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NEWS
Zone RV's big expansion plans
Queensland manufacturer eyes bigger factory, more production in 2018Fledgling Sunshine Coast caravan builder Zone RV is planning to expand into a new, much larger factory and more than quadruple production of its hi-tech, timberless caravans in 2018, after opening its doors less than three years ago.
Currently bursting at the seams of its Link Crescent, Coolum Beach factory, founding Zone RV directors – former luxury yacht builders David Biggar and Matt Johns – have bitten the bullet and expect to move into a new custom-built factory in the same industrial estate by this time next year.
The new facility, which at around 5000 square metres is more than six times the size of their founding facility, will allow most aspects of Zone RV production to take place under the same roof, as cabinetry is currently manufactured in a satellite Coolum facility.
This will see current production expand from its current almost-glacial rate of just 1.6 off-road caravans per week, to as many as seven or eight per week by the end of 2018, thanks largely to the expected demand for its new and more keenly priced Venture on-road models that are due to roll out in November this year.
Current demand for off-road caravans has sold out production until well into 2018.
Employing the same 100 per cent timberless construction from the founding team's 25 years in composite material manufacture, the three-model Venture range will be lighter and cheaper than Zone RV's current premium-priced off-roaders, with prices commencing at $85,900 for the tandem-axle Venture 18.6 model.
Because of the price structure and increased market demand for quality on-road caravans with limited unsealed road capability, Matt Johns expects demand to be firmly skewed towards the Venture range, with predictions that it will represent about 80 per cent of Zone RV's total production by the time the new factory is fully operational.
Unlike many dedicated sealed-road caravans, the new Venture models, with their much larger than average ground clearance and Vehicle Components CRS independent suspension, are rated for limited off-road travel, allowing them to cover moderate distances on unsealed major highways.
They are far less time-intensive to build than their off-road counterparts, requiring about 100 less hours per caravan to complete.
Limited space at Zone RV's existing facility, which will be maximised for Venture production by re-locating current component storage, will limit Venture production to around one per week on launch, rising to an expected six per week by late next year.
Zone RV's current workforce of 50 is also expected to expand by around 10 per cent with the move to the new factory.
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Written byMichael Browning
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