A small factory in Birmingham has been making whistles the same way for more than 150 years. During a recent visit, we stepped inside to see the machines, the process, and the family business that has carried the company through generations.
First Impressions
Some factories feel new the moment you walk in. Others feel like they’ve been in operation for a very long time. The Acme Whistle factory in Birmingham, England belongs firmly in the second category.
We recently had the chance to visit Acme in Birmingham. For a company that has been making whistles since 1870, the operation feels remarkably grounded. The factory still sits on the same site where production began more than 150 years ago, and is owned by the Hudson family, now several generations in.
The first thing we noticed when we entered the factory was the sound. Metal presses snap and stamp in a steady rhythm as sheets of brass are shaped into small, familiar forms. Bins of unfinished parts move from one station to the next. Machines cycle with the kind of dependable hum that only comes from decades of use. The air carries the faint smell of oil and warm metal, and every so often the sharp, unmistakable note of a whistle being tested cuts cleanly through the workshop.
It’s not hard to imagine the place sounding much the same generations ago. The sounds of the workshop are a reminder of the enduring craftsmanship behind Acme’s whistles, passed down through generations.
A Family Legacy
Acme was founded by Joseph Hudson, a toolmaker who saw an opportunity to improve how people signaled for help or attention. In the late 19th century, London’s Metropolitan Police relied on wooden hand rattles to raise alarms. They worked, but only within a limited distance.
Hudson developed a whistle that could cut through the noise of the street and carry much farther.
His design—the Metropolitan Police Whistle—quickly replaced the rattles and became standard equipment for police forces around the world. More than a century later, the whistle is still being produced in Birmingham.
How the Whistles Are Made
Walking through the factory today, you can see how these whistles come together. Sheets of brass are stamped into shape and formed into the curved bodies that have become instantly recognizable. The parts move through a long sequence of specialized presses and forming machines before becoming finished whistles.
Much of the equipment has been in service for decades. Some machines have been carefully maintained and repaired through generations of workers, continuing to perform the same tasks they were built for long ago. The process itself is intricate, involving many individual steps that require careful setup and a deep familiarity with how the metal behaves.
One small detail that stood out to us was the cork pea that gives many Acme whistles their distinctive trill. Before it’s inserted, the cork balls are soaked in water. The moisture softens the cork just enough to make it flexible, allowing it to be pushed through the narrow opening of the finished whistle. Once inside, the cork returns to its shape and moves freely within the chamber, creating the rolling sound the whistle is known for.
After assembly, each whistle is tested by hand. Every so often, the clear note of a whistle rings out across the workshop floor—bright, sharp, and unmistakable.
A Factory That Endured
As you move through the factory, signs of the company’s long history appear in unexpected places. One of the heavy beams overhead carries a deep gouge from a bomb that struck the building during the Second World War.
The blast halted whistle production, and the British government took over the factory while repairs were made. The same machines normally used to produce whistles were put to work manufacturing goods for the war effort.
When the war ended, the Hudson family returned to a damaged factory and the task of starting over. They repaired what they could, rebuilt what had been lost, and gradually brought whistle production back to life.
More than eighty years later, those machines—and the family business behind them—are still running.
Why It Matters
In a time when many products are made anonymously and far from where they’re sold, Acme stands apart. The machines are familiar. The knowledge has been passed down through generations. And the Hudson family continues to guide the company their ancestor founded more than 150 years ago.
Spending time inside the factory makes it clear why that continuity matters. The whistles themselves are simple tools, but behind them is a long history of skill, persistence, and careful manufacturing.
That’s the kind of company we’re proud to work with.
When you pick up an Acme whistle today, you’re holding something made in the same factory where it all began, by a family that rebuilt their business and carried it forward through generations.
And that kind of staying power still matters.
