In baseball terms, this is the home run after you have already hit a single, double and triple in the same game.

For the RV industry, it's making everything from pop-ups to Class A motorhomes. That is where Jayco is today, after their announcement earlier this year to add both a gas and diesel class A motorhome to the lineup of quality RVs offered by this Middlebury, IN, manufacturer.

A few weeks ago, I had an opportunity to visit with Sid Johnson, director of marketing.

I came away from the meeting with the feeling that Jayco marches to a different drummer. Slow, steady, deliberate, and methodical might be excellent adjectives to describe this well-respected industry leader.

With all the excitement surrounding the introduction of the Avatar and Firenza Class A models, it was a natural starting point for our conversation once we got past the initial introductions.

When asked what the main reasons were for entering the Class A market, Johnson was quick to reply, "The pressure we received from our customers and our dealers. Jayco was on a roll, with six to seven years of steady growth, and we were losing life-long customers when they reached that point in their lives where they wanted a Class A motorhome.

"We wanted to broaden the scope of our product line and this was a natural extension to keep our customers in a Jayco product."

Depending on which report you read, Jayco is always listed as the number two or number three largest manufacturer of towable RVs. "We think we can do the same thing with motorized units," Johnson added.

He said, "We made the decision to enter the Class A market two years ago. We could not continue losing customers who were not able to move up with our products. Our dealers and customers are fiercely loyal, but we couldn't give them a Jayco offering when they were ready for the Class A.

"The Class A motorhome is different, and we are still learning as we go along. We have taken a very slow approach to this introduction so that we can develop, learn, and control every aspect of the manufacturing process. Our commitment to this product line included a brand new manufacturing complex with the latest state-of-the-art technology and systems. We expect to have the first diesel units rolling off the production line by the end of August and the gas models won't be far behind."

From their modest beginnings in 1968, based on Lloyd Bontrager's belief that he could build the world a better recreational vehicle, the company has grown steadily through good times and bad.

Still a privately held company, they do not release sales numbers. Johnson did say, "When I joined the company in 1993 we were manufacturing 9,000 units a year. Last year we manufactured 27,000."

It is that methodical business model that led their way into the Class A arena. Johnson said, "We did our own research. We spoke with our dealers to find out what they liked and didn't like, and we talked to 400 motorhome owners. We talked to RVers that owned Fleetwood, Winnebago, Coachmen, Newmar and Monaco/HR products. This is who we will be competing against and we were determined to give our dealers the right product once we drive them out of the building.

"We weren't as smart as we thought we were, and we learned a lot when we went through this process."

Jayco built an all-new 140,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art manufacturing facility specifically to accommodate the new Class A motorhome production lines.
Avatar", Jayco's new diesel Class A motorhome went into production in May and the first units started coming off the assembly line in late August.	Jayco Avatar" diesels will be built on Freightliner and Spartan chassis with Caterpillar and Cummins 300 & 350 engines. The Firenza gas models will be offered on both Ford and Workhorse platforms.

One of the areas that Jayco will focus on will be delivery and PDI. Jayco's research showed that customers really disliked the way their motorhomes were delivered and felt that the PDI left a lot to be desired. To make sure they don't make the same mistakes as those described by their focus groups, Jayco has developed a unique PDI program, complete with video assistance that will be a mandatory requirement of the dealer   program.

Rooftop air was another source of concern for many focus-group participants, according to Johnson. The Jayco Class A units will be built with the RV Products under-floor air conditioning unit. Although some dealers still question the viability of such a system, especially in places like Arizona and Texas, the company is confident that they have a system that dealers and customers will enjoy.

Staying true to their deliberate philosophy to do it right the first time, Jim Stover (retired engineering vice-president) will take the first diesel pusher off the line on a 6,000 mile shakedown cruise right into the Southwestern states to test the air conditioning system and visit Jayco dealers.

Johnson said, "Our dealers are critical to our success with this product, just as they have been for our pop-ups, towables, and Class C motorhomes. The diesel and gas Class A units will first be offered to the fifteen members of the Jayco dealer council. The initial rollout of this product line will take six to nine months -- slow and steady.

