New Age joins Australian Made club

New Age has joined other local RV manufacturers including Jayco, Lotus, Patriot and TrayOn in being certified to use the well-known Australian Made logo.

New Age marketing manager, Melissa Serovska, said the big-selling Melbourne manufacturer had to meet a strict set of criteria and take part in an exhaustive process to achieve the coveted certification, that included an inspection of New Age caravans at its Epping, Victoria factory and concluded with an official ceremony attended by Australian Made Campaign CEO Ben Lazzaro and New Age Caravans managing director Gabby Montagnese.

“Our customers really appreciate the fact that our caravans are made in Australia and we received an excellent response on social media after making the announcement,” Serovska said.

Among the positive comments on New Age’s Facebook page included one from Iain Maclean: "Now it's official? Well done NA to get the certification, keeping jobs right here in Australia is something to be proud of. And we are very happy to know we have a van that is true blue too.”

At the recent Melbourne Supershow, the Australian Made logo was prominently displayed on New Age's latest Walkinshaw-designed Oz Classic and Desert Rose caravans, as well as the entry-level Road Owl, which has become New Age’s top-selling caravan with sharp sub- $50,000 entry pricing that competes directly with the growing number of cheaper Chinese caravans available in Australia.

At the same show, Australian Made logo signs and stickers were also prominently displayed across the 2019-model range of off-road caravans from Melbourne's Lotus. The signage, which included one saying “The mark of Aussie authenticity’ was also used on a bare G&S Chassis, which is a supplier to Lotus and remains locally based despite a recent takeover by global RV giant AL-KO.

“it’s a testament to our great Aussie ingenuity to slap the Australian Made sticker on our vans and a perfect complement to our 15th anniversary as a business,” Lotus sales manager Goce Bumbaroski said. “We’re proud to display the Aussie Made logo, as not everyone gets to wear it.”

Bumbaroski also referred to recent Roy Morgan research figures put out by the Australian Made Campaign that showed that 90 per cent of Australians are more likely to buy Australian-made products than those from overseas.

Also at the Supershow, Queensland’s Patriot Campers displayed ‘Australian owned and made’ stickers on its X1 and XC camper trailers, while fellow Queensland TrayOn was also flying the Australian Made flag at its small display nearby.

Australian Made licensees must use at least one of a number of official logoes on registered products, including ‘Australian Made’, ‘Product of Australia’, and ‘Australian Made & Owned.”

According to the Australia Made website, a product that has “undergone its last substantial transformation in Australia” is entitled to use the Australian Made logo.

A large number of Jayco RVs at the Supershow were also emblazoned with official ‘Australian Made’ stickers, including its latest JTRAK tent trailer, which has some substantial components manufactured in China but is locally assembled and tested.

The Australian Made campaign has led the push to ‘buy local’ over the past three decades, and been the go-to marketing initiative for brands wishing to spruik their homegrown credentials, including some of Australian best-known corporate names like Qantas, Harvey Norman and Coles.

RV accessory manufacturers including Ampfibian and the Airbag Man also use the Australian Made logo.

Australian Made licenced companies pay an annual fee, which is on a sliding scale depending on revenue generated from applicable products. As Top-5 Australian caravan manufacturers, both Jayco and New Age pay the top rate of $25,000, for generating annual revenue above $45 million.