Wow, you guys called it - Roadtrek now part of Hymer!

[Robert Ryan]

Originally Posted by booster

This is some of the first financial information we have heard, and still not much, but they listed $96 million. Based on the Euro amount that must be US dollars.

An interesting comparison between Hymer and Roadtrek is that they have very similar Sales dollars per employeee. This is often a good way to compare companies within a given segment to see how the operate in comparison to each other, although it doesn't tell the whole story by any stretch of the imagination. It can also help predict how well the will assimilate to each other.

The guess would be that Hymer produces more product and sells at lower margin per employee, and Roadtrek makes less product and sells at higher margin per employee. Of course that is just a guess based on appearances and privately held companies don't say much. Gross margins on sales would be really interesting to know, but we never will.

It is good to see that most folks seem to be accepting it all in stride. I kind of expected some panic among the hard core Roadtrek fans, but it was mentioned on the Yahoo board and there was not a ripple. I assume Facebook is probably similar.

I think "good for everyone" is the by far the most common phrase used by folks.

Hymer is many businesses based in several countries so that will change from Brand to country

[Robert Ryan]

Originally Posted by gregmchugh

If anyone is interested, Mike's podcast includes interviews with Jim Hammill and the head of Hymer with an interesting discussion on their European brands and designs. Jump to the 20 minute mark...

Episode 76: More Details about Roadtrek and it's New OwnersRoadtreking : The RV Lifestyle Blog

This is from the website

America which will soon be introducing some amazingly innvatiive new products, like ultra light weight towables and even larger Class C and Class A motorhomes.

Interesting development, who will they be chasing in the NA Market?

[GeorgeB]

Originally Posted by Robert Ryan

This is from the website
Quote:
America which will soon be introducing some amazingly innovative new products, like ultra light weight towables and even larger Class C and Class A motorhomes.

Interesting development, who will they be chasing in the NA Market?

IMO, they will be head to head with Winnebago, directly confronting their whole Armada (A, B, and Cs). Winnebago saw it coming, I'm sure.They weren't sending their reps at the Dusseldorf show only for buying european screens, racks and ladders for the Travato!

Very exciting news for backbenchers, but a potential threat for the RV industry that hopefully will react and renew its fleet with innovative products (only possible if there's an economic growth and North American RV customers make an aesthetic quantum leap!)

[bobojay]

Head to head with Winnebago and Thor products. This will be years down the road I think. It sure won't happen overnight!

On another same but different subject. The European RV makers, probably mostly Hymer, use so many Ducato chassis, that Fiat has a separate factory line that just builds Ducato chassis for the RV industry. Seems to be state of the art manufacturing also, at least in the video which is 5 years old....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXF5SmylexM

[wincrasher]

There was another great video of a French assembly line building Campervans on the Pugeot version of Ducato. Very impressive building techniques.

[ClassB4Me]

Originally Posted by tmshih

Hmmm..... Where have I heard this before......

Huge, Conservative, German, manufacturer takes over a Small, Independent, company with a gunslinger culture for trying new things.....

I hope this doesn't go the way of the Mercedes/Chrysler merger.

Hymer has spent almost 3 years researching how to enter this market and based on my experience is playing the standard corporate acquisition handbook.

Other than customer loyalty and brand recongnition, what does Roadtrek have that Hymer desperatley needs?

UPDATE: My comment above was too harsh. Roadtrek makes popular RVs for the US and Canadian markets. Have been an innovator in brining solar to the Class B segment. Are one of the top brands in the upper price segment.

Long-term, Roadtrek needed the acquisition to grow and weather economic slowdowns.

Next Steps:

WAVE i
1) New Hymer dealer contracts
2) Move forward to acquire greenspace for NA production (for full product line over time)
3) Keep everyone upbeat and hopeful about the future
4) Hymer leadership team focuses on new capital investments and product time table
5) Roadtrek people keep doing what they are doing and focusing on the Grand Canyon
6) Hymer locals make sure the Grand Canyon rollout is executed the Hymer Way

WAVE ii
1) Leadership reorg
2) Some stay / Some retire
3) Some legacy RT products are retired
4) Combined Hymer Mgmt leads the way forward
5) Hymer metrics drive cost savings, efficiency, compensation

In the long-term the former Roadtrek employees will have a better future.

[Robert Ryan]

Originally Posted by GeorgeB

IMO, they will be head to head with Winnebago, directly confronting their whole Armada (A, B, and Cs). Winnebago saw it coming, I'm sure.They weren't sending their reps at the Dusseldorf show only for buying european screens, racks and ladders for the Travato!

Very exciting news for backbenchers, but a potential threat for the RV industry that hopefully will react and renew its fleet with innovative products (only possible if there's an economic growth and North Americans RV customers make an aesthetic quantum leap!)

My question to be truthful was a bit tounge in cheek as the following photos will illustrate
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...s7486yvwp.jpeg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...s7fduculp.jpeg

[gregmchugh]

Originally Posted by Robert Ryan

My question to be truthful was a bit tounge in cheek as the following photos will illustrate
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...s7486yvwp.jpeg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...s7fduculp.jpeg

Is that yours? Is Hymer in Australia?

[Robert Ryan]

Originally Posted by gregmchugh

Is that yours? Is Hymer in Australia?

