WGO- Closing Factory Service Center in Junction City, Oregon

Thought I would pass along this mailing I received from Winnebago.  Might affect some Forum Memebers in the Great Northwest Region of the USA. 

I heard about this on a Aspect FB Group where a man had shared this info.  Wonder if this is due to Corporate Acquisitions and the (Hopefully Temporary) Downturn on the Economy as the main Driving factors?  I know Winnebago had previously gobbled up Newmar and with that I am sure put a hurt on their Financial Picture.

JD

From WGO Emailing I received----

Winnebago
June 10, 2020

TO: Winnebago Motorhome & Country Coach Owners
From: Dean Casad, Director of Customer Support
Subject: Junction City Service Center Announcement

Over the past months, the Winnebago Motorhome business has made several announcements regarding changes to operations and procedures as we manage the impact which the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic has placed on the business.  As we move forward, our focus remains on the safety of our employees and the long-term strength of the Winnebago Motorhome Business. 

In response to the current business environment, we have made the very difficult decision to close our factory service center in Junction City, Oregon.  The Junction City Service Center has always had a reputation for high quality work and excellent customer service.  We appreciate the service from our Junction City team, and are working with the affected employees to apply for other positions within Winnebago Industries. 

Winnebago Motorhome and Country Coach owners in the Northwest seeking parts and service support are encouraged to visit Guaranty RV in Junction City or RV Corral in Eugene.  Please reach out directly to these dealers to schedule service.  You can also find your closest dealer at the Winnebago website:  https://winnebago.com/shopping-tools/locate-a-dealer

Along with this service center consolidation, Winnebago will phase out support for Country Coach parts and accessories.  We encourage you to seek repair and service resources through your local dealer and owner groups and e-commerce sites.

We greatly appreciate your loyalty.  Winnebago Industries is committed to continuing to provide you with industry-leading Factory Service at our facility in Forest City, IA.  Contact us to make an appointment for service or repairs: https://www.winnebago.com/contact-us.

That was an expensive experiment by Winnebago. When I first learned about their purchase of the old Country Coach asserts and plans to move diesel pusher production there, I thought that was a really bizarre decision. Winnie was having problems trying to staff production and even factory service positions in Forest City so perhaps that figured into the decision matrix. The other factor was distance - Junction City is a long way from Forest City if they need boots on the ground there from FC.

I need to look at their 2nd quarter report when that's issued.

Sorry to hear this. With Rev Group service center in Coburg and Winnie in Junction City, it seemed like the RV industry in that region was recovering. And having West Coast factory service for the major RV brands was a big plus for owners. Apparently not enough  to  make it financially solid, though. The dang Covid-19 is killing off a lot of marginal businesses that will be sorely missed long after a vaccine is found.

Gary RV_Wizard said:

. The dang Covid-19 is killing off a lot of marginal businesses that will be sorely missed long after a vaccine is found.

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One little jewel I picked up in one of my businesses classes is when the economy is good, firms can survive even with poor business acumen and management. In bad times, the least efficient firms fail to survive.

Winnebago is referring folks to Guaranty RV, a large* dealer just down the street in JC.

*It's been a while since I was at Guaranty, so I'm not sure what their current JC operation looks like. FWIW we bought our coach at Guaranty RV in San Jose, and service/warranty was a disaster/nightmare. I got to meet the Guaranty owner in JC and calmly let him know how his SJ location was treating customers.

I miss having the Monaco service center in Harrisburg, just a few miles from Junction City. Back in their hey day Monaco acquired Safari, and turned the Safari factory into a service center for all Monaco brands. They kept the original on-site Safari wood shop, and it produced all the cabinetry for Monaco, including the fabled Beaver Marquis cabinets (it was a veneer). Unfortunately that was a challenge for Davis Cabinets in JC who previously made all Monaco cabinets, and the son (Shaun) went into the custom cabinet business.

Just up the street from Davis is Countryside RV Interiors.

Back in Coburg, across the street from the prior Monaco factory is Marathon Coach, a Prevost conversion company.

As Gary suggested, this area is (was) quite an RV industry centric area.

Tom said:

...As Gary suggested, this area is (was) quite an RV industry centric area.

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It sounds like Elkhart, IN - anything you could possibly want related to RVs is in the area (including the RVIA museum which is quite interesting.)

We bought our upgraded furniture through Countryside RV Interiors last year (they installed it at Quartzsite). Excellent service and a full showroom. Hope the industry keeps active enough there to keep all the associated companies in business.

Davis Cabinets is still one of the go-to places for custom RV cabinet work. They exhibit at some of the FMCA rallies and regional RV shows and are also a dealer for some interior furnishings, e.g. MCD Shades.

https://www.facebook.com/Davis-Cabinets-Inc-304584604518/

Davis did some nice custom work on our coach. Got to overnight in their lot along with other coaches. Interesting experience having trains go by a few feet away in the middle of the night.