Buxum UK, manufacturer of premium bike flight boxes, has announced that it is relocating its manufacturing and distribution operation from Hong Kong to Okehampton, Devon.
The company, founded by Devon-born managing director Ed Morris, has signed a lease for a manufacturing unit on Okehampton’s Exeter Road Industrial Estate, initially using the facility for European distribution of its aluminium bike flight boxes, followed by shifting assembly operations to its new Devon base from Hong Kong.
Ed Morris, an engineer by training and a cyclist with over three decades of experience, has spent the last 17 years working in Asia, based in Hong Kong in executive supply chain, sales and business development roles.
Like all great ideas, the Buxum box design was inspired by personal experience. Ed’s ‘eureka moment’ came when he needed a bike box for a trip to the Pyrenees with a group of Hong Kong cyclists, but found that nothing on the market provided the protection and functionality they needed to fly their high-end road bikes to Europe.
Following his Europe trip, Ed took a sabbatical from corporate life and formed Buxum in 2013. He set about inventing a product which would be sufficiently strong, light and functional to meet the exacting standards of cyclists who have spent thousands on their bicycles and needed to be confident that, when flying, their bikes would arrive safely and securely at their destination.
Buxum, the Latin word for boxwood, currently produces three models of bike boxes, and has seen sales grow steadily as cyclists travelling the world for triathlons, bike races or leisure discover the quality and precision engineering of Buxum’s boxes.
Buxum’s Founder and Managing Director Ed Morris said “My sabbatical got me thinking about what I wanted to do next. I wanted a change of direction that used skills developed in the corporate world but focused a little more on what I enjoy outside of work.”
Ed, who served 20 years for American conglomerate Kohler, has taken his long-term involvement with the sport of cycling, a passion for travel and a love of great design and combined them to take Buxum from concept to reality.
Ed added, “The first two years have seen the development of our three-model product line-up manufactured in Buxum’s workshop in Hong Kong, but this is now set to change as I relocate back to my home county of Devon and bring the business with me.
“I’m delighted it is all coming together. We signed a lease on a manufacturing unit in Okehampton at the end of February and are now starting the process of gradually transitioning production of boxes from Hong Kong to Devon over the course of 2016.”
Buxum is a global product by nature, with a customer base evenly split between Europe, Asia and North America. Transport represents a high proportion of the finished product cost so, logistically, having boxes dispatch-ready in the UK makes business sense in terms of being able to offer competitive shipping rates to European customers.
Another driver in Buxum’s move is the macro-economic environment which has seen the cost of Asian manufacturing steadily increasing, to the point where assembly and a proportion of component-sourcing becomes viable in the UK.
The three box models Buxum will assemble in Okehampton are the compact Tourmalet for road bikes as well as two versions of the larger Ventoux for road bikes requiring minimal disassembly and for mountain bikes.
The focus of the design has been around four key elements: best-in-class strength / safety, light enough to avoid excessive baggage costs, recyclable (95% aluminium) and highly functional in terms of ease of packing, airline security inspections and manoeuvrability.
In line with the relocation from Hong Kong to Devon, Buxum has appointed Exeter-based Bleep Communications to manage their digital marketing, social media and public relations. The team has been working behind the scenes since March, strengthening Buxum’s customer engagement, targeting customers in selected key countries and refining the digital metrics, content and PR to drive up genuine enquiries and boost sales.
“As a result of the collaboration, Buxum’s sales in the US are up 100% on this time last year,” said Ed. “It was time to get some expert support to continue growing Buxum. Working with Bleep has meant that I have been able to concentrate on the relocation to Devon whilst the team run the marketing, social media and PR, which is very important in the hugely popular and fast growing cycling community.”
During the search for suitable manufacturing premises, Ed received advice and guidance from the Invest Devon team, hosted by Devon County Council. The team guided Ed on commercial space in the county before Ed settled on what is now Buxum’s headquarters, Okehampton’s Exeter Road Industrial Estate. It was at a ‘Devon Delivers’ Ambassadors networking event organised by the Invest Devon team that Ed originally met Bleep Communications MD Drew Aspinwall.
Councillor Andrew Leadbetter, Devon County Council Cabinet Member for Economy and Growth, said “We would like to extend a very warm Devon welcome to Buxum and its founder Ed Morris. We’re delighted that the company has chosen our county as its new home as it continues its expansion plans.
“As a manufacturing business trading internationally, its relocation from Hong Kong to Okehampton is further proof that in a global marketplace Devon is a premium business location. It’s good news for our local economy to hear that Buxum is planning to recruit locally in line with the company’s plans for growth.”
