Country Coach SOLD

[Sully2]

Effective TODAY CC has been sold to Winnebago. Lock stock and barrel.!

" I am pleased to announce that, effective today, I have sold the Country Coach Campus and intellectual property to Winnebago Industries."

From Ron Lee

[J-Rooster]

Sully2 wrote:

J-Rooster wrote:

Sully2 wrote:
Effective TODAY CC has been sold to Winnebago. Lock stock and barrel.!

" I am pleased to announce that, effective today, I have sold the Country Coach Campus and intellectual property to Winnebago Industries."

From Ron Lee

Sully2, is Winnebago going restart the CC plant in Junction City?

They never said in the email!

O.K. Thanks Sully2

[Smitty77]

I'll keep my thoughts on the positive side, and hope Winnebago does keep CC sort off off by itself sort of like Toyota/Lexus, Honda/Acura and Nissan/Infinity. While many of the form talent that was at CC in Junction City have had to move on, Junction City still has an experienced pool of former higher end CC and Monaco employees to possibly tap into.

In a perfect world, Winnebago would retain the existing smaller CC staff and try to re-recruit some of the core team from before. While at the same time, moving the Winnebago line into much of the facilities.

I read another poster on another sites view of the RV industry today, vs say 10-15 years ago. Where as the demand for higher end Class A DP's has dropped some. I personally could see room towards the top, for an Allure/Intrigue/Magna type model line up. These should slot in well with the existing Winnebago line up. Refreshed designs, building upon the solid foundation of the intellectual property that Winnebago has purchased.

Time will tell, and I as a current CC owner, and potential future customer for a newer model, look forward to working with Winnebago. Wish them, CC, and the Lee's too - the best of luck in the years ahead!! And for sure, this is good news for the Junction City area and Oregon too:)!

Best to all,
Smitty

[cwdavis]

Here are a couple of stories from the local newspaper in Oregon:

Winnebago pays $5 million for Junction City factory

Updated: Winnebago announces new plant opening in Junction City: The manufacturing plant would hire ...

Seems to me that this addition could be really big for Winnegago -- if they do it right, i.e., produce a real CC and not a cheapened copy.

[two-niner]

I believe not enough credit is being given to Winnebago. They know what they have in Country Coach and will not downgrade it in any manner.

When they changed vendors for the 2013 Tour slide mechanism and had many failures, by 2015 (now) they have corrected the matter.

Given the mass production that comes out of Forrest City, Iowa Winnebago is fairly solid. Plus apparently Winny will move their Class A production to Junction City, Oregon where skilled craftsmen/women await.

[Mr_Mark1]

I hope that Winnebago can develop CC better than 'REV Group' (previous known as ASV) has resurrected Monaco.

This will be a head to head competition with Newmar's upper end units, which are beautiful. Maybe even give Foretravel a run for their money too. To me, Monaco has not pulled it off yet.

MM.

[Two_Jayhawks]

bullydogs1 wrote:
Very interesting...wonder if they will try a diff division like Jayco did with Entegra?...

My thoughts also.

[smlranger]

Ron Lee's message was clear that Country Coaches will not be rebranded Winnebagos. It will be interesting to see what really happens over time. If CC can utilize the capital and other resources from this deal to start building high end coaches again that measure up to the standards they were known for, it could be a real plus.

[AstroRig57]

Here's the full story as published in a Winnebago Press Release in RV Daily Report.

In a nutshell, Winnebago is moving their Class-A diesel manufacturing to the former Country Coach plant in Junction City, OR.

They (Winnebago) have also purchased property adjacent to the 200,000 sq ft manufacturing facility that they plan to use as a service facility for both Winnebago AND Country Coach motorhomes. They did this largely because they could not keep up with production demands for gas Class-A's in Forest City, Iowa and needed to move diesel production elsewhere.

For the most part, I guess this puts to rest rumors that I read in this forum, as recently as yesterday and in questions posted in this thread, regarding the resumption of Country Coach production.

However, there is this little tidbit. They have noted, "“As part of the facility purchase, Winnebago also acquired the intellectual property rights associated with Country Coach and we intend to revive that brand as part of the planned use of the new facility.” Whether that means new Country Coach branded motorhomes or more than likely something like a Country Coach model line within Winnebago remains to be seen.

http://rvdailyreport.com/industry/winnebago-class-a-diesel-production-transitions-to-west-coast/

[Sully2]

J-Rooster wrote:

Sully2 wrote:
Effective TODAY CC has been sold to Winnebago. Lock stock and barrel.!

" I am pleased to announce that, effective today, I have sold the Country Coach Campus and intellectual property to Winnebago Industries."

From Ron Lee

Sully2, is Winnebago going restart the CC plant in Junction City?

They never said in the email!

[Kayteg1]

Will they service older CC ?
I see still fully usable CC DP sell for about 10% or original price, or 2-3% what comparable new DP cost.
Sad to see good value going like that.

[bullydogs1]

Very interesting...wonder if they will try a diff division like Jayco did with Entegra?...

[mike_brez]

Just checked my email.


A personal note to our friends,
As we enter this holiday season here at Country Coach, we also enter a season of change. As most of you know, I have spent most of my adult life growing, nurturing and eventually rescuing the Country Coach brand that I love. I am very proud of what Country Coach came to represent, but I am even more proud of work the core group I assembled after purchasing the intellectual property of Country Coach has accomplished. From the start my goals were to resurrect Country Coach in the spirit in which it was created - to produce the finest motor coaches available, to bring economic vitality and growth to Junction City and to develop stable jobs for our employees.
As you know, we have continued to work on the next generation of Country Coach product in the design and prototype stage and to transfer that work to reality of a product, actual production requires much more. To do that I needed to find the right resources to augment and grow what we have started. To that end, I have been working diligently for the past two years. Of the options I had to choose from I have made what I consider the very best choice for Country Coach for both service and production. I am pleased to announce that, effective today, I have sold the Country Coach Campus and intellectual property to Winnebago Industries. I have worked with Winnebago to ensure that Country Coach moves forward and work will begin in earnest to assemble the infrastructure that will lead to Country Coach production. Winnebago will also bring production of some of its current diesel motorhome offerings to Junction City. Please note that future Country Coach products will not be rebranded Winnebagos, but products specifically designed and built to the exacting performance, amenity and standard levels that have always defined Country Coach. Obviously this process will take time but everyone involved is committed to making Country Coach the premier motorcoach offering available.
I made this decision because I believe that Winnebago is the best fit for Country Coach and that their, culture, dedication to design and build quality closely mirrors the standards I have set. This transition includes a change for me also as I will step down from the day to day operations. But rest assured, I intend to be the leading Country Coach brand enthusiast so you can expect to see and hear from Cookie and I from time to time as we travel around the country in our 2016 Country Coach Allure.
As I write this, I am recalling designing the first Country Camper Class A, I used a lower front from a Winnebago Class A to mock it up, we have come full circle.
Until the next time we meet!!
Ron Lee

[J-Rooster]

Sully2 wrote:
Effective TODAY CC has been sold to Winnebago. Lock stock and barrel.!

" I am pleased to announce that, effective today, I have sold the Country Coach Campus and intellectual property to Winnebago Industries."

From Ron Lee

Sully2, is Winnebago going restart the CC plant in Junction City?