No, the Hymer is from a European Dealers website.Not the first time I have seen something like this from Winnebago. No Hymer tried much earlier to sell its Motorhomes in Australia not with a great deal of success. On the other hand, if you look at the groups website they do have 3dog Camping, which was an Australian Campertrailer manufacturer, they still have PR shots with using Australiian scenery

[gregmchugh]

I guess the closest thing that Winnebago has to this would be the Reyo on a stripped Sprinter chassis...

Reyo Overview | Winnebago RVs

[Robert Ryan]

Originally Posted by gregmchugh

I guess the closest thing that Winnebago has to this would be the Reyo on a stripped Sprinter chassis...

Reyo Overview | Winnebago RVs

That is what the photos show, the Hymer original and the Winnebago clone( 2nd Photo is a Reyo). The Hymer Motorhome " face" is pretty distinctive. Other manufacturers within the Erwin Hymer group are very different again

[gregmchugh]

Very good, I get it now...

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery...

[GeorgeB]

Originally Posted by Robert Ryan

No, the Hymer is from a European Dealers website.Not the first time I have seen something like this from Winnebago. No Hymer tried much earlier to sell its Motorhomes in Australia not with a great deal of success. On the other hand, if you look at the groups website they do have 3dog Camping, which was an Australian Campertrailer manufacturer, they still have PR shots with using Australiian scenery

Winnebago in Australia was a different company that Winnebago Ind. USA sued for the use of their name, and won after a 25 years wait.

http://www.davies.com.au/ip-news/aft...ade-mark-right

The difference between Hymer and Winnebago will be in the interior design and the superior fit and finish made possible with industrialized building techniques and innovative materials. The big class A in Europe are about half the weight of NA beasts. (update: also possible because they don't have AC and a generator)

Winnebago Sprinter based class A interior


Hymer Sprinter based class A interior


.

[wincrasher]

The Hymer is a much better design than the Reyo. Note the wheels are extended out to the edges of the body on the Hymer. It should have much better handling dynamics than the Reyo and similar vehicles on a regular Sprinter chassis.

[GeorgeB]

Originally Posted by wincrasher

There was another great video of a French assembly line building Campervans on the Pugeot version of Ducato. Very impressive building techniques.

The video of the assembly of a French Challenger Van

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDdD...ature=youtu.be

[GeorgeB]

Originally Posted by wincrasher

There was another great video of a French assembly line building Campervans on the Pugeot version of Ducato. Very impressive building techniques.

...and another one from the german van builder Possl

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhzJNYaLiBg

[mlts22]

Originally Posted by Robert Ryan

Eventually in the case of No.1. Being the biggest Motorhome manufacturer on the planet, Yes to number No.2

This is an interesting thing. I'm pretty sure the European aspect will win sales... just because it is European, similar to how Mercedes gets sales because of the German name.

I wonder about the price difference as well. For example in the UK, most of Hymer's offerings (as per what dealer ads say) go around GBP 55,000 to 66,000 ($75,000 to $84,000), so on this side of the pond, will we wind up paying more for the same vehicle, which seems to be the norm?

Will they price things the European way (the closest we get to that would be the Saturn dealerships), or will they add a chunk to the price and expect people to haggle it down to the street price?

I would say that Hymer could revolutionize the RV market, especially with smaller class "C"s and class "A"s.

A good example of this was going to a RV show about two weeks ago. There were a few class "C"s on display, a few gasser "A"s, the usual high-zoot diesel pushers, and one class "B", from Coachmen. There were a few pickup truck campers, but everything else was trailers and fifth wheels.

With gas prices low, and the economy as good as it will get, this is probably one of the best times Hymer could enter the market, especially with the Euro-appeal and relatively small size of their offerings, which only Winnebago (and perhaps Thor) seems to be able to match.

[gregmchugh]

I am wondering how much understanding there really is about the customers in North America who will be buying the European Design vans. I don't think they are traditional RV buyers and I don't think companies like Hymer will really be competing against the current North American RV manufacturers. I think there is a new segment of buyers who will be using these vans in ways that are not the traditional weekend campground use. This segment will be a more sophisticated buyer than the horde of people at a typical RV show all excited about the crappy units being sold by the mainstream manufacturers. I think a good example of a possible misunderstanding is the repeated statement that buyers will not accept cassette toilets and will want a black tank. How do they really know this is the case. I don't know if they have really studied the actual people who are likely to buy these vans. I can see where they may actually prefer a cassette toilet that is easy to dump at home after their weekend trip where the destination was not a traditional campground with dump facilities. I think there is likely a good sized untapped market here but I wonder how much anybody really understands what they might really prefer. It could be that there are not as many changes to the designs needed as has been assumed. Just my opinion, maybe they have done detailed market research and have a lot of data to use to drive design changes.

[bobojay]

Robert Ryan, what chassis is the Hymer A's built on? Anybody else know?

[ClassB4Me]

Originally Posted by mlts22

This is an interesting thing. I'm pretty sure the European aspect will win sales... just because it is European, similar to how Mercedes gets sales because of the German name.

I wonder about the price difference as well. For example in the UK, most of Hymer's offerings (as per what dealer ads say) go around GBP 55,000 to 66,000 ($75,000 to $84,000), so on this side of the pond, will we wind up paying more for the same vehicle, which seems to be the norm?

Remember the price in Europe includes VAT, Europe labor rates, and benefits. It may wind up costing Hymer less to manufacture the same product in the USA. Especially if they rely upon more US suppliers.