RV Industry News
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| November 2003 | Volume 29 - Number 4 | |
RV Industry News | ||
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National RV Announces Jay Howard as President, Bob Lee as CEO of Country Coach, Inc.
"We've set a course for returning the company to profitability and Jay figures prominently into this picture", notes Bob Lee. "He brings more than 25 years of executive level manufacturing experience to Country Coach including a good solid background in both the retail and wholesale sides of the RV industry. With the rest of our management team, whose company longevity ranges as high as 27 years, I am very confident we will carry on our tradition of providing our dealers and our customers with the world's finest motorcoaches." United States Warranty Corporation HQ Move The United States Warranty Corporation has announced that its corporate headquarters has moved to 2760 S.O.M. Center Road, Willoughby Hills, OH 44094.
“This is an important step for the growth of our business” said Robert Landis, President, Recreational Products Division. “Our new location and new offices will provide a better opportunity to serve our coast to coast network of dealers and their customers. “The new state of the art 15,000 sq. ft. facility allows USWC to consolidate claims, administration, accounting, underwriting and sales under one roof. The move was necessitated by the success of our custom designed programs for manufacturers of Transit and Specialty Vehicles, expansion of our RV Dealer Network and introduction of exclusionary coverage for RV’s.” Blue Ox® Receives Award
Blue Ox® is proud to announce they were selected to receive a 2003 Industry Tour Awards from the Nebraska Workforce Development. The award was presented on September 5, 2003 at the Metropolitan Community College in Omaha, Nebraska. Attending the awards recognition ceremony were Jay Hesse, President; Kevin Fendrick, Team Leader of manufacturing; and Jaima Geisert, Team Leader of accounting. The 2003 Celebration of Labor Industry Tour honored businesses that have excelled in the area of international trade. The awards are an annual event that honors employers for practices that benefit Nebraska workers. SmarTire Launches New Products
Targeted at RV Market SmarTire Systems Inc. (OTCBB: SMTR) announces the launch of two new products, RoadVoice and TrailerVoice, which represent the first tire monitoring systems targeted specifically at the recreational vehicle, towed vehicle and trailer markets. As is the case with passenger car tires, recreational vehicle tire under-inflation is a serious concern. A recent study conducted by the Recreational Vehicle Safety Education Foundation revealed that four out of five RVs had at least one tire under inflated and a third of those were dangerously under-inflated to the point of being at risk of failure. RoadVoice is a tire monitoring system designed specifically for light recreational vehicles and vehicles or trailers towed behind large motorhomes. The RoadVoice family of products will be expanded in early 2004 to include larger motorhomes and buses. RoadVoice is currently being tested by manufacturers of recreational vehicles, associated chassis manufacturers and commercial vehicle operators in North America, Europe and Asia. TrailerVoice is a tire monitoring system designed to monitor single and double axle boat and horse trailers, car haulers, farm trailers and other utility trailers. The company also announces that EZ Loader Boat Trailers custom division will include the TrailerVoice system as standard equipment on their dealer direct line of trailers and as optional equipment on all other models direct to the boat manufacturers. EZ Loader Boat Trailers is a privately owned company with 50 years experience and currently one of the largest producers of recreational boat trailers in the world. "The SmarTire TrailerVoice system differentiates our trailer offering to our high end, quality boat manufacturing customers," says Gary Potter, General Manager of EZ Loader. "It is extremely difficult for a driver to detect an under-inflated tire or a tire puncture on a boat trailer. To protect the investment in their boat and trailer, our customers are beginning to demand tire monitoring systems." SmarTire Systems Inc. develops and markets proprietary tire monitoring systems for the North American, European and Asian automotive and transportation industries. Additional information can be found at www.smartire.com. Campers Spending More Time With Families A recent online survey by Kampgrounds of America found that more than 52 percent of those responding said they are spending more quality time with their families since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The survey, conducted via the KOA Kompass electronic newsletter, received nearly 5,000 responses. Of those responding, 32.4 percent said they spend slightly more time with their families, and 20.4 percent said they are spend much more time with loved ones. About 46 percent of those responding said they are spending about the same amount of time with family, and only 1.4 percent said they spend less time with family than before the attacks. The survey, conducted in September 2003, also found that camping was the most popular outdoor activity enjoyed by families, followed by walking and hiking, swimming, playing games, boating, bicycling, fishing and golfing. Kampgrounds of America is the largest system of family oriented campgrounds in North