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Coachmen Unveils 2005 RVs; Dealer Orders Total Record $130
Million
Dealers Thrilled With Products, Company Operations, New Encore Rear Diesel
MIDDLEBURY, Ind., July 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Visitors to Las Vegas
found plenty of glitz and glamour on full display - not on the city's famed
Strip, but instead at the Coachmen Recreational Vehicle Company Dealer Seminar
in June. Coachmen emerged a winner by taking in a record $130 million in
orders, a 30 percent increase over the record sales generated last year.
Dealers responded enthusiastically to the Company's introduction of its 2005
product lineup. Coachmen unveiled a dynamic new rear diesel motorhome called
the Sportscoach(R) Encore(TM), a special Anniversary Edition travel trailer in
recognition of the Company's 40th year of operation and numerous new floor
plans and enhanced product features. Dealers also applauded recent operational
changes made by the Company, such as dedicated manufacturing facilities and
Product Managers to focus on each market segment.
"The products are spectacular," said Tom Dewalt, Vice President of Dewalt's RV
in Easton, Pa., a Coachmen dealer since 1967. "The motorized products really
stand out and the towables are all good. In fact, there is so much good stuff,
it's hard to single one out."
Randy Howard agreed. The owner of Howard RV Supercenter, a full-line Coachmen
dealer in St. Louis, said he's very pleased with the 2005 products. "The
quality, the refinements, the attention to detail - the products are all
outstanding."
"With a record number of dealers in attendance, the reception to what our
Company is doing from a product and business standpoint was enormously
positive," said Michael R. Terlep, President of Coachmen Recreational Vehicle
Company. "They were extremely pleased with our 2005 line of products and the
strategic course of the Company. For the 2005 model year, we undertook a
tactical product line consolidation that will enable our dealers to increase
their profitability in each major market segment through improved turns, market
share and overall sales.
"Our dealers also applauded our efforts for timely availability of these new
products," continued Terlep, "as well as the organizational changes we have
executed to improve our product focus within our market segments. The record
number of orders at our annual Dealer Seminar was a rewarding confirmation of
our direction, and bodes very well for continued sales growth."
Terlep said Coachmen's Class A retail registrations have increased dramatically
over the last year and are up 22 percent year-to-date through May, the most
recent month for which data is available. Much of the success the Company has
enjoyed in motorhome sales has come in the diesel market segment and has been
driven by the popularity of its Sportscoach models. The new double-slide
Sportscoach Encore(TM), for example, easily created the biggest stir at the
Seminar. A rear diesel aimed at the mid-price market, it features a raised
rail chassis with enormous exterior pass-through storage bays and a visually
stunning array of full-paint graphics. Its huge 38-inch- deep coach slideroom
and spacious bedroom slideout suite provides as much living space as many
triple-slide models.
While every Class A on display received critical applause, the dazzling
Sportscoach rear diesels seemed to be some of the most popular. "We can't keep
the Sportscoach Cross Country SE model in stock because it's selling so well,"
noted Howard.
In Class C's, Coachmen's retail registrations are up 12.8 percent through May.
That increase is especially notable, as Coachmen is now the Class C model
retail sales leader, according to the latest report from Statistical Surveys,
Inc., an independent market research firm. Following up on the successful
debut of the Concord(TM) C+ at last year's Seminar, Coachmen introduced a
29-foot double slide Concord that includes a cathedral window. The new
Freelander(TM) 2600 also boasts a cathedral window, plus a mammoth rear storage
bay with three access doors. Another new Freelander, the 3150 Super Slide,
stands tall with a ceiling height of 6 feet 10 inches to go along with its 96
cu. ft. of exterior storage.
Coachmen's towable models generated considerable praise as well. An
Anniversary Edition travel trailer is available in two floor plans: a 30-foot
rear bath model with one slideroom; and a 35-foot front kitchen model with two
sliderooms, including a king bed in the bedroom. Both models come packaged
with special features, options and graphics.
In addition to its many new models and product enhancements, Coachmen has also
streamlined and consolidated its product lines for 2005, eliminating similar
floor plans that competed with each other and developing feature and option
packages for each model line. Terlep said that by streamlining the 2005
lineup, each of Coachmen's product lines attacks a primary dedicated target
market.
"Streamlining allows for significant focus on our product lines so we can
provide best-sellers to our dealers to fully maximize profitability. We'll
improve our lead times, production efficiencies, product quality and our sales
focus, and capitalize on our core competencies in order to continue providing
our dealers and our retail customers with superior, family-friendly RVs built
with unparalleled value," Terlep stated.
Along with the benefits of product streamlining, Terlep noted Coachmen's strong
production position due to having manufacturing facilities dedicated to rear
diesel products, Class C's, fifth wheels and conventional towable products.
"Our production capacities are up over last year, and we're in a position to
accommodate significant growth during the next year."
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. A manufacturing site is also located in 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., now celebrating its 40th anniversary, is one of
America's leading manufacturers of recreational vehicles with well-known brand
names including COACHMEN(R), GEORGIE BOY(TM), SPORTSCOACH(R) and VIKING(R). The
Company's subsidiary, ALL AMERICAN HOMES(R), is the nation's largest producer
of systems-built modular homes. Coachmen Industries is also a major builder of
commercial structures with its ALL AMERICAN BUILDING SYSTEMS(TM) and MILLER
BUILDING SYSTEMS(TM) products. Prodesign, LLC is a subsidiary that produces
custom composite and thermoformed 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 ticker COA.
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 impact
of performance on the valuation of intangible assets, the availability and the
price of gasoline, the Company's dependence on chassis and appliance 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, adverse weather conditions
affecting home deliveries, 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, further developments in the war on
terrorism and related international crises, oil supplies, and other risks
identified in the Company's SEC filings.
DATASOURCE: Coachmen Industries, Inc.
CONTACT: Rich Allen, Corporate Communications of Coachmen Industries,
Inc., +1-574-262-0123, or
Web site: http://www.coachmen.com/
http://www.coachmenrv.com/