FOREST CITY, Iowa -- After a nearly 30-year absence, Winnebago Industries is getting back into the towable RV business.
The motorhome manufacturer, whose name is often used interchangeably with "recreational vehicle," has completed its purchase of substantially all assets of SunnyBrook RV Inc., a subsidiary of SunnyBrook Manufacturing Inc., for $5.7 million in cash, according to a press release.
Winnebago will keep production in Middlebury, Ind., and Elvie Frey, president and majority owner of SunnyBrook, will lead the new subsidiary as president of Winnebago of Indiana.
"This is a great opportunity for us to grow our organization as we develop exciting new products from both the SunnyBrook and Winnebago brands," Frey said in the release.
The acquisition of SunnyBrook, first announced in October, has put the Iowa company into the travel trailer and fifth wheel market. Winnebago built its last travel trailer in 1983 and since has focused on motorhomes.
It captures more than 18 percent of the Class A and Class C retail sales in the United States, according to Winnebago's fiscal 2010 annual report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The company describes itself as leading the RV industry for the last nine years with the largest share of the domestic market for Class A and Class C motorhomes.
High fuel prices, followed by the worst economic collapse since the Great Depression, shifted the entire motorhome market into reverse.
Although the entire RV industry was crippled by the recession, the motorized segment suffered the most, with wholesale shipments falling from an average of 58,000 units per year prior to 2008 to 13,200 in 2009.
Winnebago recorded declining net revenues from $870.2 million in fiscal year 2007 to $211.5 million in 2009. Fiscal 2010 brought an upturn, with net revenues climbing to $449.5 million and net income reaching $10.2 million after a $78.8 million loss in 2009.
Through November 2010, total motorhome shipments have hit 23,300, a 100.9 percent improvement over the previous year, according to Recreation Vehicle Industry Association.
Towables also are recovering, with a 43.3 percent jump to 200,700 units shipped for January through November.
The takeover of SunnyBrook made a "great fit" for Winnebago and gives the motorhome maker a presence in Elkhart County, Randy Potts, Winnebago senior vice president of strategic planning, stated in the press release.
The company plans to diversify SunnyBrook's product line to include Winnebago brand travel trailer and fifth wheel units, according to the release.