b'BY BEN QUIGGLEManufacturers are saying that more park model RV buyers arelooking for units that feature luxury amenities. Photo credit: CavcoPMRV Manufacturers Enjoy Increasing Sales in times low. Right now, we are bookeduntil July and we have been for the lastmonth or so. Park owners start calling2019 as They Expand Operations to Meet Demand this time of year, so it is tough to tellthem that we cant produce their cabinsthis spring, because of course that isWhile focus for the majority of 2019 builders to look at ways of expanding and get its units to customers quicker.when they always want them.was on the decreasing numbers of RV their operations to meet the influx of or- Even more growth is expected as the Smuckersaidhehopestodoubleshipmentswhich is set to continue al- ders they are receiving.company targets the outdoor hospital- productioncapacitywithinthenextbeit at a slower pace in 2020, according Elkhart, Ind.-based Skyline Cham- ity business in particular, according to year or so. to the RV Industry Association(RVIA)pion Inc. saw increased business at all Grymonprez.Then hopefully we wont have toin the park model RV (PMRV) arena the 11 of its PMRV plants in 2019, according Right now, we are designing floor- lose so much business because of thegood times continued. to Dick Grymonprez, director of park plans, options and packages that are lead time, he noted.RVIA reported PMRV shipments were model sales.gearedexclusivelytowardtherental Munfordville, Ky.-based Amish Cabinup 15.9% for the year at the end of No- Thatisthefirst market, he said. That is where we feel Company hasalsoseenproductionvember with a cumulative total of 3,925. time as a company the growth in our industry is going to numbers spike over the last year and isThemonthofNovemberalonesaw wehaveeverhad come from. welcoming a planned expansion at theshipments increase 16.7% compared to that happen, he ex- Business has been so strong at Lan- productionfacilitythatbuildsitsNovember 2018.plained.Wehave caster Log Cabins, a Lancaster County, PMRVs. Driven by the increasing interest in had years in the past Pa.-based manufacturer of PMRVs, that The Amish builder that producesglamping and the growing crop of Dick Grymonprez where maybe a few Dan Smucker, owner of the company, is our cabins is doubling his productiondevelopers who are entering the RV plantsincreased completely focused on finishing con- capacity, said Linton Wells, the com-parkandcampgroundsectors,the production, but not all 11. That is pretty struction on a brand-new manufactur- panysowner. Inordertomeetde-PMRV manufacturers who spoke with amazing. ing facility.mand, we need to be in a position toWoodallsCampgroundManagement Skyline Champion has been adding We are hoping to move in sometime produce higher volumes of PMRVs and(WCM) anticipate this growth trend to PMRV production lines at traditionally thiscomingsummer,heexplained. that is what we are working toward.continue for the foreseeable future.modular home plantslike its plant in Each year we get busier and busier, and Here is a look at some of the PMRVThis in turn is forcing many PMRV Corona, Calif.to keep up with demand we need this facility to keep our build manufacturers that WCMspoke with.Amish Cabin Company offer,explainedWells.TheAmish Cabin Company is still relatively new to the PMRV business, having just received its PMRV market is really drifting to-RVIA certification last July, but Wells said things have been going great for the company. It uti- wards the higher-end amenities.lizes an all-Amish workforce and a manufacturing plant that is completely off the grid and pow- People are still on a budget, butered by solar panels.what were finding is that whenWe plan to launch another youre only talking about a 400-model in 2020, he told WCM. It square-foot ground floor unit, towill have higher sidewalls, be- go between basic and high end iscause people are telling us that maybe only a spread of $5,000 ortheywanthighersidewalls, so.along with taller windows. They For instance, we have an op-also want more built-in features tion to put granite countertops inlike wardrobes, storage spaces instead of laminate in both theand furnaces. kitchen and bathroom, he contin- The Goldenrod model is one of three Amish Cabin offers. Amish Cabin Company of- ued.Thatsa$2,000optiontofers three models, the Golden- have granite or quartz versus laminate. Most people we are talking to want the granite.rod, Senna and Clover, and all (606) 922-8401www.amishcabincompany.comcome with either a rustic cabinlookorinacountrycottage Cavco Industries Inc. style. The rustic cabin look fea- With 19 plants across the U.S., Cavco locations build somewhat independently to supply parkAmish Cabin Company hangs its hat on its PMRVs rustic cabin look.tures either hand scraped or models and cabins to meet the demands of customers across the U.S. and Canada.smoothed log siding, while the Brian Albright, sales manager for Cavcos Fairmont division, said that the company has beenexterior of the country cottage PMRVs feature Louisiana Pacific(LP) siding.very busy as it continues to add new dealers. Our customers love our Amish craftsmanship and the higher-end design features we A majority of what we are producing is going to the outdoor hospitality industry, he explained. 16 -February 2020 Woodalls Campground Management'