America, with nearly 500 locations in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Japan. To find out more about KOA or to subscribe to the KOA Kompass e-newsletter, go to www.koa.com. Obituary Newell Warsin A dear old friend, Newell Warsin, former president of Richfield Trailer Supply in Flint, Michigan, passed away this past August . Newell served for seven years on the MARVAC Board of Directors, and was a member of the Warehouse Distributors Association, now named the RV Aftermarket Association. He served on many various industry related committees. Odyssey Group Merges with Alabama Distributor Odyssey Group, Bristol, IN, has completed a merger with Goldmont Housing Supply, Red Bay, AL, a leading distributor in the south. “We are building the best national distribution company for our markets with the best people,” said Lindsey Stults, President, Odyssey Group. “We are very excited about bringing these two companies together. We feel that Goldmont’s people have the same culture as Odyssey and we are looking forward to helping each other grow. Brooks Davis, President of Goldmont, stated “It is a natural fit for our two companies, we have so much in common and now we can add the Odyssey Group’s substantial product offering and support into helping grow the southern market. We will be changing our name to Odyssey Group, not our service to our customers.” Odyssey Group is a leading disributor to the RV, MH, modular, commercial structures, marine, utility trailer, and specialty vehicle markets. Goldmont distributes building materials and fixtures to the manufactured housing industry, primarily in Alabama. Motorhome Rental Firm Adds Online Campsite Reservation Capability Bates International Motorhome Rental Systems has partnered with Friend Communications to bring online campsite reservation capability to its web site, www.batesintl.com. The innovative feature provides one-stop vacation planning for Bates customers. Visitors to the web site seeking to rent a motorhome can now book campground reservations at the same time. “With this feature just a click away on our web site, vacationers will find it extremely convenient to plan their trips,” noted Bates president Sandra Bate. “A customer can ensure reservations at quality campgrounds before committing to the rental of a motorhome. The system provides peace-of-mind,” Bate added, “since customers are assured of finding campsites reserved in their names on arriving at their destinations.” “Providing customers the ability to book campground reservations online is a big step forward for the industry,” says Gary Pace, president of Friend Communications. “But we see so much more potential for web portal owners, like Bates International. It can give them a competitive edge of offering other travel-related services to web site visitors. Best of all, it keeps their online customers coming back, and improves customer loyalty.” Bates International Motor-home Rental Systems was designed and is hosted by RV America On Line®, www.rvamerica.com. 2004 HWH Technical School Dates HWH Corporation, the leader in Hydraulic Leveling and Room Extension Systems, announces their 2004 Technical School dates for OEM and dealer service personnel. The school will cover installation, "hands-on" trouble shooting and repairs of HWH Leveling Systems. The school will also cover "hands-on" trouble shooting and repairs on HWH Room Extension Systems. All students will tour HWH Corporation’s manufacturing facilities and receive Service and Repair manuals. Plus, upon completion of the school, each student will receive a certificate and HWH embroider patches for their uniforms. As always there is no charge for the school. Also, HWH will provide and arrange at no charge: lodging, meals and school transportation. The student’s only responsibility is transportation to and from the Moline, Illinois airport. The hours for the school are 8AM until 5PM each day and students are requested to attend the full 3 days. Students should plan on arriving on Wednesday and departing on Sunday. The school(s) will be held at HWH’s corporate headquarters in Moscow, Iowa. Class size is limited and will be on a first come, first serve basis. Technical School Dates: April 29 – May 1, 2004 October 14 – 16, 2004 November 11 – 13, 2004 For further information or to register, please contact Lynn Bixler at 800-321-3494 or lynn@hwhcorp.com. Seattle RV & Outdoor Recreation Show to expand in 2004
The Seattle RV & Outdoor Recreation Show, currently the largest RV show in the Northwest, is positioned to become even larger with its planned expansion into the Seahawks Stadium for the 2004 Show February 5th - 8th. The Seattle Show has been using the entire Seahawk Exhibition Center since moving from the Kingdome and Pavilion in 1999. According to Show Director Dave Helgeson the show had been utilizing all 292,415 square feet of the Exhibition Center. Expanding into the West Plaza of the Seahawks Stadium will add an additional 60,730 square feet for a total of 353,145 making it by far the largest RV show ever to be held in Northwest. This expansion will serve to further increase the selection of RVs to be viewed at the show. As a special feature for the 2004 show, the unique Terra Wind motorhome "the motorhome that doubles as a yacht" will make its Northwest debut at the show. For more information on the Seattle RV & Outdoor Recreation Show contact MHRV @ 425-277-8132 or visit their website @ www.MHRVSHOWS.com. RVN
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