DTI RV Parts & Appliances has announced that Eivion Williams, former President and Owner of Mohawk Trailer Supply, Inc., has been added to the DTI team as the Director of Dealership Development for the Northeast Region.

Jess Fowler, President of DTI stated, "We are very excited to have Eivion on our team. As the owner of Mohawk he displayed exceptional leadership and innovation and possesses the same fundamental values that DTI has used for over 20 years. Eivion will fit perfectly within our team of professionals striving to help dealers run profitable, efficient parts and service departments."

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Williams was the very first employee of Mohawk Trailer Supply located in Schenectady, New York. He was hired by the founder and owner Frank Townley and began his career there on January 2, 1967. Eivion was appointed as vice president in 1969 and became Mohawk’s president in 1976. Townley retired in 1978 and Mr. Williams continued on as Owner and President until 1990. Williams has been credited with many innovations and improvements in the distribution of RV parts and accessories. Including, an automated parts retrieval system, a 24 hour a day telephone voice response system and one of the industries first computerized ordering programs. Mohawk, a regional distributor to the Northeast, received numerous awards, including awards for catalog production and was named Distributor of the Year in 1986, 1988 and 1989. In addition to his roles at Mohawk, Eivion served as President of the Warehouse Distributors Association or WDA (Currently RVAA) from 1986-1987. Eivion and Nan, his wife of 38 years reside in Clifton Park, New York. They have two children Erin and Sean and three grandsons.
 

Eivion will be in charge of increasing awareness of DTI and its programs and services to dealerships across the Northeast, including New York, New Jersey, Vermont, West Virginia, Maine, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maryland and Connecticut. All of the states serviced from the DTI - Albany, New York warehouse, pictured below,which opened on May 1, 2003.

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The Caravan Salon, International Trade Fair for motorhomes, travel trailers and camping equipment will be held from August 29 through September 7 at the fairgrounds in Dusseldorf, Germany. Over 500 exhibitors and 150,000 visitors from around the world are expected to attend.

Caravan Salon exhibitors will showcase the newest trends and innovations in nine halls spanning 1.9 million square feet of gross exhibit space,

As in the past, a trade visitor and media day restricting entry to the show will be held on the first day (August 29).

For more information on visiting or exhibiting at the Caravan Salon 2003, contact Messe Dusseldorf North America, 150 N. Michigan Ave., Suite 2920, Chicago, IL 60601. Telephone 312-781-5180, e-mail info@mdna.com, or visit the web site atwww.mdna.com.

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The RV industry's work to create a national network of professional, qualified RV service personnel surpassed a major milestone when the 2,000th service technician was certified through the RVDA/RVIA Certified RV Technician Program in 2003.

"Through their outstanding performance on the certification exam, Certified RV Technicians have demonstrated that they are truly professionals in their field," said RVDA/RVIA Certification Governing Board Chairman Jim Fogdall of Ace Fogdall Inc., Cedar Falls, IA. "These technicians, and those that join their ranks in the future, will play a vital part in our industry's ability to increase customer satisfaction."

Since 1993, 2,103 technicians have been certified under the Certified RV Technician Program, which recognizes technicians possessing well-rounded RV repair, diagnostic and component part replacement skills.

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"RVIA is proud of its support of the RV Service Technician Certification Program," said RVIA President Dave Humphreys. "The publication of the technical textbooks, the improvements in the Trouble Shooter Clinics, and taking the satellite training network national have all been significant steps in providing the Certification Program with increasing momentum. The development of the Shop Training Manuals will only add to that momentum."

"Certified technicians and the dealers that employ them help keep RV travelers happily on the road to their destinations," said RVDA President Mike Molino. "RVDA, through the RVDA Education Foundation and new RV Learning Center, looks forward to continuing our strong support of the certification program and reaching even more technicians."

Any RV service technician is eligible to register for the written certification test that covers basic RV service areas. Those technicians attaining the highest prescribed scores and having appropriate work experience become Master Certified Technicians.

For more information on the certification program, visit, www.rvtechnician.org, send an e-mail to info@rvda.org, or call (703) 591-7130.

