With Brexit six months away and no deal in sight, British businesses are bracing themselves for an uncertain future.

Some of our most famous brands fear tariffs and more red tape will see queues of lorries at ports, goods stranded and jobs lost.

Unilever – whose Marmite yeast extract spread has been shipped around the world from Burton-on-Trent, Staffs, since 1902 – has said it will move its HQ to Rotterdam in Holland, but claimed it was “not about Brexit”.

Yet plenty of our companies are thriving despite warnings of doom as we leave the European Union.

We’re the eighth largest manufacturing nation, with skilled workers in state-of-the-art factories making world-class products – from bats to biscuits and boots to bikes.

Our brands are still iconic and in demand from customers right across the world.

Some craftspeople use intricate skills handed down from previous generations to make luxury goods the envy of the world.

Others churn out brilliant products on an epic scale which are enjoyed globally.

A new documentary goes behind the scenes of the factories proudly making goods that show the world the very best of British. Made in Britain is on ITV4 at 8pm on Tuesday.

Brompton Bikes

Traditional Brompton folding bikes start at £900

Folding bikes have been with us since the 1800s – but Brompton revolutionised them.

Invented by engineer Andrew Ritchie in his flat in 1976, a hand-made bike now rolls out of the factory in Greenford, Middlesex, every three minutes.

And three in four of the 50,000 made each year are exported. Holland loves them – in fact the Dutch are said to have as many Bromptons as fridges! Each bike has over 1,200 components and can be ordered in one of 13 colours.

With a choice of add-ons like mud guards and luggage racks, it means buyers can choose from 16million combinations.

Forty-two years on – and with stores across the world – the company isn’t resting on its laurels. As well as traditional Bromptons, starting from about £900, it has begun producing the next generation – the Brompton Electric.

Dr Martens

There are 600,000 pairs of the iconic shoes made in the UK each year

With unique air-filled “bouncing” soles, yellow stitching, tough leather uppers and eight eyelets, Dr. Martens boots have become an icon since they were first made in Britain in 1960.

Invented in Germany in 1945 by Dr. Klaus Maertens, a 25-year-old ex-soldier, to cushion his injured foot – the shoe was spotted by British cobbler Bill Griggs.

He licensed it, added those iconic touches and launched Airwair as a working man’s boot for £2 a pair on April 2 1960.

By the end of the decade skinheads – and The Who rock star Pete Townshend –adopted them as a symbol of working class defiance.

Since then they have been worn by everyone from politician Tony Benn to Pope John Paul II, The Clash, punks, goths, and Lady Gaga. Comic Alexei Sayle had a hit with Dr Martens Boots.

Today 60,000 pairs a year are still made in Griggs’ Cobbs Lane factory in Wollaston, Northants, and 6million at plants worldwide to keep up with demand.

It takes 48 workers just 53 minutes to make a pair. Sales are still soaring – especially in the Far East – and last year revenue hit £291million.

Bremont watches

As worn by Bear Grylls and Ewan McGregor (
Image:
Matt Grayson)

Seen on the wrists of explorer Bear Grylls and actor Ewan McGregor, Bremont is one a handful of British watchmakers competing on the world stage.

Brothers Nick and Charles English set up the firm in 2002 – inspired by their RAF pilot dad Euan, who died in a 1995 vintage plane crash that nearly killed Nick too.

Each year, 12,000 watches – each with 300 components – are hand-made by skilled staff at its Henley-on-Thames factory then “tested beyond endurance”. Bremonts are loved by sailors, pilots and explorers.

“We tap in to the incredible history of British watchmaking,” says Nick. “The world sets its time by Greenwich not Geneva.”

Tie-ins with classic British brands like Jaguar help Bremont export 40 per cent of its watches globally – giving Swiss giants a run for their money.

Airwair, Docs, DMs – whatever you call them they’re one of the greatest British brands ever.

Maldon Sea Salt

Maldon has been in business for more than 130 years (
Image:
Maldon Sea Salt Company)

Salt was once a currency – and a family-owned company has been turning it in to cash for 134 years.

But business really boomed when TV chef Delia Smith said it was an “absolutely pure salt that tastes of the sea” in 2000.

Now 10million boxes a year – 17,000 tonnes – leave the Osborne family’s Maldon Sea Salt factory in Essex. It’s exported to 60 countries, providing 30 local jobs.

The salt is harvested by boiling seawater from the River Blackwater at the highest tides – after it’s absorbed dried salt deposits on marsh plants.

Salt was harvested there in Roman times – and the family aim to produce their world-class British salt for years to come.

Gray-Nicolls cricket bats

Former England captain Alastair Cook uses Gray-Nicolls (
Image:
onEdition)

LJ Nicolls made the bat that cricket icon WG Grace used to notch his 100th 100 in 1894. A merger with rival HJ Gray in the 1940s saw the birth of a legendary brand.

Gray-Nicolls bats have been used by stars from CB Fry to Brian Lara – who hit 501 with one – and Alastair Cook.

They still use finest English willow at the factory in Roberts-bridge, East Sussex, and export the wood to its factories in Asia and Australia.

Top-end bats are £1,000 – but start at £40. And the family-run company is targeting India to help boost world exports.

Wagon Wheels

South Wales churns out 125 MILLION Wagon Wheels a year

Marshmallow and jam, sandwiched by two round biscuits, coated in chocolate... Wagon Wheels have been a lunchbox classic since 1948.

Each year a single factory in Llantarnam, South Wales, makes 125million of them – and not just for fans here.

St Albans-based Burton’s Biscuit Company – which traces its British baking history back to the mid-1800s – exports to the US, Australia, Canada and across the globe.

The company – which employs 1,700 “biscuit experts” – also makes world-beaters like Jammie Dodgers, Maryland Cookies and Lyons’ Jam Tea Cakes.

The Wagon Wheels production lines runs 24 hours a day, five days a week, using 100 tonnes of flour and 15 tonnes of sugar a week to make the biscuits – plus 50 tonnes of chocolate to coat them.

Burton’s has more factories in Blackpool and Edinburgh – and a chocolate refinery on Merseyside.

Netherton Foundry

The foundry produces frying pans in Shropshire, the birthplace of the industrial revolution

Shropshire was the heart of Britain’s Industrial Revolution – now craftsmen at Netherton Foundry produce 1,000 frying pans a day that are prized worldwide.

The family-owned firm’s iron products are made from 80 per cent recycled material. Its spun iron is half as heavy as cast iron yet just as tough.

Metal is heated to over 1200 degrees, rolled to 4mm thickness then cut in to sizes that experts spin in to shape.

After being treated with flax oil to make the pan non-stick, a locally grown oak handle is added before heading to South Korea, Malaysia and Mexico.

A sizzling UK success story.

We can make it post-Brexit

There is nothing standing in the way of British businesses flourishing even after we leave the European Union, insists business expert Michael Ogilvie.

“People are right to be concerned about Brexit and the tough trading conditions on the horizon,” says the 60-year-old chief executive of management consultancy The Profit Team.

“There will be a short, sharp shock and businesses have to weather that.

“But I don’t think it is as bad as some of the politicians are making out.

“In the aftermath of Brexit, British brands have a job to make the Best of British tag even more important.

“The whole country is going to have to work hard to make the words Made in Britain something people are proud of.

“We are going to have to link the word Britain to quality, reassurance and aspiration.

“With those qualities, consumers will be willing to buy the products even if they are slightly more expensive.

“The key to any business is being able to distinguish yourself from your competition.

“And aside from Brexit, there’s going to be so much change happening in the years ahead, such as artificial intelligence and developing technologies.

“All of us in business need to stay on top of those changes.”