head of Business Alun Thorne visited a gunmakers that is thriving while others falter.

What do Tom Selleck, the Lebanese Prime Minister and the King of Spain – that’s the one on the Spanish throne as opposed to the former England slow left-armer – have in common?

The unlikely answer is that they all look to Birmingham when it comes to satisfying their gun needs. Or more to the point, they turn to Westley Richards.

It is nearly two centuries since the company was established in the city by founder William Westley Richards and despite a shiny new headquarters on the edge of Birmingham’s historic gun quarter, the processes and end product have barely changed since the first barrel was turned in 1812.

Walking into the retail centre in Pritchett Street is a unique experience that immediately whisks you off thousands of miles to the savannas of Africa as you are greeted by the fruits of the company’s labours – a stuffed antelope, walls adorned by terrifying antlers and waste bins carved out of elephant’s feet; Linda McCartney would never have approved.

As one might expect, the showroom is full of the latest hunting and sports shooting paraphernalia and while this is developing into a crucial strand of the company’s long term business plan, it is upstairs in the workshops that you find the real soul of Westley Richards.

Here 15 artisans – and there is no question that they meet all the necessary criteria – work diligently and painstakingly at creating the masterpieces that will eventually turn their attentions to bringing down anything from clay pigeons to some of the biggest beasts that walk the planet.

It is a meticulous endeavour. Westley Richards remains one of the world’s leading names in the gun making world thanks to its unprecedented history and it is the attention to detail that continues to stand their guns apart from the rest.
Gun

“Every single part of the gun is created on site,” said Karena Clode, whose grandfather Walter – the current chairman – acquired the firm in the 1950s, which is now run by her father Simon.

“We don’t farm anything out and we don’t want a more automated process. It is about controlling quality. We know we can trace every part of every gun. The fact that Westley Richards guns made in the early 1900s are still being used is testament to that.”

Since their inception the Westley Richards gun has been at the forefront of innovation and over the years the company has secured dozens of patents, Gold Medals and the Royal Warrants for their design and development – the Anson & Deeley action, invented in part by John Deeley who was managing director of the firm in the 1870s – is still the most successful and widely used mechanism in gunmaking today.

Today, technology does have a part to play and the company is a leading manufacturer of press tools and uses its own modern, computer controlled milling machines and wire and spark eroders to produce the blank components of the gun’s mechanism. This is just the starting point however and it is the many hours of hand fitting and finishing of these components and the other elements of the gun that make the process so laborious but also why a Westley Richards remains a prized possession for those who understand their guns.

Karena said: “We are seeing some really good business at the moment having picked up another three gun orders in the last two weeks. We’ve been really busy, having recently taken on three new apprentices and we are looking at new apprentices for the next year. It is important we find the right people with their hearts in the trade because it is a seven year apprenticeship.

“It is a two year turnaround for a shotgun or a double rifle and 18 months for a bolt action rifle. The bolt actions start at around Ł15,000, shotguns at Ł29,500 and double rifles Ł30,000 – then the engraving on a gun can be thousands with the cost of some guns rising up to Ł100,000.”

At the same price as an upmarket family car for even the standard model, one might imagine that Westley Richards was exposed to challenges of the recent economic downturn but not a bit of it, said Karena.

“Our gun sales have gone up as the markets have gone down,” she said. “We have taken 40 orders over the last 12 months and considering that we only turn around between 28 and 32 guns a year, that is massive for us.” And in terms of potential markets, the brand continues to resonate across the globe. “We do lots of business in the US, which is why we have a US agency in Montana,” said Karena.

“At the moment we have orders from the Qatari Royal Family, the Lebanese Prime Minister and the King of Spain actually came to Birmingham to collect his new gun – I remember we had to get my dad to come in from home where he was watching the England match.

“And Tom Selleck and his brother both had a couple off us last year as well.” She refrained from the obvious Magnum joke.