Country Coach to Winnebago Ind.

Corkey05 wrote:

AstroRig57 wrote:

buta4 wrote:
Country Coach has just sold their brand to Winnebago Ind.
Future coaches won't be re-branded Winnies, but specifically built Country Coach brands.

This is exactly the opposite of what is taking place...at least initially.

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 will be making Winnebago motorhomes...and not 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.

However, 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 something like a Country Coach model line within Winnebago remains to be seen.

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.

There is to be no resumption of Country Coach branded RV production.

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

A message from Ron Lee:

~ ~ ~ ~

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 Co ach 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