From the Rolls-Royce experimental archive: a quarter of a million communications from Rolls-Royce, 1906 to 1960's. Documents from the Sir Henry Royce Memorial Foundation (SHRMF).
Business and logistical considerations of coachbuilding at the Derby facility.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 18\6\ Scan317 | |
| Date | 24th November 1921 | |
| -2- (3) COACHBUILDING AT DERBY. Reference LHSS/DN24.11.21 to CJ. and attached correspondence. The £10,000 referred to is Holmes Bros. complete turnover and is not money spent by R.R. A very small proportion is R.R. work and we are receiving 10% from all the business done on R.R. cars by Holmes. This 10% does, in any case, assure us a certain amount of profit on the job, and if we did the work ourselves it might mean a loss, because we should have to keep a staff permanently employed which would only be working intermittently. We could not hope, in the beginning, to turn out the high-class work put on .RR. cars by the coachbuilders. The cost of making the proper buildings would be very expensive and we think quite out of proportion to the little profit we might get, and the undue responsibility we should have to accept. In ordinary times we have quite enough to do with chassis work and it has been our policy to keep out of body work. This has enabled us to keep on good terms with the body builders. With reference to the Swallow, possibly that might be an entirely different proposition, when standardised body work would be essential. This would mean a fairly big outlay of capital to make it a reliable and good job, and certainly anything of this kind would not get us into difficulties with the high-class makers. | ||