How Brian James Trailers conquered the American market without compromising European engineering excellence
Using precision manufacturing processes and rigorous quality control, Brian James Trailers (Brian James) designs and builds trailers in its state-of-the-art UK factory. This enables the company to offer a range of sizes and countless trailer personalization options for customers. A year after our last conversation, we catch up with CEO, Lewis James, who discusses Brian James’ ongoing expansion in the US.
“It has been a busy year for us as we expand into the US market, which is a key part of our growth strategy. We have established several dealerships in the country, launched our US website, and developed products that are now approved for the American market and ready for production. Essentially, all our European models are now available as American versions – by retaining the same fundamental design and only changing what is needed, we can produce an identical chassis and sell it into two main geographical markets, Europe and the US.
“In August we will participate in an exhibition for trailer dealers, marking the first time our physical products will be showcased to the US industry. We anticipate that this will be a significant breakthrough, as people will have the opportunity to see how our products are manufactured compared to those in the American market. Our expansion in the US is interesting because the trailer industry lacks global manufacturers and is effectively split into two major segments: North America and Europe. Each region has different regulations, suppliers and supply chains. Consequently, suppliers who cater to OEMs in Europe produce products compliant with European regulations and only serve European manufacturers.
“We are the first European manufacturer to adapt all of our products into versions that comply with all US regulations. To achieve this, we collaborated with our European suppliers to create entirely new components that none of them had previously produced. For example, we worked closely with our Austrian lighting supplier to develop new lighting kits for each of our products tailored for the US market. That said, we have not compromised on functionality; our products remain fundamentally the same, thereby distinguishing them from existing offerings in the North American market. In fact, given the significantly stricter regulations in the European trailer industry, European-style trailers are more advanced than anything currently available in the US,” he enlightens.
Alongside preparing its entry into the American market, Brian James has been focused on launching four new product ranges and a revised version of another product range this year. “The reason we launched so many products is that we undertook two projects and each resulted in two distinct ranges that share much of their design and components. Despite this overlap, each product range targets a different market. Our Box Van trailer, which represents a new market sector for us, is a general-purpose enclosed trailer. We leveraged our expertise in enclosed trailers from our car transporter range to develop this product, which surpasses current market offerings. At the same time, we utilized the same basic chassis and body to develop a new car transporter named Race Box. By completely changing and tailoring the inside for storing and securing cars, we can market it to a different set of customers.
“Two other product development projects resulted in two further product ranges; the A Transporter and Race Sport. These two models were developed at the same time and share a chassis. The A Transporter is an open car transporter and the Race Sport is an enclosed car transporter.
“Thus, we have two product ranges aimed at slightly different audiences, even though they share similarities. This again shows how one design project has yielded two ranges from a single chassis,” Lewis informs.
On the production side, Brian James recently implemented a change from cell production to an assembly production line. Lewis sheds light on the motivation behind this transition and its impact on productivity. “As we have launched many enclosed trailers, the volume in that segment of the business has significantly increased. This prompted us to completely rethink our assembly process. Previously, we operated two separate assembly factories: one for open trailers and another for enclosed trailers. The open trailer assembly line handled a higher volume of simpler products, while the enclosed trailers, which had lower volumes and higher average values, involved a more complicated build and were produced in cells. In the last few months, we have implemented a change so that the enclosed trailers are now also built on an assembly line, resulting in two distinct assembly lines. We have had to figure out how to accommodate the significantly variable build times and processes from one trailer to the next within this line structure.
“The advantages of this approach include the division and specialization of labor. We have a dedicated team that focuses on one part of the build before passing it on to the next team. Additionally, the training time is much shorter compared to our previous cell production system, where it could take up to six months for someone to become fully productive and familiar with every aspect of the build. Now, with the assembly line, we can onboard a new team member who only needs to learn ten-to-twenty percent of the build process to start contributing effectively. Although this system is still new and undergoing refinement, we are already seeing a significant increase in our output,” he says.
Through precision engineering, flexible production, and strategic global expansion, Brian James solidifies its position as a leading innovator in the trailer industry.