MILLION DOLLAR TALES

Rolls Royce

In 1904 Henry Royce built his first automobile.  Two years later he met Charles Rolls, a car salesman in London, and together they formed what would become one of the world’s best known and most enduring automotive companies. 

Although Rolls himself wouldn’t live to see it (in 1910 he become the first Englishman to die in a plane accident), the company he helped found was to become a beacon of British manufacturing excellence, constructing automobiles, engines for the naval and aviation industries, as well as diversifying into areas of energy production.

Today the success of Rolls Royce stands out in sharp relief against a backdrop of British manufacturing that is but a shadow of its former self.  It hasn’t all been smooth sailing, however.  Attempts to create a more efficient jet engine in the 1970s almost led the company to bankruptcy and in 1971 it was nationalized by the British government.  It was these “failed” innovations, however, that were to become a key part of the company’s success two decades later.

Sold by the government in 1987, Rolls Royce once again became a private company.  And the innovations which broke the company in the ‘70s ended up becoming the basis for its subsequent success – technologies that resulted in more efficient, effective and adaptable products.  Today its jet engines are used by 45 of the world’s top 50 airlines.  It has been the company’s capacity to mold its engineering excellence with service excellence that has given it a real edge.  The company has the capacity to monitor the performance of every one of its engines in flight, making the detection and resolution of problems even more efficient.  In 1981 only 20% of Rolls Royce’s earnings came from post sale services; today this function accounts for over 50% of its income.

New projects include working together with General Electric, one of its principal competitors, on an American government funded project to improve aircraft engine efficiency.  It is applying its technological expertise in the area of nuclear energy and has recently signed a contract worth $130million with an Indian gas company to install turbines that will aid the flow and distribution of its gas.

Rolls Royce is about much more than its iconic luxury cars.  It is an innovative, globalized company – successfully molding manufacturing quality with service excellence across a whole range of technologies.

In Numbers

• 39,529 employees
• $10billion revenues in 2008
• $592.8billion market capitalization
• Manufacturing and service facilities in 50 countries