A great sense of British pride

As a boy aged seven, I built dens in which to dream about what I wanted to be when I grew up. I had a vivid imagination, never sat still and enjoyed making things. I now build folding bicycles, and still I dream of what we are going to do in the next 10 years, have a vivid imagination, never sit still and enjoy making things. I am lucky: my job is to make something and, in doing so, over the last 10 years I have been involved in the growth of Brompton Bicycle, from £2m turnover to more than £16m today. With the word 'make' comes a need for imagination, unpredictable days where you have to think your way out of trouble, satisfaction in touching, feeling and seeing your product in action and a great sense of self worth. The Make it in Great Britain campaign has come about to remind all of us that the UK remains one of the great manufacturing nations in the world. There is no doubt we all know fewer people who work in manufacturing but this does not mean, therefore, that we don't do any manufacturing – we simply do much more with fewer people. As Brits, we are in fact rather good at making things. The bubbling innovation of British manufacturing is limitless, from fine porcelain to fine paper, yachts, aero engines, motorcycles and everything you can imagine in-between. Triumph now sells more motorcycles than in its entire history, one in four Ford engines in the world is made in the UK… the stats could go on and on, yet most of our nation believe British manufacturing is dead. How wrong they are. With increasing tuition fees and fewer jobs, it is reassuring to know for anyone planning their career that there aren't enough engineers in the UK and those that do roll their sleeves up and make something are likely to be better paid with average earnings of £29,500 versus a national average of £26,800. We make so much in Great Britain and through this campaign, in parallel with the Olympics, it's a time for us to be a little less reserved and modest, and to remind ourselves and take pride in what we create and export all over the globe.