Kimberley Kampers shuts gates

Kimberley Kampers has entered liquidation, with the Ballina, NSW manufacturer of premium off-road camper trailers and caravans shutting its factory gates and axing the jobs of around 50 workers.

The news is the latest financial drama for the troubled Kimberley Group, which was put into voluntary administration in late-2017. Around the same time, then managing director Bruce Loxton stepped down, with business partner Todd Cannock taking over the reins and injecting substantial investment funds into the company.

According to a report in Time to Roam, “all of Kimberley Kampers’ staff have been told they’re no longer employed, and there are security guards at the gates of the premises preventing anything, or anyone, going in or out”.

Cannock is said to have “invested millions into the business”, and according to local newspaper, the Northern Star,  the 50-odd employees were told of their fate only this morning, and instructed they could only enter the factory to retrieve personal belongings.

A letter to employees said the company had “ceased trading” and “your employment with the company has been terminated".

Insolvency form SV Partners have been appointed liquidators, and it was reported that some employees were owed entitlements. Also facing a nervous wait are customers who have placed orders and put down deposits in recent months.

Operating since 1994, Kimberley was one of the most innovative manufacturers in the Australian RV industry, building the high-tech Kimberley Kamper, clever Kimberley Karavan and the pricey E and S-Class luxury off-road caravans, and more recently, the show-stopping Unimog Kruiser.