Avan celebrates 25 years

Pakenham, Victoria-based RV manufacturer Avan is celebrating its 25th anniversary with upmarket Euro-influenced layouts and décor rolled out across its 2018 caravan range.

At the same time, Avan has sounded the death-knell on the uber-stylish German Eurostar in Australia with the introduction of its new locally-built Infinity range which, according to Avan Director Scott Van Baardwyk, incorporates all the Eurostar’s features for around $25,000-$30,000 less.

Because of the waning local demand, Avan has been in no hurry to bring the latest entry-level model Knaus caravans to Australia and Avan only had Knaus motorhomes on display at the recent Victorian Caravan Supershow.

The Eurostar is simply priced way out of the market, with its last retail price approaching $100,000, due to the extensive work required to present it in a spec suitable for Australian demands.

“Let’s just say the Knaus Eurostar in its current form is currently on ice,” said Van Baardwyk. “We will be watching future developments, but the price differential with our latest locally-built luxury models makes it difficult at present.”

Aussie with Euro flair

The new Avan décor, which includes duo-tone, curved upper cabinetry, recessed and accentuated cupboards, new interior hardware and more modern colour schemes, has been six months in the making and has been entirely designed and executed ‘in house’.

Show priced from $69,990, the new 6.23-metre-long Infinity 609 and its larger 6.98m-long 685 sister model, with their slide-out bedrooms incorporating luxury caravan features like pop-up 40-inch TVs, full-width rear ensuites with large wall-mounted washing machines, well-equipped kitchens and roomy U-shaped club lounges, are pitched squarely against their major Jayco Silverline rivals.

At the same time, Avan has ramped up production of its Golf Maxxi on-road caravan and pop-top range, with on-road Golfs matching off-road Savannah models on display on the expansive A’van site at the Victorian Supershow.

Avan remains one of Australia’s ‘top 3’ RV manufacturers, with Van Baardwyk confirming that the company produced more than 2000 caravans, pop-tops and motorhomes in 2017, despite a softening market.

Family business on the rise

The company has come a long way since 1993, when Avan was established by expatriate Dutch couple Jeff Van Baardwyk and his wife Marion in a compact 3000 square metre factory in Hallam, where they were quickly joined in the business, first by their son and current Managing Director Jeffrey (who turned 50 at the Caravan Show) and then by his younger brother Scott.

Initially they built their innovative folding-wall A-Liner campers, but after moving into pop-top caravans, they then outgrew two more Hallam factories before purchasing and developing their present site in 2003.

With their parents officially retired, Jeff and Scott now run the business, although their father, who is an avid motorhome traveller,  still maintains a keen overseeing interest in the company’s operations.

Avan went through a major expansion phase in late 2012 after acquiring the recession-crippled Queensland-based camper and caravan manufacturer Golf and adding the prestige European brand Knaus to its portfolio after a 14-year courtship by the Van Baardwyks with the giant Dutch-owned German RV manufacturer Knaus Tabbert, based in Jandelsbrunn, Bavaria.

The deal was intended to see Knaus caravans and motorhomes built in the Pakenham factory on local galvanised steel chassis as a major brand under the Avan masthead. However other than for motorhomes, the demand by Australians travellers for British and European caravans has softened in recent years.

Some of this has been due to the advances in décor and features by Australian caravan manufacturers, while the huge increase in popularity of crew cab utes as tow vehicles and Toyota’s decision to raise the maximum braked towing capacity of its popular Prado to 3000kg, has taken some of the heat out of the lightweight advantage of the imports.