Caravans steer Kidderminster firm on road to success

A retro rock 'n' roll era trailer is catapulting a West Midland firm to success - with hopes that it will at least double its workforce in the next year.

Orders are pouring in from all over the world for the tailor-made 1950s style aluminium caravans - and a customer from Holland is on the brink of placing a bulk order for trailers to launch a mobile barbecue franchise business across Europe.

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Silver Bullet Caravans, now based in Easter Park, Kidderminster, began manufacturing the bright and shiny, mirror-like trailers on the Hayes business park at Lye in the Dudley borough two years ago.

At first the company employed just managing director Peter Carrick, his daughter, Lydia and a business partner.

But since moving to its 9,500 sq ft premises in Kidderminster a year ago, the workforce has increased to 10 and Mr Carrick is looking for a new site three times as big.

He estimates that over the next year to 18 months the company, which will soon be changing its name to Retro Rocket, will need to take on at least 10 workers.

Mr Carrick, aged 59, who lives in Hanbury Hill, Stourbridge, said: "There is a big revival of retro fashion in all kinds of things at the moment. We've exported to Australia, New Zealand, Denmark, Spain, Belgium and Holland, as well has having a lot of interest in the UK."

Mr Carrick first imported caravans from America five years ago, based on Kidderminster's Hoo Farm industrial estate.

But he found many of the trailers cost too much to convert into vehicles that complied with health and safety regulations for mobile catering firms, which form a major part of the company's client base.

So he decided to develop his own manufacturing centre, which is now building around 30 caravans a year - all looking like the iconic "silver bullet" style models made in the USA in the 1950s, which were based on old aeroplane designs.

His daughter, Lydia, loves to doll herself up like a 1950s rock 'n' roll chick - but by day she wears jeans and welding goggles as she manufactures retro caravans from her favourite era.

She is the head fabricator for Silver Bullet Caravans.

"I love the shininess of them," said Lydia, aged 24, of The Broadway, Norton, Stourbridge. "They're so much more individual than the modern fibre glass caravans - they are all bespoke and you can have whatever you want inside to create your own little home from scratch."

Lydia originally fell in love with the rock 'n' roll era fashion because it suited her shape - "small waist, massive hips", she said.

She and the team at Silver Bullet start with a sturdy steel ladder-frame chassis and then hand-craft the high grade, polished aluminium body shells, fastening the panels with up to 2,000 rivets.

They manufacture five models - the Grasshopper, the Dragonfly, the Comet, the Nomad and the Constellation - ranging from 16ft 4in to 23ft with single or twin axles. The interiors can be space-age stainless steel catering units or funky 1950s style weekend tourers.

Prices range from £16,995 plus VAT for the smallest model up to £48,000 or more.

By Louise Jew