RV Industry News
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| May 2004 | Volume 29 - Number 10 | |
RV Industry News | ||
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Coachmen RV Expands Again
The new plant has 114,300 square feet and is situated on 12 acres. Built by another RV manufacturer in 2000, this facility will be used to produce the mid-size travel trailers and fifth wheels previously produced at Coachmen’s Goshen, Indiana plant, plus some new product offerings. The original 79,000 square foot building in Goshen has been sold to a company located there. According to Michael R. Terlep, President of Coachmen RV Company, “This facility will allow us to increase our output over the old plant by more than 40 percent. It will also improve our operating efficiencies and quality due to its size and layout, and its proximity to other support operations located on our main complex.” Most of the 90 employees from the Goshen plant are transferring to the new facility, and Coachmen plans to hire up to 50 additional people in order to meet production demand. “We are also pleased that the new plant will provide an improved work environment and better facilities for our employees,” Terlep added. Terlep praised the employees for their support and enthusiasm regarding the move. “The voices of our team members played a large role in our decision to make this investment,” he said. “We looked to our team members and listened to their input as we defined the layout of the new plant for improved material flow, work content and throughput. Their positive response and valuable insight has been absolutely phenomenal.” Webb Wheel Products to Build New Manufacturing Facility
Webb is currently re-organizing their business to significantly improve customer service by identifying and focusing on the needs of particular market segments within the heavy-duty transportation industry. Mr. Finkbiner, addressing Webb’s commitment to the heavy-duty industry, stated “The substantial investment being announced today clearly indicates Webb’s financial stability and commitment to structuring our business to meet the specific requirements of our customers. This investment will ensure Webb’s position as a premier, top quality manufacturer for the OEM market as well as the aftermarket.” Tell City was chosen as the site of this new facility due to proximity to key markets combined with the community’s commitment to local businesses. Perry County and the State of Indiana will provide grants for training, energy conservation measures and other projects related to new business development in the area. Webb Wheel Products, Inc., headquartered in Cullman, Alabama, is a Marmon Highway Technologies company that manufactures spoke wheels, hubs, brake drums and rotors for medium and heavy duty trucks, trailers and buses. Marmon Highway Technologies companies are members of The Marmon Group, an international association of manufacturing and service companies with collective sales of $5 billion. Tire Safety Week Recreation Vehicle Safety Education Foundation announced the inclusion of the RV industry in "National Tire Safety Week" April 25 – May 1 2004. This is the first time the RV industry has been involved in this program. Walter Cannon Executive Director of RVSEF"and Dan Zielinski Director of Communications for the Rubber Manufactures Association have teamed up to increase the awareness of the RV industry in proper tire care and the importance of checking tire air pressure. They encourage RV dealers to take this opportunity to educate their customers on proper tire care and the importance in maintaining the proper inflation pressure. Future plans include a greater role in "Tire Safety Week" for the RV industry. Mr. Cannon states "as our industry grows it is a positive step to see our involvement in programs such as this. RMA is a Gold level contributor to the RV Safety Education Foundation and promotes Tire Safety year round through its members.” More information on these organizations can be found: Rubber Manufacturers Association – www.rma.org RV Safety Education Foundation – www.rvsafety.org
Cruise America’s 25,000th Rental
RV Rolls off the Assembly Line
Cruise America, the world’s largest provider of motorhome rental holidays, announced April 14th with Four Winds International, a subsidiary of Thor Industries (THOR, NYSE), the largest manufacturer of recreation vehicles, the construction of the 25,000th recreation vehicle for Cruise America’s RV rental fleet. To celebrate the occasion, representatives of the two companies will drive the 25,000th coach through a banner at a noontime ceremony at the Four Winds assembly plant in Indiana. Cruise America also debuted samples of the 1,000 newly built RV’s decorated with poignant images commemorating the American spirit. The six distinctly American illustrations include: the Statue of Liberty, Mount Rushmore, Golden Gate Bridge, Portland Head Lighthouse, Yosemite Valley, and Monument Valley. Robert Smalley, President of Cruise America said; “The Smalley family has brought affordable and accessible transportation to the American public across the United States for over eighty-five continuous years and we at Cruise America want to send a salute to the country. In this era of uncertainty in travel, Cruise America offers fun and adventurous vacations here at home.” Blue Ox® Offers Installation Training for Dealers
