Tour de Force

It’s fair to say many of the 100-plus caravan manufacturers in Australia operate tiny factories, with fewer than 20 staff painstakingly hand-building a couple of vans a week if they’re lucky.

Then there’s Jayco, a household name that employs around 850 employees, runs a 55,000sqm mega-factory on Melbourne’s outskirts, and using semi-automated, streamlined production processes, churns out an RV on average every 12 minutes – or approximately 10,000 a year, claiming a 46 per cent market share.

Nestled in the industrial suburb of Dandenong, the ultra-modern headquarters opened in 2007 and is a far cry from the dilapidated chook shed where founder Gerry Ryan cobbled together his first camper trailer in 1975.

The massive, purpose-built complex comprises five factories (with a sixth on the way) and even has its own street named after it – Jayco Drive – that runs the length of the sprawling 50 acre site.

But divulging company secrets is obviously not a major issue for the high-profile Ryan, who allows anyone with two hours of spare time to book in for an extensive, guided factory tour, which currently run three times a week.

A whirlwind of facts and figures, the tour is as much about the Jayco ‘philosophy’ as a fascinating insight into an Australian manufacturing success story.

Here are a few insights gleaned after a recent tour...

THE GERRY RYAN SHOW

Despite its success, Jayco remains very much a family-owned business, led by larger-than-life founder and managing director Gerry Ryan.

But it’s just one of many interests occupying the time of the high-profile businessman and philanthropist today, drummed home by the large ‘Walking with Dinosaurs’ trailer we spotted in an outside lot at the Jayco factory.

Along with owning Melbourne Cup-winning horses and wineries and supporting countless sports and charities, Ryan is a major investor in Global Creatures, the production company behind the Walking with Dinosaurs and King Kong stage shows.

On the week that we toured Jayco, Ryan was out of town following his Green Edge cycling team at the greatest tour of them all, the Tour de France. As our guide explained, Ryan is personally bankrolling Australia’s first professional cycling team to the tune of $40 million, and joked that in order to help pay for it he was currently selling land he also owns surrounding the Jayco factory.

However, the man with the “Midas touch” still manages to drop in unannounced on the factory floor every once in a while, to check if build quality is up to his standards.

LESS HANDS ON BOARD

Caravan building in Australia, even at Jayco, remains very much a hands-on affair, although Jayco comes closest to emulating the mass-production processes of the automotive industry, adopting computerised, automated machinery where feasible.

It’s obvious the company has invested millions of dollars in overseas, CNC technology including edging banders, routers, and saws. One particular machine, a Biesse Rover C9 capable of cutting up to 34 pieces of 3mm ply in one hit, is one of just four in the country.

Jayco also uses a hi-tech laserlight positioning system, like that used by British caravan builder Bailey, to assist with quick, precise cutting of panels. 

However, the best place to work in winter would have to be the sealed room where fibreglass sandwich panels are made. It’s kept at a constant, and cosy 21 degrees to aid the lamination process.

ECONOMIES OF SCALE

Ever wondered how Jayco manages to offer better value-for-money than many other manufacturers? Getting the best prices by buying in huge quantities from suppliers certainly helps. As does using the same parts from tiny screws and brackets to fridges and air-con units on everything from $15,000 campers to $150,000 motorhomes. As our tour guide explains, “Dealing in millions (of parts) keeps the price down.”

It also helps that all variants from caravans to motorhomes are built essentially the same way, apart from things like a motorhome going up on a hoist to install the plumbing.

Similar models are also produced in 'batches' of around 40 at a time on the production line, while other efficiencies like pre-plumbed showers, pre-assembled furniture modules and car-like wiring looms help speed up the process and reduce labour costs.

KEEPING STAFF ON A HIGH

The personal satisfaction from producing some of Australia’s best-selling caravans, not to mention a decent wage at the end of the week, no doubt motivate Jayco employees to turn up to work each day. But the hard-working staff are also entitled to a couple of perks you won’t find in too many workplaces.

Located in the modern office complex at 1 Jayco Drive is a high-altitude gym where under the guidance of a personal trainer, employees can discover the fitness benefits of running on a treadmill while breathing the sort of oxygen-deprived air normally found at Mt Everest base camp.

And instead of heading to the beach after work they can lie back in a recliner and soak in the sea breezes, courtesy of the recently-installed salt room, which among other health benefits is good for clearing up a cold or relieving eczema.

SEW GOOD

In the bustling ‘sewing room’, dozens of mostly female workers churn out furniture fabrics and canvas and vinyl exterior sections at a prodigious rate. Altogether, around 80 one-piece roof tents for the slide-out camper trailers are stitched together each week on the heavy-duty sewing machines.

Remarkably, apart from improvements in tent fabrics and other materials over the years, the design has changed very little since the mid-1970s.

WE’LL DO IT OUR WAY

Jayco relies on hundreds of suppliers from around the world but still tries where possible to produce as many parts in-house, from cushions and coverings to furniture, chassis, and body and roof panels. The reasons are as much about keeping costs down as keeping an eye on quality.

