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Coachmen RV Company Going
and Growing ... Major Expansion at Indiana and Georgia
Facilities
127,000 Sq. ft. State-of-the-Art New Class C
Plant - Middlebury, Ind.
100,000 Sq. ft. Travel Trailer & Fifth Wheel
Plant - Fitzgerald, Ga.
MIDDLEBURY, Ind., March 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/
-- Coachmen Recreational Vehicle Company, LLC, a
subsidiary of Coachmen Industries (NYSE:COA)
, announced plans today to build a new class C
motorhome plant at its Middlebury, Ind. complex. The
Company also said it has agreed to acquire an
additional facility in Fitzgerald, Ga. it will use to
expand towable production at its Georgia Division. The
increased manufacturing capacity will help Coachmen
meet demand for its popular travel trailer, fifth
wheel and class C motorhome product lines.
Coachmen already broke ground in Middlebury on a
state-of-the-art 127,000- sq. ft. motorhome plant,
which is expected to be in operation by early August.
Coachmen expects to add as many as 150 new employees
to this new facility over the next couple of years.
The 100,000-sq. ft. building in Fitzgerald, Ga.
will produce travel trailers and fifth wheels, and
should be operational by June. About 50 new employees
will be added to Coachmen RV's Georgia Team when the
plant starts production. As the new plant ramps up
production, more employees may be added.
"While many industries have been slashing jobs
and operating their factories well below capacity,
demand for Coachmen's RVs has been increasing,"
said Michael R. Terlep, President of Coachmen RV
Company. "During 2002, Coachmen RV's wholesale
shipments outpaced the industry in combined class A
and class C motorhomes by 65 percent. The same is true
for our combined travel trailer and fifth wheel
shipments, as we outpaced the industry by 37.9
percent."
"We are thrilled with Coachmen's decision to
grow in Middlebury," said Indiana Lt. Governor
Joe Kernan, who leads the state's economic development
efforts as director of the Indiana Department of
Commerce. "The company has been a crucial part of
our state's economy for many years and this expansion
further demonstrates its ongoing commitment to
Indiana. We are proud of the team effort put forth by
the Department of Commerce, Middlebury and Coachmen
that helped to make this project a reality."
"As a result of our successful product
management strategies and more importantly, the
efforts of the dedicated Team Members of Coachmen RV,
we are very much in a growth mode and gaining momentum
in the marketplace," added Terlep. "So much
so that during the last 18 months, we have struggled
in fulfilling the orders for our popular class C
motorhomes in a timely manner. At the same time,
strong demand for our recently introduced Chaparral(TM)
fifth wheel, Somerset Dream Catcher(TM) fifth wheel
and Captiva(TM) travel trailer has created lead times
for our dealers and retail customers that are much
longer than desirable. The additional production
capacity these two plants will provide will enable us
to continue building up our market share, while better
serving the needs of our customers."
The new motorhome plant will be Coachmen's largest
RV plant, and also the Company's first to feature two
assembly lines. Utilizing two assembly lines will
increase production efficiencies by segregating higher
production-hour models from lower production-hour
models. The new plant also features over 24,000-sq.
ft. of mezzanines for offline manufacturing processes,
such as assembling cabinets, kitchen units and other
modules, providing improved material flow and
manufacturing processes. Cranes will lower finished
sections for installation in the motorhomes.
The Company will produce its six class C Coachmen(R)
and Shasta(R) product lines in the plant, and will
introduce a seventh class C product line this summer
for the 2004 model year.
"We're certainly looking forward to the
completion of this new facility," said Gary
O'Dell, President of the Middlebury Town Council.
"It's very modernistic in design and we're
excited to see its outcome. It will make the gateway
to the city look better, and we're very pleased it
will add new jobs to Middlebury."
The new Georgia manufacturing facility, located in
the former Irwin Manufacturing plant, was built in
1996 and is approximately one mile from Coachmen's
existing plant. The Georgia Division of Coachmen RV
will produce all nine lines of Coachmen(R) and
Shasta(R) brand travel trailers and fifth wheels. The
current 46,000-sq. ft. plant, owned and operated since
1971 by Coachmen RV, has capacity to produce only four
of these product lines.
"Coachmen RV is the number one selling brand
throughout the seven southeastern states serviced by
our Georgia Division. It's only logical to add
production capacity to manufacture our entire towable
line at our Georgia Division. This new plant will
enable us to continue our market share growth in the
Southeast. The additional capacity at our Georgia
Division will also free up much needed capacity at our
Indiana manufacturing complex," Terlep said.
"Coachmen RV was recently ranked the number
one selling model of travel trailer in America,
according to 2002 year-end reports issued by
Statistical Surveys, Inc., and has historically ranked
as the leading selling model class C motorhome in the
nation. The time is right for adding more production
capacity. These expansion plans will nurture continued
growth for Coachmen, as we fully intend to build upon
our momentum," concluded Terlep.
Coachmen Recreational Vehicle Company, LLC markets
travel trailers, fifth wheel trailers, class A and
class C motorhomes. A subsidiary of Elkhart,
Indiana-based Coachmen Industries, Inc., Coachmen RV
Company was founded in 1964 in Middlebury, Ind., where
its headquarters and largest manufacturing facility
are located. Manufacturing sites are also located in
Goshen, Ind., and Fitzgerald, Ga. WALT DISNEY WORLD(R)
Resort has designated Coachmen as the official
recreational vehicle of Disney's Fort Wilderness
Resort and Campground and Disney's Wide World of
Sports(TM) complex in Florida.
Coachmen Industries, Inc. is one of the nation's
leading manufacturers of recreational vehicles with
well-known brand names including COACHMEN(R), GEORGIE
BOY(TM), SHASTA(R) and VIKING(R). Coachmen Industries
is also the largest modular home producer in the
nation with its ALL AMERICAN HOMES(R) and MOD-U-KRAF(R)
subsidiaries. Modular commercial and telecommunication
structures are manufactured by the Company's Miller
Building Systems subsidiary. Prodesign, LLC is a
subsidiary that custom thermoforms composite and
plastic parts for numerous industries under the
PRODESIGN(R) brand. Coachmen Industries, Inc. is a
publicly held company with stock listed on the New
York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the COA ticker
symbol.
This release contains forward-looking statements
within the meaning of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned
not to place undue reliance on forward-looking
statements, which are inherently uncertain. Actual
results may differ materially from that projected or
suggested due to certain risks and uncertainties
including, but not limited to: the potential
fluctuations in the Company's operating results; the
condition of the telecommunications industry which
purchases modular structures; the availability and the
price of gasoline; the Company's dependence on chassis
suppliers; interest rates; the availability and cost
of real estate for residential housing; the ability of
the housing and building segment to perform in new
market segments where it has limited experience;
competition; government regulations; legislation
governing the relationships of the Company with its
recreational vehicle dealers; the impact of consumer
confidence and economic uncertainty on high-cost
discretionary product purchases; the impact of
potential war against Iraq on the economy, consumer
confidence, and oil supplies; and other risks
identified in the Company's SEC filings.
Web site: http://www.coachmen.com/
http://www.coachmenrv.com/
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