Technicians are brought into the factory and rotated through sessions on the individual products; giving them the opportunity to not only learn from the factory associates, but also from each other. Presidents Club training provides approximately 10 training hours, which can also be used towards RVIA technician re-certification. There is no fee for newly signed Presidents Club Blue Ox program dealers, for any others interested in taking the class there is a nominal fee. For more information on Blue Ox Presidents Club Dealer Training, and the complete line of Blue Ox steering, towing, braking, and weight distributing hitch systems, contact Blue Ox, One Mill Rd., PO Box P, Pender NE 68047; (402) 385-3051; Fax (402) 385-3360; e-mail info@blueox.us Second RV Auction Held in Effort to Aid Dealers
Due to the growth of the RV market there has been a shortage of used RVs. Transport Auctions owner, Stan Zeamer says that the RV demand is high right now and there are just not enough of them to meet the need. PRVCA Board Chairman, Dan Saltzgiver of Reichart’s Camping Center says that "We don’t have enough used RV products. This auction is a nice way for dealers to exchange products and allow them to be in better control of their inventory." Brad Rhone of Rhone’s Travel Trailers, Inc., a Williamsport, PA based company, says that the auction is something that the industry needs. "With the strength of the market we need auctions." Dan Ertel, also from Rhone’s says "There hasn’t been an auction in PA before and this gives us the chance to buy." The first PRVCA sponsored dealer only auction was held in November of 2003 where twenty out of seventy-six units were sold. At the first auction Rhone and Ertel did not take any units to sell but bought four RV units that they have since resold. This time around, they brought one RV unit to the auction to sell and bought another three units. To prepare for the auction Rhone and Ertel did Internet research on the Transport Auctions Web site and arrived a couple of hours early to inspect all the products. "The quality of the product at the auction is excellent," comments Rhone. Both gentlemen agreed on the ease of auction procedure. "The auction is quick paced, but not fast paced. This helps the RV dealers who are not experienced at auction. The auction also allows dealers to go up and look at the products while the bidding is taking place. That way they have time to think and make a good decision," comments Ertel. For dealers who can not attend the auction in person, bids can be made over the phone and via the Internet. Both men are very impressed by the auction, but are looking forward to having more dealers and buyers in the future. Although the auction is in its infancy, dealers, PRVCA and Transport Auctions are looking for steady expansion. Transport Auctions is working with RVDA (Recreation Vehicle Dealers Association), car dealerships and other states to build and promote this auction. Their goal is to grow it long term by reputation. Stan Zeamer says that "The cooperation we receive from dealers is great, we just need more participation. Our goal is to get 50 units up on the block. All auctions around the country start this way. We know that we need to stay the course and be persistent in getting the message out. We aren’t surprised. We anticipate a long, slow growth." The next RV auction will be held on October 19, 2004 at Transport Auctions. PRVCA’s Executive Vice President Lenington sees this as the opportune time for dealerships in the northeast to slim down their used inventory for the winter and for southern dealers to pickup the product they need as the snowbirds arrive. PRVCA plans to get this message out with the help of the Florida RV Trade Association and RVDA. For more information on PRVCA and Transport Auctions please visit the web at www.prvca.org and www.transport-auctions. com. All Seasons RV Acquires Baseball Stadium Naming Rights
All Seasons RV in Yuba City, California announces its agreement to become the naming rights sponsor of the baseball stadium in Marysville, California. Marysville is located 25 miles north of Sacramento. Ernie Friesen, owner of All Seasons RV for over 20 years and former chairman of the Recreation Vehicle Dealers Association (RVDA), said, "The RV community is a wonderful one and on their behalf I wanted to give something back to the area we work in. The stadium is a great place for families to gather and we wanted to help that along." All Seasons RV Stadium has been the site of a variety of baseball events over the years including an exhibition game that featured Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson. The stadium is now home to the Yuba-Sutter Gold Sox of the California Collegiate League. The stadium underwent an extensive renovation and upgrade in 2000 as the City of Marysville prepared for the rebirth of organized baseball. Renovation plans continue with additional screening and new restroom facilities on schedule for this summer. The All Seasons RV Stadium logo, in order to strive for that fun look, uses a circus- like type style set on the patriotic colors of red, white and blue. The flags on the logo are to give it a