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).
The future of in-house body and chassis production and the personnel requirements.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 148\5\ scan0247 | |
| Date | 13th December 1937 | |
| -2- It is quite clear that within the next few years the body and chassis will cease to exist as separate units in the majority of automobiles produced in any quantities. Therefore, since a special article is required, it should be more profitable to produce it oneself than to buy it from someone who must necessarily take a profit out of it. If this point of view is accepted, then the question arises as to when it should be possible to start on body production, and how these bodies should be made. Clearly it will take us two years to straighten out the chassis position, and until this has been accomplished no one will have much time or energy to give to anything else. However, at the end of two years we hope we shall be looking for some more turnover to help pay the overheads, particularly if the re-armament programme tails off. REQUIREMENTS FOR PRODUCTION. Of the three normal requirements to produce anything, i.e - Technical Personnel Floor Space Equipment, Technical Personnel. The first essential is the only one that cannot be obtained within a well-defined and reasonably short space of time. It seems to us that all the personnel necessary above what is already in the factory is, one good technical and one good practical man on Coachwork. Provided they are keen and energetic they need not be very expensive. They can start learning right away by living on the Bentley 50 JOB wherever it is being produced. As soon as the proposed prototype chassis is launched and brought up to a satisfactory state of reliability, owing to the interchangeability planned, a number of the existing draughtsmen, and perhaps some experimental engineers should become available. These could gradually be built up into a body building division. | ||