New ownership and new premises are all set for Norton. TVS are getting the sterling old brand Norton back on two wheels with their new Global headquarters opening in Solihull. Once up to full strength the new facility should be able to turn out 8000 bikes a year and will need to employ over a hundred skilled workers to achieve this. Jobs and motorcycles, what's not to like!

Born over a hundred years ago in 1898 in Birmingham, James Norton's venture graduated into a successful company which eventually supplied a quarter of all the British Army's motorcycles. Since then Norton has had a chequered history with various scandals, which we have written about before, ending up with it going into administration last year. However India's TVS, which bought Norton, look to be giving it a new lease of life and returning it to its manor in Solihull near Birmingham.

The new global headquarters will include a state of the art manufacturing facility and a research and development hub to push the brand forward. The new premises demonstrates a real commitment from TVS who have got the new gaff up and running within 18 months of buying Norton, showing they mean business.

After the initial outlay of £16m to buy the failing company, TVS have already apparently had over 5,000 enquiries from folks interested in acquiring a new Norton once they are back in full production.

In order to right the wrongs of the past, the new TVS and Norton leadership have reviewed the company's operations and changed things to ensure that the very best quality standards are now adhered to, in order to rebuild the company's tarnished reputation. Every component of each new bike will be fully tested in order to ensure the very highest build quality is achieved for every machine coming off the production line. To achieve this, the new facility will have a rolling road, inspection areas and a destruction testing area for a fully comprehensive array of tests. The building will also contain a customer reception area and showroom, offices and service workshops. What's more, and is particularly appealing in these times, is that Norton/TVS have ensured that the factory has been engineered to minimise waste and built to high sustainability standards.

So it looks like a win win for TVS and Norton let's hope the trajectory is onwards and upwards now.

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