Positive Winnebago News

Ding-a-ling · 09-24-2009, 11:11 AM

Greetings from Rickreall, OR!

At the opening ceremonies of the Oregon Trail Winnies & Itascas state WIT Club rally, Western Area representative Dan Harper had some welcome news. The Winnebago plant has recently re-opened the second of three assembly lines and is in the process of hiring twenty workers each week.

Things are looking brighter.

Dmiles · 09-24-2009, 11:43 AM

That is great news!

DriVer · 09-24-2009, 12:03 PM

I have always been of the opinion that when this downward spiral in our economy comes to a conclusion that Winnebago Industries would be one of the best RV companies that would be poised for a quick recovery.

That's good news indeed.

Dmiles · 09-24-2009, 12:45 PM

This is my first motorhome, but while I was growing up, my dad had several, none were Winnebagos. Based on my experiences helping him work on his motorhomes, the more I work on mine, the more I like how Winnebagos are made. And I work on mine a lot, mostly upgrading.

Now I fully realize I am working on a motorhome that is some 15-20 model years ahead of the last one he owned. And I certainly don't want to start a "mine is better than yours battle", that's not the point. I'm just saying that based on my background, I'm impressed with the workmanship of my aging coach. So it stands to reason that Winne would be well positioned for a comeback when this all starts turning around.

vicsryd · 09-24-2009, 06:17 PM

Heard similar news from Dan at the Washington State rally last week. Reason for hiring new folks is they actually had 3 shifts a week working overtime. Biggest volume of new orders are mostly for the new Via class A and new tier 2 Meridian/Journey

vicsryd · 09-24-2009, 07:32 PM

Forgot some addiitonal good new which is kind of subtle until you think about it.

Per the Winnebago Western Area sales rep, Winnebago is the only motorhome manufacturer who invested (millions) in new designs for 2010. As far as he knows most, if not all, the 2010 models for other manufacturers are just a cosmetic rehash of 2009 models.

Hopefully this strategy will pay off and give Winnebago a 1-2 year leg up on the competetion.

Dick & Pat · 09-25-2009, 06:34 AM

Though we are not motorhome owners, we're still pleased to hear that one of Iowa's premier companies is weathering the financial storms and looking strong for the future.

Petro · 09-25-2009, 08:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DriVer

I have always been of the opinion that when this downward spiral in our economy comes to a conclusion that Winnebago Industries would be one of the best RV companies that would be poised for a quick recovery.

That's good news indeed.

DriVer, you have expressed my exact feelings.

Don

Easyrider · 09-25-2009, 05:13 PM

This week I received a letter from my Itasca dealer stating they were in the market for buying used motorhomes and if we were interested in selling they were interested in hearing from us. I am taking this to indicate that they think the market is going to turn around shortly and they are hoping to cash in on it by buying used motorhomes while the market is still depressed and then being able to sell them as the market becomes hot in the near future at an elevated profit. That's good news for all of us that are going to hold on to our motorhomes as well as those who are thinking of selling but want to wait and see if the market will get better!

smlranger · 09-25-2009, 05:38 PM

Along those lines, I received this today from a contact at Winnebago. They have this video on their web site. A good summary of why they are strong financially and have weathered the past year.

http://www.winnebagoind.com/products/promo/in-the-know/index.php

No coach is perfect but, at this point in our RV ownership, we have no regrets from our choice of Winnebago and we'd look there first if we ever buy another.

SCVJeff · 09-26-2009, 01:42 AM

And the stock reflects this. From a low of $3.17 (IIRC), to hovering between $13-15 today.. Not bad