Economics and Business ACME Whistles Trip

November 2009
The Lower 6th Economics and Business students visited ACME Whistles Ltd in Hockley, Birmingham. They were greeted by Simon Topman, the Chief Executive of the company. The visit began with a brief introduction into who the company is and how it got to where it is.  Way back in the 1860s, Joseph Hudson, who was a Birmingham trained toolmaker, converted his humble washroom at St. Marks Square, which he rented for one shilling and six pence per week into a workshop. Here he did anything he could to supplement the family income from watch repairing to cobbling shoes. He eventually landed a huge contract for the police to replace the old style rattle with a whistle. Today Acme whistles are recognized as some of the finest whistles manufactured in the world today.   It now sells in 119 countries around the world and produces 83 different types of whistles including:
 
·         The Metropolitan Police Whistle
·         The Acme Thunderer
·         The Acme Siren
·         Silent Dog Whistle
·         Scout Whistle
·         Life Jacket Watersafe Whistle                       
·         The Tornado    
                                                            

              

                                                   Founder - Joseph Hudson              Sample whistles
The students than got a tour of the production site which consisted mainly of labour intensive and highly traditional techniques. The company seemed to pride itself in having not only the highest quality whistles but also on its innovation and most importantly highly established brand name that has been around for 139 years.
To finish off, there was a highly engaging question and answer session which covered aspects such as:
 
·         The finance of the company
·         International marketing
·         Patents
·         Staff motivation
·         Product life cycle
·         Research and development
·         Advertising
·         The current recession
 
Overall, it was a highly beneficial visit and really got pupils to see a real working business and they were able to apply various concepts that they have studied. To make the visit even more worthwhile to them, they were given a treat - goody bags which contained the ACME Thunderer Whistle!


Back