Inside Endura's Factory Where 'Scottish-Proof' Riding Gear is Made
What relevance does a kitchen table have to the Endura story? Well, it was on the kitchen table of Jim McFarlane's Edinburgh home that the first garments were cut and stitched to satisfy his own needs as he put himself against the clock in time trial races. From that kitchen table to the sprawling HQ now on the outskirts of the city with over 100 employees, Endura has come along way since those rather humble beginnings in 1993.
Endura emerged from the ashes in an area once caught in Scottish industrial decline. A stone's throw from the offices and factory are the scars from shale mining that once boomed around West Lothian, the piles of dirt or 'bings' left behind now rather aptly make for a two-wheeled playground. Being Scottish born and bred, it was only natural that Endura's garments took influence from the elements and weather that they were conceived in; the words “robust” and “functional” were reoccurring while wandering the factory floor.
It's true after all, waterproof doesn't necessarily mean Scottish-proof.
Traditionally, Endura left their products' functionality to do most of the talking, taking a slightly more back seat approach compared to brands with 'louder' marketing pushes, something that which manager Ian Young admits has been a big challenge in recent years. A quick scan of social media threads and their website suggests a very different approach these days, with ever-changing content featuring the likes of the Athertons, Danny MacAskill, and Nairo Quintana to name a few. Mountain biking is more fashion conscious than ever with the image of a company and how it is perceived deciding whether it sinks or swims, Endura is far from resting on its laurels.
In the past year, the company has had perhaps the biggest milestone in its 25 year history, or rather its biggest in terms of the company's future. Endura was acquired by Pentland Brands Limited, placing them under the same umbrella as names like Berghaus, Speedo, and Canterbury. Quite often, when a company is absorbed by a larger name its personality and ethos are lost, but Endura's founder Jim McFarlane and long-standing Product and Marketing Director Pamela Barclay still have a tight grip on the reigns and the day-to-day business, only now with the added security and backing to expand Endura's reach into the cycling market even further.
It looks like there are some exciting years ahead for all involved at their Livingston base.
Endura never ventured far from its Edinburgh roots. Over 100 employees work out of their headquarters in Livingston.
The jersey on the left was made for the Orange Mountain Bike Team in 1995, while the jersey on the right belongs to Trek's flamboyant racer Kade Edwards.
 | Endura is 25 years old this year, having started in 1993. It was Jim McFarlane that started it and he's still involved day-to-day as director of the company. He started it by making products for himself; he was into time trialling and had been out in Australia. When he came back to the UK, he tried to buy some kit and then realised there wasn't actually a whole lot of bike kit on the market at the time so he decided to make his own. He had no experience but just thought he'd like to try it. He started cutting out patterns on his kitchen table and it just grew out from there. |
Endura make a lot of custom kits for cycling clubs, including the British Army. These are designed and manufactured on site in Livingston.
New products are first conceived as sketches and computer renders from the design team.
An early 3D print of Endura's yet to be released lightweight enduro full face.
The development stages of the new lightweight full face. The model in the center of the right image helped with nailing the styling and colorways, while on the far right is the first sample of the final product they received.
Endura have also been hard at work on their next generation of pads that feature the use of D3O's impact protection.
Raw material ready to be cut into the shapes of the many panels that make up each garment.
The old material cutters that had to be worked by hand. The same employee who used these in the old factory is now operating the high-tech cutter that has replaced them. Apparently, the automated cutting table can cut more material in 2 days than a team could achieve in a week on the traditional cutters.
| The core of Endura has always been to bring functionally innovative products to market, and it's about improving rider experience rather than selling with marketing spiel. We'll never be a “marketeer” brand, we'll always be about performance and that has been a challenge in recent years as the whole market has moved towards the kind of 'you need to be shouting loudest' to get noticed approach. |
Prepping the material for the chop before the automated table takes over.
All of the information for each panel to be cut is fed from the computer to the machine, utilizing as much of the material as possible to minimize waste.
The panels in green are already cut, the yellow is the one currently in progress, and the grey parts are the remaining panels awaiting their turn.
