“When you buy British, you buy quality. We've had people go abroad to manufacture, and they come back because our quality is better.”
Martin Strong, HAY BAR
In this episode of Made in Britain UnPacked, Matt Stadlen sits down with Martin Strong from HAY BAR, a Birmingham-based family business that’s been turning simple ideas into durable products for decades. What started with Martin’s father designing lorry parts at the kitchen table has grown into a thriving manufacturing company that now makes thousands of horse troughs every year, half of which are exported overseas.
Martin explains why choosing British-made matters – from the unmatched quality of materials sourced locally, to the pride of seeing products used across the UK and beyond. With a process rooted entirely in Britain, HAY BAR proves that resilience, sustainability, and innovation can thrive in family-run manufacturing. Discover how tradition, pride, and engineering skill come together in this story of British quality that customers abroad come back to time and again.
As Martin says, “[Our products are] made in Britain, from plastic produced 20 minutes down the road. The benefit is that they can’t rust or rot. They’re brilliant – and tough to break.”