EDITORIAL

The "Rebel" Retires

Some people are born into success, in other words, they inherit social status and/or a profession; others have to do it the old fashioned way - earn it - and some strive but never seem to achieve it. Mat Perlot, co-founder of SMC Corp, (SMC) earned success.

And that's one of the reasons why we are sad that he has announced his resignation as CEO and is leaving the day-to-day management to his friend and co-founder of SMC, Curt Lawler. Like many in the industry, I was a little surprised by his retirement announcement because I know how much he enjoys the battle. But when his doctors told him that unless he removed the stress from life, they were not too optimistic about his longevity. Mat weighed the options and decided to retire.

Mat Perlot has had a dramatic impact on the industry. He not only made his company great, he kept raising the bar through innovations in RV design that made other RV manufacturers better too.

You have to admire what Mat has accomplished since founding Safari Motor Coaches in 1986. He took nothing more than an idea, an idea that was rejected by his then employers at Beaver Coach, and built an empire. His idea was to build a motor coach more expensive than the traditional production coaches and less expensive than the high line coaches in the luxury class category. He wanted to give the coach buyer a good value and a coach with all the amenities so they wouldn't have to immediately open their check books to buy accessories -- awnings, air conditioners, generators and the like.

If you were a betting person, you probably would have gotten pretty good odds in the mid-eighties against his being able to make it all. He targeted a market segment, motorized, that traditionally is vulnerable to the slightest economic downturn as we are seeing today. He launched his idea just prior to the recession spurred, in part, by the Gulf War. But history tells us he did make it work, and he is credited by many as having created a whole new market segment - the $100,000 to $200,000 motorhome category.

It is my privilege as editor of RV News to be on a first-name basis with many chief executives of RV manufacturing companies. When I first met Mat in 1987, shortly after he founded Safari Motor Coaches, Inc., I could sense that he was different from most CEOs. He was focused on a mission, and he had that entrepreneurial passion about what he was doing that seems to fade from founders as their companies grow. And what he was doing was listening to motorhome buyers and building a coach that met their needs.

And those first coaches that rolled off the production line in a little manufacturing facility in Eugene, OR, in many cases reflected the inexperience of a production crew being trained, a point I made in my first test article about a Safari Serengeti for Family Motor Coach magazine. In spite of that candor, Mat and I hit it off pretty well - we seemed to have a kinship, especially about what we liked and disliked about the industry. I am proud to count Mat Perlot as a friend.

And over the years, I have taken an interest in Mat's quest and been pleased to see his successes.

Every so often Mat and I take time to sit down to an off-the-record discussion about the industry, his company, and what he was planning in the future.

I remember one of those sessions in particular in 1995. I flew from my home in Phoenix into Eugene in late December and joined Mat and we flew in SMC's corporate airplane to a mountain community near Bend where Mat lives.

Mat's home had an office which is linked by direct telephone lines and computer via a network to SMC so he can work here with the same efficiency as either of his offices in Harrisburg or Bend. His office overlooks a golf course, which was laden with a picturesque heavy blanket of snow that day.

As the company had grown, the demands on Mat's time and energies had grown as well. But that day, he was completely relaxed.

As the logs in the fireplace crackled and warmed the room, we talked about the industry, the company, the Internet, computers, mutual friends, books, golf, family and a variety of other topics. It was an enjoyable day filled with good memories.

At that same time Dan Holt and I were in the process of starting RV America, the web site hosting company for many RV companies. At the time, the commercialization of the Inter-net was in its infancy. During the visit with Mat he shared some of his ideas about the potential of the Internet and what it could be if approached properly. When we launched RV America a couple of months later, many of Mat's ideas were integrated into our philosophy and remain part of RV America today.

In my opinion what set Mat apart was his passion about his company and his customers -- something I recognized the first time we met. And even though he has accomplished a great deal and is now prepared to reap the rewards of success in retirement, he never lost sight of what made it all possible. As much as any company executive I've observed, Mat Perlot knows his company's products and was involved daily making sure that everybody from service techs to designers stayed focused on customer service and building coaches that meet the needs of the buyer.

It's interesting to me what drives successful people - money, power, status, recognition. What drives Mat I think is the competition. He loves the game. He relishes getting ahead and staying ahead of the competition. It amuses him when a competitor starts focusing on him rather than the marketplace - and he's not above taking some minor playful action designed to simply frustrate and aggravate that competitor.

And his gamesmanship extends to organizations, not just competitors. When Mat first started the company he joined the powerful and political Recreation Vehicle Industry Association (RVIA) and attended the national show in Louisville, KY. He was disappointed and vocal about having his exhibit stuck off in a cold comer of a vast array of exhibit halls. He resigned from RVIA in protest -- and RVIA didn't care much. They certainly didn't need a motorhome manufacturer that had only produced a few coaches. But after SMC became one of the major manufacturers in the industry, RVIA came courting on more than one occasion. It didn't set a good example in their minds to have a manufacturer be this successful outside their protective umbrella. You can bet that Mat relished their sudden attention -- when you talked to him about it he gets this real devilish smile on his face. And that's not to say that SMC may never rejoin RVIA, but he was going to enjoy the game a little longer.

If competition in the RV industry is a game, Mat Perlot was a winner because he played the game very well.

Did Mat change with success? I'm sure he has, but nothing obvious. He's not full of himself. Yes, he has an ego, show me a successful person who doesn't -- it's one of the elements that makes them successful.

I don't believe that Mat Perlot set out to become an RV industry icon when he founded the company less than 15 years ago, but he has achieved that distinction. And he did it in a partnership with his customers, the buyers of SMC's products. And as you talk to him today you realize that relationship with the company's customer is still the most important aspect of his focus.

On one hand we are sorry to see Mat retire because he had the gift to make things interesting. But on the other hand, we believe he made the right decision. RV News named Perlot "RV Industry Person of the  Year" for 1994, but the first story on Perlot in 1989 was entitled "Rebel." He challenged the status quo, brought untold innovations to the industry and leaves a lasting mark on us and the industry.

As for Mat, he's going fishing.

RVN