Winnebago Industries, Inc. has announced the sale of the majority of the company's dealer financing receivables in the Winnebago Acceptance Corporation (WAC) to GE Commercial Distribution Finance Corporation for approximately $34 million.

Winnebago Industries' Chairman, CEO and President Bruce Hertzke said, "We welcome GE Commercial Distribution Finance Corporation's continued commitment to the RV industry. The sale of the WAC receivables will allow Winnebago Industries' to focus on what we do best, the production of high quality motor homes."

Thor Industries, Inc. (NYSE: THO) announced record preliminary sales for the third quarter and nine months ended April 30, 2003.

Sales in the quarter were $411.9 million, the highest for any quarter in the company’s history, and up 12% from $367.7 million last year. RV sales in the quarter were $358.4 million, up 19% from $300.7 million last year. Bus sales in the quarter were $53.5 million, down 20% from $67.0 million last year.

Sales in the 9 months were $1,148,075,000, up 36% from $844.1 million last year. RV sales in the 9 months were $986.5 million, up 57% from $629.0 million last year. Bus sales in the 9 months were $161.6 million, down 25% from $215.1 million last year.

Thor’s recreation vehicle retail registrations were up 9% in the quarter. These positive results were achieved despite the runup to the Iraq war and the war itself. Complete results are expected to be announced in approximately 4 weeks.

With the Iraq fighting essentially over, the Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence index surged to 81 in April compared to 61.4 in March, the second largest gain in the survey’s history. This bodes very well for the RV industry. RV industry wholesale shipments of travel trailers, fifth wheels, and motorhomes were up 10% in March and 15% year to date, according to the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association.

The National Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds (ARVC) and Friend Communications have joined forces to add a 24/7, online reservation system to ARVC’s consumer web site, GoCampingAmerica.com, providing campers with instant confirmation for their travel plans. The service also provides consumers the same level of convenience that many hotels and motels already provide with online reservations.

ARVC President Linda Profaizer says the service enhancement provided by Friend Communications is an added benefit for those ARVC member RV parks and campgrounds who don’t currently have online systems and choose to use the reservations service provided by Friend Communications.

Friend Communications developed this online reservation system specifically for the campground industry. It combines real-time Internet reservations with sophisticated, Web-based front office management tools.

“Alliances like this one have great potential to boost business for ARVC members and make traveling easier for campers and RVers. It’s a win-win for everyone when technology can enhance the experience for our consumers and provide efficiency to our parks. It’s our goal to make sure our industry is in tune with our consumers, providing the services they want,” said Profaizer.

Friend Communications President Gary Pace says the service gives RV park and campground owners complete control of the entire process.

“Other products and services force park and campground owners to upload inventory to the Internet. With our system, everything is centralized and our customers maintain control of their complete inventory, using a single application” said Pace.

The new reservation system will improve business for park and campground operators because it operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week and is completely automated. The system is entirely Web-based and eliminates the need for expensive software. Only a simple, dial-up Internet connection is required, making it easy for park owners to get started and easy for them to manage once underway.

The reservation tool is completely automated, unlike many conventional systems that force campers to trade e-mails with park operators, a time-consuming process that aggravates many consumers. The Friend Communications system completely automates this process.

A new survey finds that RV owners will be traveling throughout the U.S. in greater numbers this spring/summer than a year ago.

According to the "Campfire Canvass," a biannual survey of 660 RV owners conducted for the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association (RVIA):
* 71% of RV owners expect to travel more this summer than they did last year.
* 27% percent say they'll travel about the same.

Enjoying nature, spending quality time with family, escaping stress and saving money were cited as the top reasons to travel more by RV. The survey was conducted by Robert Hitlin Research Associates of Reston, VA.

The ability to travel at the spur of the moment (84%) ranked as the most important advantage by those with RVing plans this spring and summer. Escaping to nature and remote locations (84%), getting an opportunity to rejuvenate (69%) and pursuing favorite hobbies and passions (49%) were also cited as important advantages of RV travel.

For the full story log onto: http://www.rvia.org/media/ newsreleases/breakingnews/ p0330.htm

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