Ron Lee announces sale of Country Coach and its intellectual property to Winnebago Industries
Ron Lee shares a personal note with Country Coach family
As
we enter this holiday season here at Country Coach, we also enter a season of
change. As most of you know, I
have spent most of my adult life growing, nurturing and eventually rescuing the
Country Coach brand that I love. I am very proud of what Country Coach came to
represent, but I am even more proud of work the core group I assembled
after purchasing the intellectual property of Country Coach has accomplished.
From the start my goals were to resurrect Country Coach in the spirit in which it was created - to produce the finest
motor coaches available. As you
know, we have continued to work on the next generation of Country Coach product
in the design and prototype stage and to transfer that work to reality of a product,
actual production requires much more. To do that I needed to find the
right resources to augment and grow what we have started. To that end, I have
been working diligently for the past two years. Of the options I had to choose
from I have made what I consider the very best choice for Country Coach for
both service and production. I am pleased to announce that, effective today, I
have sold the Country Coach Campus and intellectual property to Winnebago
Industries. I have worked with Winnebago to ensure that Country Coach moves
forward and work will begin in earnest to assemble the infrastructure that will
lead to Country Coach production. Winnebago will also bring production of some
of its current diesel motorhome offerings to Junction City. Please note that future Country Coach
products will not be rebranded Winnebagos, but products specifically designed
and built to the exacting performance, amenity and standard levels that have
always defined Country Coach. Obviously this process will take time but everyone
involved is committed to making Country Coach the premier motorcoach offering
available.
I made this decision because I believe that
Winnebago is the best fit for Country Coach and that their, culture, dedication
to design and build quality closely mirrors the standards I have set. This
transition includes a change for me also as I will step down from the day to
day operations. But rest assured, I intend to be the leading Country Coach
brand enthusiast so you can expect to see and hear from Cookie and I from time
to time as we travel around the country in our 2016 Country Coach Allure.
As I write this, I am recalling designing the
first Country Camper Class A, I used a lower front from a Winnebago Class A to
mock it up, we have come full circle. Until
the next time we meet!! Ron Lee
Below are excerpts from
an article in the 12/1/15 Register Guard Eugene OR Newspaper
UPDATE TO STORY THAT FOLLOWS: Commissioners voted Tuesday to spend up to $100,000 of video lottery funds to help pay for the infrastructure improvements necessary to open the plant. Video lottery funds are distributed by state and must be targeted for economic development activities. Tuesday's action leaves just under $60,000 for other projects through next summer.
UPDATE TO STORY THAT FOLLOWS: Commissioners voted Tuesday to spend up to $100,000 of video lottery funds to help pay for the infrastructure improvements necessary to open the plant. Video lottery funds are distributed by state and must be targeted for economic development activities. Tuesday's action leaves just under $60,000 for other projects through next summer.
Lane County considers $100,000 incentive
for proposed RV factory in Junction City
Sources say Winnebago
Industries would open the factory, hiring 200 people
The Lane County Board
of Commissioners will was considering Tuesday a $100,000 economic development grant to a
motor home manufacturing company that hopes to open a factory in Junction City
and hire 200 employees. At the company’s request, county officials on Monday
didn’t disclose its name, the industry it’s in or the exact location it’s
considering. But the company is Winnebago Industries, the iconic Iowa-based
recreational vehicle manufacturer, according to two sources with knowledge of
the proposal who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the deal. A
spokesman for Business Oregon, the state’s economic development department,
confirmed that the company seeking the county incentive is a motor home
manufacturer. A Winnebago spokesman didn’t return a call seeking comment
Monday. The unnamed company plans initially to hire 200 employees at the plant,
according to a memo to the county board from the county’s economic development
manager, Glenda Poling. The average wage would be $16 to $20 an hour — or
$33,280 to $41,600 a year — with a “full benefits package,” she wrote.
The proposed county money would be used to help pay for
unspecified infrastructure costs needed for the facility, Poling wrote. The RV
maker is planning to buy the Junction City property that formerly housed
Country Coach’s manufacturing wing before that motor home company declared
bankruptcy in 2009, multiple sources said Monday. The property is in the
southeast corner of Junction City, off East First Avenue. Winnebago wais
expected to formally announce the project at the Recreation Vehicle Industry
Association’s national convention in Louisville, Ky., according to multiple
sources. The Junction City move would be significant for Winnebago, whose
manufacturing operations have always been heavily concentrated at a huge
factory in Forest City, Iowa — the largest motor home plant in the world.
Unlike many other RV makers, Winnebago manufactures most of its motor home
parts itself. ..You may read more at
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