Regent Caravans back in business

Growing RV business Caravans Australia has acquired Regent Caravans and will begin production again at the Campbellfield factory that shut down in April, after the 20-year-old manufacturer went into voluntary liquidation.

“We saw the opportunity to resurrect a very famous, well-known, iconic caravan brand that has brought many years of happiness to the caravanning public,” explained Adrian van Geelen, group managing director of Caravans Australia which also includes Bailey Caravans and Legacy Caravans.

Van Geelen said the Regent factory is currently being re-equipped so both Regent and Legacy caravans can be more efficiently produced along the same production line.

"We're bringing all the resources of the group together to change the way the caravans are being produced, more along an assembly line process rather than as a bespoke, custom made caravan producer," he said.

"The next couple of weeks we're putting in new equipment, we're cleaning it up,” he said, referring to a factory that’s been described as “an absolute mess” when it closed.

"I have also employed the very well known industry figure, ex-Boroma Caravans’ Graeme Groves as general manager, who will be overseeing production of Caravans Australia,” van Geelen said.

Production of updated Regent models will begin "in three to four weeks time" and a dealer network is being set up.

"From the outside (the Regent caravans) will look the same but internally there will be lots of revamped and rejigged ideas," he said.

A revamped Regent range is expected to make its public debut at the Border RV & Camping Expo at Albury Wodonga on August 17-19. 

Van Geelen said a Caravans Australia website is also in the process of being set up and phone and email lines to the Regent factory should be open “in about a week’s time”.