Metal Gurus

The products that emerge from Samuel Heath’s 160-year-old factory are anything but old-fashioned though they’re made with the sort of attention to detail many thought was long gone.

If you asked a child to draw a factory, then it’s a fair bet they’d come up with something resembling the bastion that is Samuel Heath’s Birmingham base.
No wonder, perhaps, when you consider that this splendid edifice has been turning out brassware of note since 1850. And while the industry has seen enormous changes since then – like the cityscape around the Leopold Street factory – Samuel Heath has demonstrated it is possible to make things in
a time-honoured way, yet remain competitive, bang up to date and above all, British through and through.
Samuel Heath was founded in 1820 and it remains a superb, if rare, example of the sort of business that made Birmingham an industrial powerhouse – a ‘metal basher’, adding value to basic materials by turning them into beautifully crafted artifacts, using a host of craft skills.
Now Samuel Heath is one of the few remaining manufacturers of its kind in Birmingham. But don’t be fooled by nearly 200 years of heritage and an architectural ‘gem’ of a factory. Behind the imposing red brick façade lies a company that has successfully combined the best of the old and the new, to produce top-end bathroom accessories and architectural hardware in a modern and efficient way that would have delighted its Victorian founders.
At the helm of this liner of a building is md David Pick. “We’ve got a little gem here. Everything is under one roof,” he says as we launch into a disorienting factory tour. Upstairs, downstairs, across workshops, through courtyards – even some of the staff admit they still lose their bearings – it really does resemble the bowels of a great ship. The sound of heavy machinery – stamping, turning, milling and polishing – and the tangy aroma of hot metal only add to the impression.
Forget the image of grimy metalworkers slaving over hot lathes surrounded by piles of swarf. This is a very clean and tidy factory and on the tour we pass lines of state-of-the-art computer-controlled equipment – some still secret enough to warrant a request for “no photographs”. In places, wonderful old equip­ment lurks behind the new – some of the old lathes still get an outing for small, specialised runs, while some of the regularly used stamping equipment
is over 80 years old. “It’s an old façade, but we’ve got some very new technology,” says Pick, though he admits space is at a premium and everything is shoehorned in.
The company is remarkably self contained – it even recycles its waste water. Brass comes from Walsall, just 10 miles away. “We’re certainly not bringing in stuff from the other side of the world,” says Pick. All jigs, special tools and prototypes are made inhouse. “We don’t want to rely on a guy down the road with a three-week lead time,” he explains.
Batches of parts – that go to make up the 2,500 product range – are made three or four times a year. “The secret is not to run out of stock otherwise there is an increase in lead time,” says Pick.
New product development is aided by a computer system that allows everyone throughout the factory to see drawings in photo-realistic 3D and a rapid prototyping machine enhances the process.
Around 160 people work in the building, helping to produce the mirror-like finish for which Samuel Heath’s products are renowned. Quality control is built in to every stage – if a product isn’t right, it goes back to the last person to handle it.
 “There’s a lot of incentive to get it right,” says Pick, who adds that many products are computer tested to find discrepancies smaller than the thickness of a human hair. “We take a lot of time and care over this. It’s using that investment to get perfect products every time.”
But the secret behind that mirror-like finish is hard graft and years of skill – for every product is hand finished. Before products go to be plated, they’re fettled and polished by highly experienced craftsmen with years of experience. A few years ago, one retired at the age of 92.
By the time the products are packed they’ve been through up to 34 individual processes, including electro-plating. “It’s cheaper to miss out stages, but if it’s not done properly then it will come back to bite you,” says Pick. “It gives us a lot of control so when our reps go out they can talk about the products with confidence. There may well be cheaper ways of doing things but not in a way that gives us control over quality.”
Upstairs in the company’s showroom the evidence of that attention to detail is clear to see. Walls are lined with gleaming metal – shower valves, heads, taps and bathroom accessories from towel rails to LED illuminated mirrors – in finishes including chrome, antique gold, polished nickel, stainless steel or matt black. There are collections of architectural metalwork for doors and windows, and there’s even a range of traditional marine brassware.
Bathroom ranges include the traditional Fairfield, taking its influences from the Arts and Crafts movement; Xiara, with its subtle curves and simple lines; functional, timeless Xenon; period-style Antique; traditional Novis and Curzon; and post-modernist Skye.
Last autumn saw the launch of Kevin McCloud’s collection of bathroom jewellery, designed by the Channel 4 homes guru himself. “He would not endorse products without having some input,” says Pick of the mother-of-pearl embellished accessories collection. “He is just so passionate about UK design
and UK manufacturing.”
The McCloud collection is just one manifestation of how the business keeps itself fresh. Certain products are available from John Lewis, but most go to upmarket independent retailers, and the company has a keen following in the design, hotel and contract markets.
Despite the recession, Samuel Heath has continued to advertise in quality monthlies and weekend supplements, and focuses on products that won’t date, says marketing manager Vanessa Allan. “We don’t want a faddy product that will go off in a few years.” The company also invests heavily in displays and
POS material for retailers. “Ideally we want to show product within a setting, but if not then we want a good display,” she adds.
And March saw the opening of a new venture for the company, a dedicated showroom at the Design Centre in London’s Chelsea Harbour. Allan explains:
 “Interior designers and architects have always been key customers, so it is fantastic to have a central location where they can come and meet us, handle our products and learn more about our collections. The showroom will be an important part of the company’s growing service for designers and we hope it will introduce new customers to the brand, enabling visitors to see first-hand the quality of our products.”
Sales director Martyn Whieldon says the firm enjoys a good rapport with its retailers. “They don’t hold back in telling us if there’s a gap in the market and we really value that feedback.
“We like to bring customers to the factory to show them what we can do. If they want to know why a product has a £200 list price when B&Q can knock it out for far less, then we’ll show them.”
In these days of outsourcing to China and ‘just-in-time’ production, there’s a tangible pride at Samuel Heath that they do things properly, with care and attention. Metal goes in one end and a finished product, made with skill and years of experience, comes out the other.
“We are unashamedly at the premium end of the market and it would be impossible to satisfy the mass market from here,” says Pick. “We have a heritage and we’re very proud of it. That said, it’s here to draw on, but not necessarily to dwell on.”