A former member of the Red Devils skydiving team and stuntman on some of the Mission Impossible films has used the textiles skills he picked up sewing parachutes to create one of the country’s biggest beanbag manufacturers.
Ex-Parachute Regiment soldier Ray Armstrong launched GreatBeanBags in 2005 as a spin-off from his Nottingham-based performance textiles manufacturer Precision Stitching.
The 56-year-old honed his skills making and repairing parachute equipment in his spare room and expanded into the business of making and repairing other military equipment.
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Ray was a soldier in the Paras in the 80s, and went on to join the Red Devil’s Freefall Team, where he also became an instructor and parachute rigger.
More recently he has worked on parachute stunt and support roles on box office hits including Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning, Mission: Impossible Fallout and the Marvel superhero film Black Widow – where he was a stunt double for Ray Winstone.
When Ray first launched his factory he made things including sports and kayak equipment and Gore-Tex mountain biking clothing for Polaris.
Precision Stitching went on to make clothing and textiles for a mix of customers in different industries – including fishing, medical and aerospace – counting the NHS and Virgin Atlantic among its customers.
He said that as word spread, so did demand, and the business eventually grew into a 40-person team.
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All the GreatBeanBags products – including ranges for gamers, pets, outdoor use, medical environments and schools – are handmade to order by the team in Nottingham. Along the way he was supported by colleagues Patrick Tonks and Ste Barnes.
It uses ‘just In time’ manufacturing process which see everything is made the day they are ordered, and sent out using a next-day delivery service for fast delivery and no wasted surplus products.
Despite the success of the business Ray – who did his first jump aged 16 – said he maintains his passion for skydiving and still regularly works as a TV and film stuntman.
Ray said: “Our business journey at GreatBeanBags has certainly been interesting.
“I would never have imagined that we would go from making and repairing parachutes to being the 海角视频’s biggest bean bag retailer.
“We’re incredibly lucky to have worked with a huge mix of customers, including well-known companies like Channel 4, Paul Smith, Deliveroo, Vans, Everyman Cinema and Innocent Smoothies to name a few.”
He said despite the rise of cheaper imports and online marketplaces, GreatBeanBags has established a firm reputation in the 海角视频 due to its products being handmade to premium British quality standards and its team of skilled designers and production staff.
Precision Stitching is still heavily involved in supplying parachuting equipment across an array of industries – and even manufactured the ejector seat parachute assembly for James Bond’s Spectre film in 2015.