Keystone RV Expanding Three Plants

Keystone RV broke ground last month on a major construction project which will add 70,000 sq. ft. to the company's existing facilities at the Maple City Industrial Park in southwest Goshen, IN. The company expects to be in production in the new facilities before the end of the year.

Keystone will expand three plants to consolidate six of their facilities into four, while increasing overall production capacity.After announcing the building project, Cole Davis, president and CEO of  Keystone, said the plant expansions will allow Keystone to build completed products on each line rather than moving units between plants for completion.

"The additional space," Davis said, "will allow us to consolidate our production lines to improve efficiencies and quality control. We'll also increase our efficiency in making design and material changes that will further individualize Keystone's products in the marketplace."

Hammacher Schlemmer Institute.The grills were placed on a balcony, while a Chicago blizzard raged and temperatures plummeted to 16° F. The Best grill was the only one that ignited under these severe conditions, on the first try, and stayed lit. Temperatures at the center and outer edges of this grill were then measured, the Best grill had a center temperature reading of 174° F after just 10 minutes and the outer corner reached 81° F. Typical grill fare was then cooked - hotdog, hamburger and chicken. The unit has a temperature gauge to measure the heat index when the lid is closed which is helpful when prewarming the grill. The stainless steel burner heats up faster, cleans more easily and uses 10% less gas than cast-iron burners. It's cooking surface is a full square foot and a patented "smoker" plate inhibits grease fires, while increasing flavor without the flare-ups."

New Foundation Manual Outlines Strategies to Improve RV Customer Satisfaction

The RVDA Education Foundation has published a new dealer operations manual that can help RV dealerships increase customer satisfaction. Increasing Customer Satisfaction, by Bill Koster of Deutsche Financial Services, provides practical advice that dealers and their employees can use daily to improve relationships with customers, build trust and loyalty, and evaluate their customer service skills.

The manual outlines strategies for improving customer satisfaction such as: the eight rules of the team approach, empowering employees to take ownership of problems, and anticipating the customer's needs. The manual also features an RV customer service checklist that dealerships can use to evaluate their current customer satisfaction techniques.

A 1999 Recreation Vehicle Satisfaction Study by J.D. Power & Associates for the Go RVing Coalition says dealers can improve customer satisfaction through "relationship building and problem resolution." Increasing Customer Satisfaction offers constructive strategies to address these key issues. Koster is vice president, warranty and risk management for Deutsche Financial.

For information call (703) 591-7130 (ext 113).

RVIA Develops Series of Text Books for RV Techs

A series of RV text books designed to help guide National RV Technical Institute students, current RV service technicians and others interested in learning more about servicing and repairing RVs has been completed by RVIA's Education Department.

The 13-volume series covers RV components and operating systems. Individual text books include Basic Electricity; RV Electrical Systems; RV LP-Gas Systems; Introduction to RV Service; RV Generators; RV Ranges and Cooktops; RV Water Heaters; RV Plumbing Systems; RV Heating Systems; RV Refrigerators; RV Air Conditioning; RV Pre-Delivery Inspection; and RV Preventative Maintenance.

Other planned text books to be developed include RV Brake, Suspension and Towing Systems; RV Hydraulics; RV Exterior, Interior and Accessories; and RV Welding.

The text books were developed by technical industry commitees, RVIA standards and education staff as well as professional technical writers.

The RV Task and Skill Analysis developed by RVIA and RVDA to establish an industry-wide consensus on the knowledge and skills needed to be a successful RV service technician served as the basis for the text books. NRVTI instructors and master certified technicians were also consulted during the development of the books.

Tenneco Automotive Launched as Independent Company

Tenneco Automotive (NYSE: TEN), one of the world's largest producers of emissions control and ride control systems and products, began "regular" trading as an independent company, following completion of its strategic separation from Tenneco's packaging business in early November.

Tenneco Automotive is well-balanced across its product lines, markets and geographic regions. The company is a leader in the aftermarket, holding - during 1998 - the No. 1 market position in North America and Europe with its ride control and emissions control products.

Tenneco Automotive markets brands such as Monroe®, Walker®, Rancho® and Dynomax®. Tenneco Automotive also has a strong global position in the original equipment market, serving more than 25 different OE manufacturers on a global basis, including Ford, General Motors, Honda, Toyota, DaimlerChrysler, Volkswagen, BMW and Volvo.

Monroe recently introduced a whole new line of ride control products for the RV industry.

New Market Expansion Campaign Expands
in Reach, Frequency and Duration

Backed by a media budget of nearly $11 million for 2000, the new "Go RVing. Life's A Trip" national advertising campaign will feature an aggressive media schedule when it kicks off its three-year run in January.

Gary LaBella, RVIA's vice president of public relations and advertising, said, "With the Go RVing Phase II campaign being budgeted at $40 million over the next three years, which is double the amount for the original campaign, we are significantly expanding the reach, frequency and duration of the effort and creating more exposure for our messages,"

New Go RVing ads focusing on research-based benefits of RV travel, such as family bonding, freedom, and spending time close to nature, will air nationally on cable networks and appear in major magazines and on highly-visited web sites throughout the year.

