Jayco manufactures 1 millionth recreational vehicle

The 48-year-old family-owned company based in Middlebury announced the milestone on Tuesday.

“We are very proud of our accomplishment of providing 1,000,000 families a means to fulfill their dream of owning an RV,” Wilbur Bontrager, Jayco’s chairman of the board, said in a press release. “It feels good to be able to accomplish, at such a high volume, what our father and mother set out to do nearly 50 years ago.” 

Lloyd and Bertha Bontrager started Jayco in two chicken houses and a barn on their family farm in 1968 with 15 employees making 138 fold down camping trailers in the first year, according to the company’s website. This year, Jayco has about 1,600 employees producing RVs under the Jayco, Starcraft, Entegra Coach and Highland Ridge brands.