sense of movement and vitality, while the small homeplate and green diamond shape below help give the understanding that All Seasons RV Stadium is a baseball park. For information about the Gold Sox please see: www.GoldSox.com. Potomac RV Achieves CSA Certification Potomac RV announced that it has received CSA certification, which means Potomac’s full-line of travel trailers and fifth wheels are certified for the Canadian market. "The Canadian market is certainly one that we want to target," states Jim Johnson, President of Potomac RV. "We felt it was extremely important to receive CSA certification, so that our Canadian dealers and customers can be assured that Potomac RVs meet the CSA standards for safety and performance." As part of the North American safety network, CSA International is a leading provider of product testing and certification services for compliance to national and international standards. CSA Certification marks tell potential customers and users that a product has been evaluated by a formal process-involving examination, testing and follow-up inspection and that it complies with applicable standards for safety and performance. New Honda eStore Facilitates Online Generator Purchases Honda Power Equipment announced today that, for the first time, customers will be able to purchase Honda generators through the company’s website, www.honda.com. The new eStore facilitates the entire purchase transaction online 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Once entering the Honda eStore, customers enter their zip code, select a participating eStore dealer in their local market, view the dealer’s selling price, and enter their credit card information to checkout. The system also enables shoppers to decide if they want to pick the generator up at a participating local dealer, or have it shipped to them. "This was the next logical step in increasing convenience for our customers," said Honda Power Equipment vice president, Steve Bailey. "eStore provides customers with another way to purchase generators and still have a service relationship with a local dealer." In addition to facilitating the purchase transaction through eStore, Honda.com serves as a resource for generator related information. The Power Equipment website provides a wattage calculator and a guide to the power requirements of many common household appliances and tools. In addition, it provides information on generator safety and properly connecting a generator to a house for emergency standby power. "Having a thorough understanding of your power requirements is the most important factor in making a generator purchase decision," said Tom Pernice of Honda generator product planning. Although generators will be the first Honda Power equipment products offered through eStore, additional product lines will likely be offered in the future. Lazydays Achieves Best First Quarter Ever Lazydays RV SuperCenter, the nation’s number one dealer, delivered 3,063 RV’s during the first quarter of 2004 resulting in total revenue of approximately $264,000,000. This represents an increase of 293 RV deliveries and $28,000,000 in revenue over prior year and a Company record for the first quarter. “Over a quarter of a billion dollars in revenue in a calendar quarter is a very important milestone toward the achievement of our ultimate goal of $1 billion in annual sales. I am very proud of the accomplishments of our employee partners and also very grateful to our wonderful customers for helping us to achieve this record level of sales,” says Lazydays’ Founder and CEO, Don Wallace. Expanded Exhibit Space for Caravan Salon 2004 Reacting to overwhelming results of Caravan Salon’s last staging in 2003 (164,235 visitors) and the increased interrest in the RV industry, Messe Dusseldorf will expand the exhibit space for the Caravan Salon 2004, 43rd International Trade Fair for RVs, mobile homes, trailers and camping equipment. The event will take place from August 27 – September 5 at the fairgrounds in Dusseldort, Germany. For further information visit www.mdna.com or call 312-781-5180. Blue Bird selects PPG as single-source paint supplier Blue Bird Corporation, a leading manufacturer of school buses, commercial buses and recreational vehicles, has chosen PPG Industries as its single-source paint supplier after rigorous evaluation of several top paint providers. Blue Bird’s buses will exclusively feature coatings from PPG, which are formulated for ease and efficiency of application and designed to enhance appearance and performance as required by Blue Bird’s customers. Blue Bird will begin full conversion to PPG coatings immediately. “We weren’t looking for a supplier – we were looking for a partner,” said Ragnar Skarsaune, director of purchasing, Blue Bird Bus. “PPG not only delivers the best products but also the best support. Our experience with PPG has always been excellent.” “We are excited about expanding our relationship with Blue Bird. The multi-year agreement illustrates the commitment of both companies to this partnership,” said Matt Marek, general manager, PPG industrial coatings. “We look forward to supplying Blue Bird with the very best products and service.”
RV Wholesale
Shipments Continue
Impressive Gains
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