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Winnebago Industries history
Winnebago Industries company history timeline
Backed by local investors, Modernistic Industries began production with 17 employees on February 12, 1958, and produced its first 15-foot towable weeks later.
Winnebago Industries Inc. was founded by a businessman named John K. Hanson back in 1958.
Back in 1960, the company went through a significant transformation, where its name was changed to Winnebago Industries.
On February 28, 1961, the company’s name was changed to Winnebago Industries, Inc.
In 1961, 102 RV dealers came to the company's first Dealer Days for tours of the now-legendary plant.
When Winnebago Industries went public in 1970, its stock price leapt by 462 percent.
Winnebago Industries goes public and WGO becomes the Company’s symbol on the New York Stock Exchange. It became the top performer in 1971 with a return of 470%.
Back in 1973, the company introduced a new model.
In 1973, Winnebago Industries, by now the continent’s largest recreational vehicle maker, had amassed more than 400 acres of land holdings in Forest City, including 46.5 acres of factory floor space, or two million square feet in all.
At the end of 1974 Winnebago’s payroll stood at 1,600 people.
Also in 1977, Winnebago celebrated the manufacture of its 100,000th motor home.
In May of 1979 motor home production at Winnebago was halted for six weeks to reduce excess inventory owing to reduced consumer demand.
He came out of retirement in 1979 to return the operation to profitability, though forced to make staff cuts in the process.
High interest rates and undercutting attempts at financing new vehicle purchases by consumers made 1980 a difficult trading year for Winnebago.
The 1980 lines of motor homes were smaller and more fuel efficient.
Remaining employees began working in quality circles in 1981 to improve productivity.
With a more assured business future, Winnebago saw yet another boardroom shuffle in 1981.
He was quoted as saying in The Winnebago Story: “We’ve done our homework and … are about to enter a period of rapid growth.” An increase in sales allowed more investment in the development of fuel-efficient vehicles, and the company’s work force was expanded to 1,350 people in 1982.
In the spring of 1983, the company enlisted a number of companies to manufacture a line of Winnebago brand products—from outdoor apparel to backpacks, rubberized air mattresses, picnic jugs, and coolers.
In order to further improve productivity, Winnebago moved part of its sewing operation from Forest City, Iowa, to Juarez, Mexico, in 1984.
Changes to the Winnebago boardroom in 1985 included John V. Hanson rejoining the company management as deputy chairman.
In October of 1986 Winnebago diversified its portfolio by acquiring majority control of Cycle Video Inc., a satellite courier business specializing in transmitting television commercials from advertising agencies to broadcast affiliates.
In 1986 Gerald Gilbert became president and chief executive officer of the company, while Richard Berreth was appointed executive vice-president of operations.
Sales in 1988 had reached $430 million, but earnings slipped to $2.7 million, or 11 cents per share.
But the company’s fortunes did not improve in 1989.
To stem losses, Winnebago began an austerity program in 1990 and increased the marketing of its Warrior and Spirit micro-mini motor home models, which offered superior fuel efficiency.
An earnings loss in 1991 was posted at $29.3 million, or $1.18 per share.
Miller, Joe, “Winnebago Climbs Back into Conversion Vans,” Automotive News, May 11, 1998.
The company also made the commitment to install the latest technological advancements in RV manufacturing, thus resulting in the increase of its original equipment manufacturing program that brought in over $30 million in new sales during 1998.
2010 can also be considered as another transformational year for Winnebago Industries.
The company has over 4,000 employees and generated over $1.5 billion in revenues in 2017.
Winnebago acquired Newmar in 2020; The Hitch House has been a Newmar dealer for over 12 years - the relationship just made sense.
"Winnebago Industries Inc. ." International Directory of Company Histories. . Retrieved April 16, 2021 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/books/politics-and-business-magazines/winnebago-industries-inc-0
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Winnebago Industries competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mack Trucks | 1900 | $1.5B | 2,000 | - |
| Caterpillar | 1925 | $64.8B | 97,300 | 1,156 |
| General Motors | 1908 | $187.4B | 155,000 | 2,531 |
| Harley-Davidson | 1903 | $5.2B | 5,000 | 43 |
| PACCAR | 1905 | $31.6B | 27,000 | 112 |
| Freightliner Trucks | 1942 | $450.0M | 15,000 | 42 |
| Rivian | 2009 | $5.0B | 7,500 | 513 |
| Coachmen Recreational Vehicles | 1964 | $830,000 | 33 | - |
| Kauffman Engineering | 1973 | $119.3M | 125 | - |
| Service Wire | 1968 | $88.0M | 200 | 47 |
Winnebago Industries history FAQs
Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of Winnebago Industries, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about Winnebago Industries. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at Winnebago Industries. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by Winnebago Industries. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of Winnebago Industries and its employees or that of Zippia.
Winnebago Industries may also be known as or be related to Winnebago Industries, Winnebago Industries Inc and Winnebago Industries, Inc.