Pioneer Campers for sale

Pioneer Campers, which was only acquired from its West Australian founders in 2011 by Melbourne-based industrial metal fabrication specialist Actco-Pickering Metal Industries, is back on the market, with a new owner expected to be confirmed by Easter.

The impending sale of the 21-year-old RV business, most likely to an un-named locally-based businessman with South African interests, sees production of Pioneer’s hard-floor folding campers and award-winning Mitchell hard-shell Tvan look-alike halted at Acto-Pickering’s  South Dandenong plant on March 30.

However, the company has assured current and future Pioneer customers that warranty and servicing will continue to be fulfilled at South Dandenong during the transition.

Challenging market conditions

According to Actco-Pickering Metal Industries’ CEO, Hymie Jechilevsky, the decision to sell Pioneer was driven by increasingly challenging market conditions and the organisation’s aggressive growth plans for their other leading brands: Ridgeback Service Bodies and APMI Contracting.

“Given the significant growth across our other business units and increased demands for service bodies and rail and defence solutions, we decided that manufacturing camper trailers is no longer a strategic fit for our rapidly-evolving business.” Jechilevsky said.

The company’s National Sales & Marketing Manager, Jane Riley, said the business was still viable, with sales of the Mitchell currently accounting for about 100 units a year.

She said about 65 of the 100 forward orders in the system stretching to October this year were for Mitchells and the remainder for Pioneer’s Argyle, Arglye SE, Longreach, Onyx and Gascoyne camper trailers.

Investors are circling

“The business is healthy,” she said. “It just doesn’t fit into Acto-Pickering’s current expansion plans for its other business interests that include a number of innovative new products in the next two years.”

Riley said there were “a couple of investors” currently looking at the Pioneer business, but Acto-Pickering’s preference was for its ownership remain in Australia.

She said Pioneer customers had been informed of the impending sale and were very supportive.

“They love the product and want it to survive and grow,” she said.

Rumours confirmed

The sale was effectively previewed earlier this year when a would-be dealer contacted rival camper makers with the rumour than Pioneer was on the market. This was hosed down by Acto-Pickering at the same, with the company declining to take action against the rumour instigator.

Riley said that most of Acto-Picker’s current workforce currently working on Pioneer production would be absorbed into other facets of the business in South Dandenong.