The campaign's four 30-second television commercials will air approximately 2,400 times on 14 top cable networks in 2000. Top performers from Go RVing's three-year Phase I campaign return, including Animal Planet, The Discovery Channel, Home & Garden TV, The Learning Channel, Lifetime, The Nashville Network, Nick at Nite, TBS, TNT, USA Network and The Weather Channel. New additions are ESPN, Fox Family and The Travel Network.

Also, Go RVing ads will appear for the first time on popular sporting events, including ESPN Sunday Night Football and NASCAR, under this $8.2 million broadcast media schedule.

More than $2.5 million will be spent on 62 full-page insertions for the print portion of the advertising schedule.

New publications include American Park Network, Crayola Kids, Family Circle, Midwest Living, Popular Mechanics, Southern Living, Sports Afield, Sunset and Yankee. Returning magazines include Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, Better Homes & Gardens, Country Home, Country Living, Disney Magazine, Family Fun, Family Life, Field & Stream, Outdoor Explorer, Parenting Travel, Parents, and Reader's Digest.

For the first time ever, Go RVing will also purchase banner advertising on top websites, including yahoo.com, weather.com, family.com and GORP.com (Great Outdoor Recreation Pages).

This new media plan expands Go RVing's Phase I target market of baby boomers with children to include all families with children and baby boomers that are current or soon-to-be empty nesters or retirees. It also provides for advertising into the third and fourth quarter of the year to ensure peak consumer awareness and avoid message erosion.

MHA/RVIC Elects 2000 Officers

Perry Yoder, L & W Engineering, Goshen, IN, was elected to serve as 2000 president of the Indiana Manufactured Housing Association/Recreation Vehicle Indiana Council at the 55th Annual Convention held recently in Elkhart, IN.

Yoder was most recently elected to the board in 1997 and served as RV Council chairman in 1998 and 1999. Yoder first became active in the association in 1973 and has served several terms on the board and was the recipient of the President's Award in 1994 and 1995.

Vice President is Cynthia Tuff, Tops Home Center/Tuff Properties, Elkhart, IN; Secretary/Treasurer is Mike Higley, Suburban Mfg. Co., Elkhart, IN; MH Council Chairman is Dave Pletcher, Pletcher Insurance, Elkhart, IN; RV Council Chairman is Jim Foltz, Forest River, Elkhart, IN; and Brian Smith, Heritage Group, Elkhart, IN, will serve as Immediate Past President.

Phase I of the Market Expansion Campaign Impacted Awareness, Attitudes, Intentions

A new study measuring the effectiveness of the RV and campground industry's Go RVing national advertising campaign shows ad recall has more than doubled, RV attitudes have improved significantly, and the number of likely buyers has grown.

Since the campaign began in 1997, recall of the ads has grown from 10 percent to 22 percent among baby boomers with children, the initial target audience. TV commercials sponsored by Go RVing are now recalled by one in six of this target audience.

Baby boomers increasingly agree with specific statements pertaining to family travel in RVs, in comparison with the benchmark established in a study prior to the campaign's launch. Overall, attitudes are significantly more favorable among those who recall the Go RVing ads than among those who do not.

For example, just under half of baby boomers who recall the ads (49 percent) now agree that owning an RV would provide their family with the freedom to take short getaways without a lot of planning, compared to roughly a third of boomers who do not recall them. Likewise, 41 percent of those who recall the ads believe owning an RV would be a good way for their family to spend more time together, versus 28 percent of those who do not.

Well over a third of those who recall the ads believe owning an RV would be a good way to escape pressures and reconnect with nature, compared to just under a fourth of those who do not.

There was more positive attitudinal movement after the third run of ads between January and July 1999 than in the first two years of the campaign.

RV buying intentions among boomers with children also showed positive movement. Nationally, nearly a fourth now claim they will someday purchase. The likelihood of purchasing is significantly higher among those who recall the ads (39 percent versus 21 percent).

Richard Steele, executive vice president, SIR Marketing and Opinion Research, which performed the research, said, "The advertising appears to be changing attitudes regarding RVs and purchase intent, which is shown by the varying, more positive opinions among those aware of the ads and those who are not."

The study was conducted among a national sample of 1,600 persons representing all consumers age 30-49, with children, some college and a household income of $35,000 or more. Interviews were also conducted with 1,000 subscribers to selected magazines in which Go RVing ads appeared in 1999.

"There is ample evidence of the favorable effect of the campaign," Steele said. "There has been significant growth in the awareness of Go RVing's slogan and ads, favorable movement in attitudes regarding RVs, and an overall increase in the likelihood of purchase among the target audience."

The advertising effectiveness assessment was commissioned by the Go RVing Coalition to help measure the campaign's performance against its established goals of image enhancement and attitudinal impact.

SMC Returns to Profitability in Third Quarter

SMC Corporation (Nasdaq: SMCC) reported its results for the third quarter of 1999. For the three month period ended October 2, 1999 net sales decreased to $46.7 million from $50.3 million reported for the third quarter in 1998. Net income increased however for the same three-month period to $130,000 in the third quarter of 1999 from a loss of $2.5 million reported in the third quarter in 1998. Earnings for the quarter increased to $.02 per share on 5.8 million diluted shares outstanding from a loss of $(.38) per share on 6.5 million diluted shares outstanding for the third quarter of 1998.

RVN