Thor Industries showcased the company’s future while celebrating its past Tuesday during the Thor Open House Kick Off Breakfast as part of Elkhart Extravaganza.
Speaking in the Peter B. Orthwein Pavilion that bears the name of Thor’s co-founder, President and CEO Bob Martin talked about the importance of building relationships with the brands’ dealers.
For the second straight year, a primary focus was Thor’s partnership with RV Partfinder. Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Todd Woelfer provided dealers with an update on a system that he said will make it easier for service departments to find needed parts. He said a Thor survey showed a huge need for a solution to this common problem.
According to the survey:
- 63% are not satisfied with the part identification process.
- 58% are not satisfied with the part ordering process.
- 77% are not satisfied with part details.
- 88% have interest in a new parts identification and sourcing solution platform.
Thor acquired RV Partfinder from creator Tom Utterback.
“We took a very chaotic process and we simplified it,” he said. “We made an investment to create a database that allows us to identify the parts any way that your team prefers to identify them. You can identify the part from the supplier part number, a catalog number, a barcode, a common description of the part. You name it, and our system will help you identify the part.”
Woelfer said RV Partfinder will then help find matching parts, which are often identified differently depending on the supplier and other factors. He said service departments are challenged to identify the part they need. The process is often complicated when searching for the part within the dealership’s inventory.
“Once they identify, they check your inventory and guess what? That part is not there, but you know what? Often it is,” Woelfer said. “It is just under a different part number. So, we have created an AKA database that cross references the part that gets identified, so that your team will know exactly what you have in stock and tell you which parts can be used for repair.”
Martin highlighted many new brands and models dealers are examining this week. Among them is Entegra Coach’s Embark, an extended range hybrid electric Type A motorhome that was unveiled at the Jayco Dealer Homecoming in Texas last month.
“No one knows exactly where EVs are going,” Martin said, “but we are trying to get to the forefront.”
He turned next to another Entegra motorhome, the Centurion. Built on a Freightliner Cascadia chassis, the Super C features a bath-and-a-half layout in the 39N model on display.
Martin’s speech included mentions of Heartland’s entirely new lineup, Highland Ridge’s Open Range 3X, KZ RV’s Sportster and Domani, Thor Motor Coach’s Chateau and Pasadena, Tiffin’s Open Trail and Dutchmen’s Denali.
Martin spotlighted the company’s history in his speech to dealers. He shared the Thor credo that co-founder Wade Thompson wrote many years ago.
Martin said he wanted to share the credo with the company’s salespeople to remind them that the business is about partnerships and relationships with the dealers. Co-founder Peter Orthwein joined Martin onstage to address the crowd.
“I have been in the business since 1977, almost 50 years,” Orthwein said. “I have seen ups and downs. I have never been so optimistic as I am today. Interest rates are coming down. Our products are better than they have ever been. I think we are going to have a really good spring.”
