Creation
Leather
‘All our hides come from a herd in Bavaria - always the best A-grade quality, and always bull leather because cow leather has areas of stretching.’ Mike Pratt process area manager for leather interior trim.
‘The dyeing process was developed especially for us - there are 15 colours in the standard range, although we can reproduce any colour upon request. We can use up to 18 hides per car.’
As you’d expect the leather used in a Rolls-Royce interior is of the absolute highest quality. Softer, quieter (it’s so supple it doesn’t squeak when it rubs together) and dyed to ensure the colour permeates through the full depth of the skin to combat ageing, we use three different types of hide to complete our interiors: natural grain for the seats and trims; pre-shrunk on the sunlit areas such as the dashboard, and tipped (embossed) for the central console and door trims. Our craftspeople inspect, cut, glue and stitch the 450 individual pieces of leather, and take a total of 17 days to complete a fully upholstered interior.
Ben Creasey is a laser cutter, responsible for inspecting each hide, then operating the hi-tech machinery that cuts it into the required pieces.
‘Once I’m happy with the quality of the skin and the pattern layout, it’s logged into the computer system and projected by laser onto the skin. It’s like creating a jigsaw puzzle. The leather is sucked down onto the cutting table by a vacuum, to stop it moving, and then the laser-guided, computer-controlled knife trims it at 56,000 incisions per minute.’ Not only is this the quickest and most precise way to cut the hundreds of individual pieces from the hides, but it also minimizes wastage. Off-cuts that do arise from the trimming process are saved for use in the fashion industry.
Once the pieces have been cut, specialist sewing machinists like Wendy Craig begin the painstaking job of stitching the leather panels together.
‘I started as a machinist here because I love cars, explains Wendy. Before Rolls-Royce I was making lingerie, so I’ve gone from small underwear to large seats!
‘The most skilled part of the job is topstitching (the stitches that are visible). It’s crucial to keep it perfectly even around the corners. When a car is finished we love to go as a team to see our handiwork. We’re always delighted with the finished result.’
