The Legend Rekindled at Country Coach

Not exactly like the legends of Paul Bunyan, but visionaries Bob and Ron Lee set out to build the world’s finest motorcoaches. Few people, and fewer companies, ever reach legendary status among their peers and customers, but Bob Lee did. And Country Coach did. 

The past few years were not kind to one of the industry’s premier builders of high-end luxury motorhomes, but the flames of success are being fueled once again by a man personally groomed by Bob Lee to take over as president … and he did just that earlier this year. His name is Jay Howard.

In just the past year the company has doubled production, doubled sales, doubled the number of dealer locations, added over 500 new employees, invested heavily in quality control and engineering projects, significantly cut expenses, redesigned all products from the wheels up during the past eighteen months and have been profitable for several quarters.

Howard was candid in saying, “We lost some customers, and that hurt. There was a lack of satisfaction with the company from many customers, but most of them stuck it out, and amazingly hung in there while we reorganized and rejuvenated the company once again.

We were able to rekindle the Country Coach experience for our employees. They were intimately involved in the decision making and the changes that were required to return the company to a position of respect and confidence for everyone.”

RV Industry Heritage

WILBUR SHULT
Leadership through Acquisition

In the summer of 1933, a young, Elkhart, Indiana, clothing store clerk visited the Chicago World’s Fair and fell in love with the new-fangled trailers he saw there. After his return home, one evening while enjoying an ice cream cone with his parents at a local stand, he was amazed to see a car drive in towing one of these amazing trailers. He brashly asked the owner if he would show him through the unit. Noting that it was a Covered Wagon model made by Arthur Sherman’s company in the northern Detroit suburbs, he determined to get one and try to become a dealer. With the depression still in full swing, capital investors were nearly impossible to come by. He attempted to borrow some start-up money from his father who advised him he was "crazy" and refused to support his "folly".

But his mother came through with $300 in “pin money” and Shult immediately took off to make his mark on the new industry.