Lancer Camper. Inc Sold Out

mi.drew wrote:
Companies merging isn't always a bad thing, General Motors for example is a merger of many companies.

In the RV world it generally is.
Thor and Fleetwood control 95% of the RV industry.
I've seen it happen too many times at this point.
My beloved Open Range is now part of the Thor conglomerate.
The innovation and out of the box approach that once gave OR its own identity are eroding away before my eyes.
Once upon a time OR would step up and do whatever it took to satisfy a customer. That go the extra mile service has been replaced with a quote of the official Thor warranty.
Designs are made to maximize buying power vs. being innovative.
Take a good look at the Lance you now know. In a few years you won't recognize it. It will become just another brand under the Fleetwood umbrella.

Kayteg1 wrote:

mi.drew wrote:
Companies merging isn't always a bad thing, General Motors for example is a merger of many companies.

And look where that got them???
Compare how bad Chrysler/Mercedes merge come out, or Dodge/Fiat.
Good cars become disasters.

I will agree on the Mercedes (Diamler) Chrysler merger being a bad deal but Diamler (Cebrus Capital) acquired Chrysler for their pension assets and not the automotive business.

Far as Fiat goes, Sergio has really made the company profitable again and they are turning out a commendable product as well.

Don't think GM is a good example of a positive merger of anything.

Far as Lance is concerned, I guess we will have to wait and see but I do see them moving out of California and rather quickly too.

mi.drew wrote:
Companies merging isn't always a bad thing, General Motors for example is a merger of many companies.

And look where that got them???
Compare how bad Chrysler/Mercedes merge come out, or Dodge/Fiat.
Good cars become disasters.

Companies merging isn't always a bad thing, General Motors for example is a merger of many companies.

I would not be at all surprised if REV pulls out of California entirely and relocates the company to a state more conducive to business operations. Indiana comes right to mind. So does Ohio (Nu-Camp Cirrus) is in Ohio.



Very possible

DanNJanice wrote:

Kayteg1 wrote:
I've been always strong admirer of "family tradition" business.
Big corporations have the same production rules what communism did.

Always amazes me how people manage to insert the big bad communism(socialism, etc) into every conversation. Big business has nothing to do with communism, and everything to do with good old American capitalism and greed.
I also enjoy how people seem to think little business = good and big business = bad. Since any successful little business usually becomes big over time, at what point does the business get big enough to become "bad".

You misread the sentence to start with.
What is your experience with big plant production in communism?
I did work for communistic plant with 2500 workers and I did own small business in the system.
The same in US, where I did work for companies with 250 employees and I did run small business here.
Big plants in both systems were run by the same rules - nobody is responsible for anything as multi-level supervising is diluting responsibility to almost nothing.
The same job done by "big guys" cost 5-15 times more than done by small contractor.
With small, private business there was major difference thought.
When I run into government red tape in communism, I could take box of chocolates, or flowers for the clerk and get the things going.
With bigger issues- bottle of cognac for the supervisor could go long way.
In US the "holly $(%Y" in office need 5 days to answer the phone call.
Answering your last question - as long as the owner, or co-owner works side by side with employees, you will have efficiency and responsibility.
Once the supervisor becomes "customer relations officer" and has no knowledge about the production - that is where thing go downhill.

Not sure where Lance stands. I know a large segment of their production employees 'associates' ate of Mexican heritage (at the California facility) and that may have a bearing on the sale, but then again, it may not, that and the overall business climate in California is no longer conducive to the perpetuation of a business like Lance.

I would not be at all surprised if REV pulls out of California entirely and relocates the company to a state more conducive to business operations. Indiana comes right to mind. So does Ohio (Nu-Camp Cirrus) is in Ohio.

Being closer to your component suppliers, Dometic, LCI, Dexter, Suburban and others located in Ohio and Indiana makes component shipping less expensive and easier to get.

I guess we will see what transpires.

sbryan@vtbryans.com wrote:
Hard to tell if it is good or bad. I don't know anything about REV. Experience tells me buyouts are not good for customers (witness what happens to independent RV manufacturers when they are bought out by Thor or Forest River). Time will tell.

Not always true. Good example is Palomino in Colon, Michigan (I live close by btw). Palomino had one foot in the grave when FR acquired them, were building campers based on 25 year old designs that leaked and had shoddy workmanship.

After Berkshire Hathaway (Warren Buffet) acquired them and provided working capital, they did a major redesign, built a more efficient and up to date facility. Now, they turn out a quality (by industry standards) unit that don't leak and everything fits well and works properly, I know, I have one and if they were still Palomino and not a FR division (of they had actually survived, which was doubtful) I would have purchased another brand. IOW, the originals were junk. Now, they aren't....and... Most of the management is still the same folks as are the production folks. I stop by from time to time and the attitude there is very upbeat.

Well, I for one am glad I traded a 2013 Lance 1172 for a 2018 Host Mammoth. Lance makes a good product but the slides on my 1172 had a major problem opening and closing, never knew if they would work or not. The Host I have now is just awesome, slides and every thing else work perfectly. Not knocking Lance, I just got a bad one. Hopefully Host will continue to be a builder of great campers but I guess what happened to Lance can happen to anyone...

DanNJanice wrote:

Kayteg1 wrote:
I've been always strong admirer of "family tradition" business.
Big corporations have the same production rules what communism did.

Always amazes me how people manage to insert the big bad communism(socialism, etc) into every conversation. Big business has nothing to do with communism, and everything to do with good old American capitalism and greed.
I also enjoy how people seem to think little business = good and big business = bad. Since any successful little business usually becomes big over time, at what point does the business get big enough to become "bad".

X2....