Hercules exported a significant percentage of production – by the time Sir Malcolm Campbell was invited to see the three millionth bicycle in 1933, over half the production had been sent overseas, earning £6 million and letters of congratulation from the King and Prince of Wales.
He paid 10 per cent better than the union rate, although he sacked workers who could not produce 15 per cent more than unionised workers. Ted Crane would not employ union members. Factories ran using mass-production, producing more than 1,000 cycles a day, each taking less than 10 minutes to assemble. After 1923, Hercules produced the majority of the components of their bicycles, apart from the inner tubes and tyres. The success of Hercules was attributed to a number of factors, including the name and production methods. The company made its six millionth bicycle in February 1939.ĭuring this period, Birmingham had been home to a large number of cycle manufacturers, most of which did not prosper. In 1929, it took over the Dunlop factory in Nechells, less than a mile to the north-west in Long Acre. In 1928 Hercules exported one in five of all British cycles and, by 1935, 40 per cent. The First World War brought an order to make shells. By 1914 production rose to 10,000 a year. It was the site of the company's offices.
This became Hercules's Britannia Works and grew to 13 acres (53,000 m 2). In 1923, a third move was made to an ex- Dunlop factory in Rocky Lane, Aston. Within a few months, production had doubled and the company moved to larger premises in Conybere Street, Highgate. They moved to a house with a yard in Conybere Street. The brothers went from 25 to 70 bicycles a week within six months. Production outgrew the site and bikes were packed on the pavement. Ted had problems selling because of fierce competition but soon made progress, trading on low price and high quality. Harry assembled bicycles and Ted cycled around Birmingham for parts. In 1911, Harry and Ted rented a derelict house in Coventry Street, using a name they had already registered in 1910, the Hercules Cycle and Motor Company. The bankruptcy finding meant they were bought in the mother's name and sold to the sons even though she had also been made bankrupt. In 1906 Jack Crane was declared bankrupt and the family moved to Lightwoods Hill. Their children, Harry and Ted, left school at 14 and helped their parents with the business. Crane's parents bought the Petros Cycle Company which was subsequently managed by Edmund's mother, Edith.
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