"We would like to see all of our dealers carry our motorhomes, but realize that some of them do not carry motorized units now and may elect not to enter this market. In those cases, we will look for quality motorized dealers to carry the Jayco Class A's.

"When we are really up and running, and maximizing our tremendous manufacturing capability, we expect to sell between 1000 and 1200 units a year."

Jayco diesels will be built on Freightliner and Spartan chassis with Caterpillar and Cummins 300 & 350 engines. The gas models will be offered on both Ford and Workhorse platforms.

Johnson noted, "We'll be doing a few things differently as we enter this market. We have sold towables for 30 years without a dealer agreement. We did business on a handshake, and it served us well.

"We will require a dealer agreement for our Class A products. The agreement will outline specific service response requirements and obligate the dealer to send technicians to our service schools. Dealers will also enjoy a protected geographic territory if they elect to carry these products.

"It will be an objective-based contract, and will relate to the size of a dealer's market and will have valid tools to measure performance."

Jayco motorized products will be marketed by a separate division. Johnson noted, "This was determined after input from our dealer council. The current council has 15 members. Nine have towable territories and five have motorized territories with one at-large member.

Sales reps recommend three dealers in a territory and we choose from that list. They serve a three-year term and one-third of the council will change each year. They have always provided us with positive input."

The reason Jayco has elected to go with a separate motorized division is because of dealer concerns as they move into the Class A marketplace. This division will have separate engineering, purchasing, product management and sales team. Product development will come under the marketing department.

Jayco is taking this action to address concerns from some dealers that they may be perceived in the industry and dealer community as a trailer company trying to get into the motorhome business and may lack credibility. Johnson noted, "We've been manufacturing Class C motorhomes and will be just as successful with our Class A units under this arrangement."

Other dealers were worried that too much focus would be on the motorhomes and the company would lose focus on their towable lines. "Separating the two divisions will allow each one to focus on their primary products and fully support them throughout our dealer network with their own teams," Johnson said.

The Jayco Class A motorhomes will be showcased at the Louisville show and the big public splash will be at the Spring FMCA show.

Our discussions with Sid drifted easily to the Internet as we spoke about the role it might play in the marketing and sales of Jayco products. Sid said, "We want to use it as a marketing tool, but we also know that it can be abused. We have decided to exclude Internet expenses from our dealer co-op program because it allows a dealer to market and sell products outside their protected territory. Therefore, we will only allow co-op dollars to be spent inside their respective territory."

Jayco has embarked on a three-year effort to enter the world of e-commerce. Johnson notes, "We will make our web site pretty sophisticated. We'll develop build your own product and be able to sell over the Internet, but all orders will be submitted to the nearest dealer to the person making the inquiry. We want to creatively use the Internet to benefit the dealers without becoming contentious."

Looking to the future, we asked Sid where Jayco would be in three to five years. "It really depends on other companies and potential consolidations or acquisitions. Our growth has all been internal except for our 1989 Starcraft acquisition, and that is also run as a separate autonomous operation. We would not rule out an acquisition, but it would have to be a perfect fit to our company philosophy and the way we do business," Johnson said.

"I think we can move towables up a notch and get our motorized units into the top five in five years.

"We have to move toward national distribution of all products. We currently manufacture everything in Middlebury and LaGrange. We will look at distributed manufacturing on a geographic basis to be competitive in all markets. We won't just be a survivor, we'll be a winner."

Jayco does not want to be known as the low-cost provider. Johnson notes, "We provide excellent quality and support for all of our products and all of this comes at a cost that will never allow us to be deeply discounted, but that is not the way we want our dealers to sell. We provide a lot of value in our motorized and towable units. All of our products are supported with strong service, warranty, parts and full documentation. We want our dealers to sell the value of Jayco."

Slow, steady, deliberate and methodical -- it has worked since 1968 and Sid Johnson sees no reason to change now. In closing, Sid said, "If you provide the customer with what they want and need, you will be successful."