Bailey celebrates 75 years

British motorhome and caravan manufacturer, Bailey of Bristol, is celebrating its diamond anniversary this year

In 1947, Martin Bailey built his first caravan from his garage, selling it for £200 at the Ashton Gate market. A year later, he founded F G Bailey Ltd, which developed rapidly through the 1950s, eventually moving to its present site at South Liberty Lane in 1960.

In 1977, the company was purchased by brothers, Patrick and Stephen Howard, and Bailey Caravans Ltd has remained under the Howard family’s ownership ever since.

Today, the manufacturer sits firmly as one of the UK’s favourite caravan brands, accounting for one in three new caravan sales, and in 2011 also entered the motorhome market, as well as expanding into new export markets as far afield as New Zealand and South Korea.

In 2010, Bailey introduced its Alu-Tech body shell construction system. The fully patented technology creates leisure vehicles which are more robust, more durable and yet more lightweight than those manufactured using traditional methods.

Bailey says the key to its 75-year success – and its group annual turnover of more than £130 million – is the people who work there. The manufacturer employs over 500 local people across its three Bristol sites, and many have worked for Bailey for a long time (the average length of service, according to the manufacturer, is 10 years).

In an effort to provide a clear path for career progression and retain its talented staff, Bailey recently made a number of positive changes for its employees, including the introduction of a new grading structure for its operations team and improvements to its employee benefits package, including full maternity pay for 24 weeks. Read more about these changes here.

Bailey's Managing Director, Nick Howard, says,

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