Endura use a technique called dye sublimation printing that transfers hi-tech inks from printed sheets straight into the fabric of each jersey.
Another printed sheet is cut before being placed on drying racks.
This is where the blank panels meet their future design fresh out of the print shop.
| Traditionally, our products were heavily influenced by being Scottish and the challenging weather conditions we experience here. That’s had to change considerably as the brand has grown in various markets outside of the UK. We can't just make Scottish-centric products and expect them to sell in Southern Italy. In the early days of exporting, the US market was growing quickly. America has a wide diversity of climates, meaning that the Scottish based products hit the mark in some states which was great, but you go to Southern California and no one needs spray baggy shorts or heavy waterproof jackets. Evolving the range to cater for that wider market was challenging; there was a period when the product count went a little nuts so we've really focused on filtering that down to provide a good balance of breadth and depth of products with global appeal and commercial viability. That's the balance. All that said, we still see a particular strength in robust, functional products for challenging weather conditions, and that definitely comes from our Scottish heritage. |
The ink is transferred from the sheets to the material by a mix of heat and pressure.
Each of the panels can then be peeled off before heading to be stitched into a full garment.
Silicon grippers are injected on pre-assembly.
This room produces over 50,000 garments each year for various clubs, teams, and even a few rainbow stripes for the likes of Rachel Atherton and Kade Edwards.
Each post has a different requirement. Some employees may be stitching together a full garment while others focus purely on difficult areas such as zips.
| Over the last 2 to 3 years, our marketing has changed a lot. With a lot of new brands coming into cycling, there has been a shake-up in the market with many investing heavily in high-quality marketing alongside strong product development. If you are focused only on product and functionality as a brand you get totally left behind. People's purchasing patterns are changing; buying and researching online has made it so much more important for the brand to talk to the end consumers, whereas before a lot of “marketing” efforts had been focused on selling to the dealer and they'd be doing the talking to the end consumer. That shifted a lot over the last 10 years. 3 years ago we were way behind the curve, but now we’d like to think we're up there. We've always had strong, top-level athlete relations, and since the start Endura has used these riders to input new ideas and test products in development. Now we are working more effectively to show the consumers who they are and how they help develop our kit. |
Fresh World Champs jerseys heading out to road World Champ Alejandro Valverde.
Next stop: A shop shelf before their life on the trails can really begin.
MENTIONS: @rossbellphoto @endurasport
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*joking. Interestingly, Sweden was classed as third world and it was originally a term from the Cold War, as it referenced political, not economic status. I.e Sweden was non aligned or neutral
it is bloody expensive though
1 is the quality. Its crap. Ive had numerous pair of endura gloves, amongst other things, and they never last more than a handful of rides before the stitching rips apart or the breathable fabric tears. Overpriced garbage IMHO
The second is down to the bosses comments during the Scottish Independence Referendum. His utter disregard for the Scottish workforce, who make his products, was nothing short of disgusting.
This article tries to portray the company as proudly Scottish.. They arent.
This is a paid advertisement. And that's ok as it helps do things like the advent contest.
Dirtlej are better and £100 cheaper...
MT500/Humvee series for all the year and some Merino bits for the cold/wet. Where they need to improve (IMHO) is on their protection... there POC still rocks.
Also: "Looks like a proframe"
I bought and returned one endura shirt...very strange cut....seams all over the place. Didn't get while they were so highly regarded. Like a lot of other things in mountain biking, there are many claims of innovation/superiority. But imho, most companies still haven't figured out how to make shorts that don't fall down.
Every pocket has ripped at hole at the bottom so I can't use them, and the butt pad thing delaminated really badly.
I really like the shorts, but they have not lasted well at all. Warranty?
The chamois has easy solution... grab another. In fact I have three shorts and 6 different chamois. They're cheap no need to get stingy on those.
I really dont wanna buy Made in Asia biking equipment...all the syntethic fibres and colours... No thanks
Also never mentioned one of the best bits about endura. If you break a zip or damage your gear you can send it back and they'll put a new one in/fix it for you.
Maybe need too visit factory to find out what the problem is?