rbpru wrote:
Given that the Elkhart RV factories are running full bore, this sounds like a poorly timed and poorly planned decision or a abrupt change in management. Phasing out of a model line is normal stopping in mid-production is not.
As a whole this is just a “blip on the screen”, the RV industry will absorb the lost production.
Cheaper units, expensive units and high dollar units are like automobiles, the manufacturers will produce what sells and cast off what does not.
according to the report below, a lack of demand caused them to shut down Monaco's towable division
"ELKHART — The Monaco towable division, which includes Holiday Rambler and Trail-Lite, has been shut down by parent company Allied Specialty Vehicles, RV Daily Report has learned.
Employees at the Elkhart plant were greeted by security guards who would not allow them in the plant or office. A representative from the human resources department was on hand to pass out letters alerting employees that the company was exiting the towable market and offering information on how terminated employees could collect unemployment benefits.
“The plant workers showed up at 6 a.m., and the office workers arrived by 8 a.m.,” one source told RV Daily Report. “No reason was given. But, I have thought for a while that the company would likely shut down the operation.”
He noted that the troubled company lost 14 sales representatives in two years, and the Indiana plant could not get beyond producing only six towable units a day. “The Oregon plant seemed to be doing okay,” he added. “They seemed to build more than the Indiana plant, they shipped more units and they serviced larger dealers.”
It is not known how many employees were impacted by the decision, but one source in Elkhart estimates that 115 people there lost their jobs today, and more positions could have been impacted in Oregon.
Not everyone was anticipating the shutdown. It was reported that ASV had moved employees into new offices to consolidate accounting and human resources just two weeks ago.
John Draheim, president of Fleetwood RV and CEO of the Allied Recreation Group, both of which are controlled by Allied Specialty Vehicles, told RV Daily Report that the move made sense considering the market.
“Monaco’s towable division was very small in the scheme in our whole portfolio of companies. The division represented less than 2 percent of total sales,” he explained. “Our motorhome business continues to improve and the market is getting stronger. We decided we need to focus our resources and efforts on capturing growth in that expanding segment of the market.” "
taken from this linkJim