Wheels of fortune for Silver Cross - the prams that pushed themselves all the way to the top

The origins of the company can be traced to an industrial suburb of Leeds, where William Wilson, who had begun his career as a blacksmith in Sunderland's dockyards, decided to put his ambitious ideas to the test.

Opening a workshop in Hunslet in 1877, Wilson's plan was a simple one. To build the best prams the world had ever seen. Ever since he was a child, Wilson had been obsessed with engineering and having designed a blueprint for a new kind of suspension system, the now iconic Silver Cross pram was born.

Today his original model remains instantly recognisable, but few know the true story behind the company which has time and again fought back from financial uncertainty, economic depression and the changing fads of the British public.

"It's a fascinating tale of British engineering at its best and also the sheer determination of everyone involved with the company over the years to ensure its survival," says Colin Ward, whose book Silver Cross: The Story of a Great British Brand is as much a guide to achieving success in fluctuating economic times as it is a history of the firm. "There have been a lot of ups and downs over the years, but the fact it is still here doing business makes it a genuine success story."

Thanks to Wilson's hard work, Silver Cross soon became the pram of choice and when it received the royal seal of approval in the 1900s, it was also a brand the nation took to its heart. One of the first companies to exploit the potential of mail order and higher purchase, Silver Cross soon saw off many of its rivals and quickly recognised the importance of good publicity.

When Princes Grace was photographed with a Silver Cross, pram sales boomed and when it became the transport of choice for baby princes William and Harry in the 1980s the retro designs suddenly found itself back in vogue. Dubbed the Rolls Royce of prams, from the start Silver Cross prided itself on quality, but over the last 130 years there have been numerous times when those associated with the company have feared that might not be enough to ensure its survival.

Following the First and Second World Wars, Silver Cross capitalised on the wave of optimism and feel-good factor which had replaced years of austerity. During the 1950s, consumer goods were in demand, Britain was booming and for a while it seemed the good times would last forever. They didn't. The following decade ushered in a very different spirit and it made Silver Cross seem horribly old fashioned.

"The Swinging Sixties and the London scene was everything that Silver Cross was not," says Colin, who was asked by Silver Cross to record the company's history for posterity. "Anti-establishment and anti-tradition, the social revolution which swept Britain brought about radical changes to consumer fashions. The generation that was about to become parents did not want anything their own parents had owned and that included baby products.

"Young designers were breaking the rules and introducing bright, rich colour palettes and psychedelic patterns and this movement didn't fit easily with Silver Cross."

Yet against all the odds, Silver Cross did survive. It was partly down to the sheer size of the company, but largely due to its commitment to innovation. It may have traded on its history, but within the factory walls, which had by then moved to Guiseley, there was a recognition that if its future was to be as successful as the past, the business would have to meet the needs of the time.

Not every decision was a winning one. When a recently retired aircraft designer brought along his ideas for a new children's pushchair, he was politely informed the product was not of suitable quality for Silver Cross and the design did not have a future. The man was Owen Maclaren, who went on to revolutionise the children's pushchair market. For any other company, the decision might have proved fatal, but Silver Cross fought back with its own lightweight designs.

However, there were some hurdles which couldn't be jumped with quick thinking alone and when the 1990s began with a public relations disaster and ended with falling profits and job losses, it seemed the country was about to lose one of its most treasured brands.

"It became clear there was a problem with some of the Wayfarer buggies, with one of the plastic components breaking under stress," says Colin. "The story was picked up by Watchdog and while the company were given their right to reply, they declined to comment.

"The whole thing snowballed and Silver Cross was forced into a massive product recall costing millions of pounds. It was a serious blow to the company's reputation and unfortunately it coincided with a devastating recession and a general downward spiral in manufacturing.

"Making the prams was incredibly labour intensive, which pushed up costs at the very time when competitors were dropping their prices."

Sales plummeted and with the company losing money fast, redundancies among its 500-strong workforce became inevitable.

Silver Cross was in serious difficulties and as the banks moved in to try to turn it around, the Wilson family lost control of the company and many feared a manufacturing tradition that had survived virtually unchanged for over 100 years was about to be lost forever.

The company's luck and good fortune, which had seen it through more than a century of change and upheaval, seemed to have run out.

"By right that should have been that," adds Colin. "But quite quickly it became clear there were a lot of people out there who didn't want to let it go to the wall. The series of takeovers and deals which followed the initial collapse were not entirely altruistic and financial calculations had to be made, but there's no doubt those involved with the company over this period were also motivated by their respect for the history and traditions of a great British manufacturer."

The company was eventually bought by its present owner, Alan Halsall, in 2002 and the Lancashire toy manufacturer immediately had some hard decisions to make.

"Alan believed in the potential of quality British brands, but he also accepted there were limits to what could be achieved and he did not see a future in the Guiseley factory," says Colin. "It was a hard economic fact that production in the Far East could achieve the same high standards, but at a much lower cost."

However, moving the entire manufacturing base abroad seemed like a betrayal and while the latest designs were sent to Asia, it was decided to keep the production of Silver Cross prams in this country. A new headquarters was opened in Skipton and the green shoots of recovery didn't take long to sprout.

"Within six months of shutting down the Guiseley factory, new heritage coach prams started rolling off the production line in Bingley. Silver Cross was back in business and in recent years it has become one of the fastest growing private companies in the UK.

"Success has never been a foregone conclusion for Silver Cross. The company has adapted, but crucially it has not changed its character. Silver Cross still embodies the same values and virtues as it did back in 1877 and really it's that which has been at the heart of its prosperity."

Silver Cross: The Story of a Great British Brand, published by History Writer, priced 9.99 is available to order through the Yorkshire Post Bookshop on 0800 013232 or online at www.yorkshirepostbookshop.co.uk