Now it seems Jayco is about to introduce its own independent suspension system. According to our tour guide, extensive testing of a new, in-house set-up has been taking place at the Anglesea Proving Ground over the last couple of years.

When introduced hopefully in the next year or two, the new Jayco independent system is set to replace the Melbourne-built Simplicity load-bearing suspension currently offered as an option on many of Jayco’s rough-road models.

QUALITY CHECK, MATE

Like any successful company, Jayco has its share of knockers and critics, with quality often cited as the company's Achilles heel. But it’s worth noting that Jayco is the only Australian RV manufacturer that regularly issues safety recalls of its products.

It’s also evident walking through the factory that quality control is a major priority, evidenced by the countless number of quality checkers in their bright yellow and orange jerseys.

Factory floor staff are also constantly reminded of their obligations with large overhead signs proclaiming “It is easier to do a job right than explain why you didn’t” and “You don’t have to check the quality you have to produce it.”

Other evidence lies in the ‘Quality Gate’ system checks and ‘Zero Quality’ boards found in various departments, as well as an adoption of the Japanese Kaizen management philosophy of continuous improvement.

As well as the odd chance of a Gerry Ryan once-over, every van produced also gets ‘white glove’ checked and signed off before heading off to its new home.

PICK A PART

With 100 service agents around Australia servicing potentially hundreds of thousands Jayco vans on the road, it’s not surprising that Jayco has an impressive spare parts inventory. Looking a bit like a Bunnings Warehouse, the spare parts department has shelves stacked high with parts for models going back as far as the 1980s.

The factory has 10 golf cart-style buggies constantly on the move, delivering parts to wherever they’re required to keep the production lines moving.

With Jayco also operating the Australia-wide Coast to Coast accessories business, it’s no surprise to hear that “the spare parts section is one of the growth areas of the company”.

UNOFFICIAL GUARANTEE

While obviously building to a price, it’s good to know that Jayco doesn’t cut costs on the important stuff. All chassis are built at the factory before sent away for hot-dip galvanising, while aluminium framing has largely replaced Meranti timber because of its ability to “last forever”.

While every Jayco comes with an official 12 month warranty, apparently there’s also an unofficial lifetime warranty (for the original owner) covering the wind-up pulley on camper trailers... even if it dates back to 1976! It doesn’t cover ancillary items like cables and pulleys, however.

According to our guide, Jayco will also cover ‘manufacturing faults’ after the 12 month warranty period has elapsed, so if your roof leaks due to missing sealant, for example, a few years down the track, the company should fix it for free.

TESTING TIMES

Every caravan that rolls off the line is subject to a 15 minute water test, with water jets hitting both sides and roof of the van. The only variant that doesn’t get water tested is the camper trailer, due to the fact they require up to four hours to dry. Instead, about one camper each week is randomly tested. However, Jayco did introduce in 2011 a more robust, one-piece fibreglass roof to reduce the chance of water leaks.

New models are also tested on a “shake, rattle and roll machine” which simulates road conditions a van might be subjected to and identifies any weaknesses.

WATCHING THEIR WEIGHT

While it could be argued that Jayco has been slow to react to latest RV fashion trends like white-look, apartment-style interiors, it’s clear the company is constantly looking for new ways to reduce weight without sacrificing strength, as caravans get heavier and more laden down with equipment.

For example, this year Jayco started using medium density fibreboard (MDF) instead of compressed plywood for its furniture, for its weight and strength benefits.

Other initiatives include a new line of fifth-wheelers – its eighth RV type – that will be assembled on a new production line within weeks, adding to staff numbers and production volumes.

Jayco is also planning to add a sixth factory on unused land in around 12 months, which could be used to build motorhomes and fifth-wheelers.

GROWING PAINS

Jayco reckons its annual production has remained steady round the 10,000 mark in recent years. However, the mix has changed, with park cabins and motorhome production currently down, and pop-tops up.

Driven by younger families as well as cost-conscious older couples, entry-level Starcraft pop-tops and Expanda vans are now amongst Jayco’s biggest sellers, with around 95 built every week.

Since being introduced four years ago as an alternative to Jayco’s more expensive fibreglass models, the cheap Starcraft vans now comprise 14 per cent of the aluminium-sided caravan market in Australia according to Jayco.

LOAD 'EM UP AND SHIP 'EM OUT

With hundreds, perhaps thousands, of models and layouts to choose from, it’s not surprising to hear that 98 per cent of all vans on the production line when we visited already had buyers, who have to wait around 2-3 months before delivery.

Jayco has to get at least 40 vans out the gates each day, just to make room; they’re either towed to local dealers, trucked interstate or in the case of Perth dealer Caravanland, delivered by boat.

But it’s not unusual for buyers to travel from interstate to pick up their brand new van. After all, they get the opportunity of seeing how it was glued and screwed together on a factory tour before hitching up and driving it home.