MICROMOBILITY
Will Butler-Adams, Brompton CEO THE INDUSTRY OF LIVING
Brompton CEO Will Butler-Adams on why the bike business should talk not in terms of toys, but instead tools for sustainable urban transport. By Graham Willgoss
W
alking straight off the Brompton factory floor in the west London suburb of Greenford, Will Butler-Adams is bubbling with enthusiasm. It’s
seemingly his default setting, but particularly so for the business he’s in and what it can do for the way we live. “There’s a lot to get excited about,” he explained,
“Particularly for our industry. Our industry is feeling real pressure at the moment because it’s gone through a little bit of an overheating and they’re really hurting. But if we can just weather the storm, as an industry we are sitting at a really exciting time to contribute to solving some of the world’s problems. We’re so relevant. “We’ve been slightly recreational and very nice to have. But we are moving from that to being super-relevant. Particularly when you introduce electric drive and cargo bikes. That whole opportunity for the bicycle, combined with electric drive, to have such an impact on how people live in cities all over the world is really exciting.”
38 | April 2023
Butler-Adams has been chief executive of the British folding bike firm since 2008. He joined with the title of new projects manager in 2002, after a chance conversation on the bus from Henley train station with the company’s then-chairman Tim Guinness. From a “young engineer looking for something interesting to do in life”, to overseeing the manufacture of nearly 100,000 bikes a year, he knows what he is talking about. “And we’re talking about the bicycle business,” he said. “But we’re not talking about the bicycle. That is where we need to get to. The bicycle is the tool. But the really exciting thing is what it delivers. And we need to spend more time discussing that and as a business recognising the incredible impact it can have.” Butler-Adams believes there is more the industry can
do to help on that front. In short: no more Mr Nice Guy. “We need to be a little bit less nice,” said Butler-Adams.
www.bikebiz.com
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