Monaco Quitting Towables Market

Talked to a friend that works in Junction City the other day. She said the old facility at Harrisburg (OR) is producing towables for Canada delivery. She didn't say if any were for the US market.

“Whether they have one month left on their warranty, or 11 months, customers should know we intend to honor that warranty, and will reimburse dealers who work on their RVs,” said Draheim. “Dealers can still sell the units at retail prices knowing that any needed warranty work will be covered.

“That’s the type of company we are and the reputation we want to have in the market,” he added.

They have to be kidding… :B:B:B That’s funny when you consider everything… like…

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.
(no mention that any money owed to them was in the envelope…)

And

“It appears now that the company is more interested in shutting down the operation that it is in selling it to an interested buyer,”

“The product looked good, and people seemed to like what we had to sell,” one source said. “But, there was a lot of uncertainty about our company in the market, and that eventually lead to the closure.”

He said the confusion started years ago when Monaco declared bankruptcy and failed to honor their warranties. Then, Navistar acquired the firm and staff told nervous dealers that they had to wait to see what Navistar planned to do with the company. When ASR acquired the operation last year, the message changed to a wait-and-see what ASR will do.
As a result, dealers were reluctant to place many orders until more certainty was discerned.

And that reluctance will continue as the uncertainty will…

When we drove past the old Monaco plant last summer in Junction City Oregon the back lot was full of towables.

http://www.wsbt.com/news/local/monaco-facility-in-elkhart-closing-its-doors/24388984

The closing only involves the towables division.

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.”

More...

Allied Specialty Vehicles bought the RV assets of Navistar in 2013, also bought the Fleetwood motorized brands early, and some of Thor's commercial vehicles businesses.

Not clear to me what they have of Monaco's to shut down in Elkhart. Monaco acquired the Holiday Rambler plant in Wakarusa when they bought H-R, shut it down and moved production to the R-Vision property before bankruptcy. Navistar moved motorhome production back to Wakarusa before selling out to ASV. So if ASV is giving up on Monaco brands, the shutdowns should be somewhere in north central to northwest Indiana, but not necessarily in the city of Elkhart.