Coachman's being bought by Forest River


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Forest River to Acquire Coachmen's RV Group


BREAKING NEWS
Forest River to Acquire Coachmen's RV Group
RV Business
Friday, November 21, 2008

Elkhart, Ind.-based Forest River Inc. is acquiring most of the assets of Coachmen Industries Inc.'s RV Group, including brands, product lines and central manufacturing operations in Middlebury, Ind., along with a dealership in Elkhart.

In a statement, publicly-traded Coachmen said Forest River, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., will retain the majority of the builder's work force. Coachmen's modular housing and specialty vehicle operations will not be part of the transaction.

“Forest River has agreed to offer continued employment to almost 85% of our RV Group employees in Indiana,” said CEO Rick Lavers. “Some will be able to interview with Forest River to explore career opportunities. Others will be transferred to the continuing operations of Coachmen Industries Inc.”

Lavers added, "For 44 years, Coachmen has been a leading and respected RV brand, employing thousands of dedicated and talented people in the communities where we have operated. With this transaction, we secure the future for this proud brand, and the employees of our RV Group. This announcement will also end the speculation over whether Coachmen itself will survive these extraordinarily difficult times, and preserve the jobs of our employee base, in both our RV and housing segments.”

Lavers said that the ARBOC mobility bus, introduced this year, will remain with Coachmen Industries and that the company’s headquarters will stay in the Middlebury/Elkhart area.

“We will be financially sound with sufficient cash liquidity to not just survive, but to build our profitable housing businesses and continue our diversification into the bus and specialty vehicle transportation industries,” Lavers said.

The transaction is subject to approval by Coachmen shareholders. A special shareholders meeting has been set for Nov. 25.

"There is still much to be done, but we look forward to a long and bright future for both these fine companies," concluded Lavers.
 
G

Guest

Guest
RE: Coachman's being bought by Forest River

OH BOY,,,, OH BOY :clown:
 

C Nash

Senior Member
Re: Coachman's being bought by Forest River

Just what Coachman needs. :laugh: Rod you know your "OH BOY" is not official until you know who oks it. :eek: :laugh: :laugh:
 
G

Guest

Guest
Re: Coachman's being bought by Forest River

I know ,, but he might fight me on this one ,, yea right ;) :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
 

rjf7g

Senior Member
Re: Coachman's being bought by Forest River

This is interesting...I looked at a Coachmen product before I decided to go with Gulf Stream. I am curious about how the product lines will morph and whether or not quality will change much. At least not many people have lost their jobs yet.
 

C Nash

Senior Member
Re: Coachman's being bought by Forest River

Sometimes when quality goes down it wakes companys up. Examples Harleys until the foreign such as Honda got popular, GM, Ford, Cry in the 70s until the Toyotas took over. Now all these are much better due to competition. Will it take foreign made RVS to get our quality where it should be?
 

rjf7g

Senior Member
Re: Coachman's being bought by Forest River

I have never owned the same brand of camper twice and I have only bought once from a dealer...my satisfaction with Gulf Stream is relative to what I hear about other brands - I have little beefs but am overall happy. My satisfaction with my dealer is absolute. I will look at whatever brands GTS is selling when it comes time to buy again...I can trust him to sell me a quality product and support it after the sale. Not every RV customer is that lucky and manufacturers shouldn't set their dealers up like they do.
 

DL Rupper

Senior Member
Re: Coachman's being bought by Forest River

Well I was never overly impressed with Coachman RV's, but now?????????????? Golly what's next. If HitchHiker ever gets bought by FR I'm doomed. Oh well I'll probably never buy another RV. ;) :eek:
 
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