Profile: Thor Industries Inc (THO)

Thor Industries, Inc. (Thor), incorporated on July 29, 1980, is engaged in manufacturing and selling a range of recreation vehicles, and small and mid-size buses in the United States and Canada. The Company’s principal recreation vehicle operating subsidiaries are Airstream, Inc. (Airstream), CrossRoads RV (CrossRoads), Dutchmen Manufacturing, Inc. (Dutchmen), Four Winds International, Inc. (Four Winds), Keystone RV Company (Keystone), Komfort Corp. (Komfort), Citair, Inc. (Citair), and Damon Corporation (Damon). Its principal bus operating subsidiaries are Champion Bus, Inc. (Champion), General Coach America, Inc., (General Coach), ElDorado National California, Inc. (ElDorado California), ElDorado National Kansas, Inc. (ElDorado Kansas) and Goshen Coach, Inc. (Goshen Coach). The Company operates through three segments: towable recreation vehicles, motorized recreation vehicles and buses.

The Company’s Airstream subsidiary manufactures and sells premium and medium-high priced travel trailers and motorhomes under the trade name Airstream. Airstream manufactures and sells the Airstream Safari, International, Flying Cloud and Bambi travel trailers. Airstream also sells the Interstate Class B motorhome. The Company’s Dutchmen subsidiary manufactures and sells conventional travel trailers and fifth wheels primarily under the trade names Dutchmen, Four Winds, Aero, Grand Junction and Colorado. The Company’s Four Winds subsidiary manufactures and sells gasoline and diesel Class C, Class A and Class B motorhomes. Its products are sold under trade names such as Four Winds, Hurricane, Windsport, Mandalay, Dutchmen, Chateau, Serrano, Ventura and Fun Mover.

The Company’s CrossRoads subsidiary manufactures and sells conventional travel trailers and fifth wheels under the trade names Cruiser, Seville, Zinger and Sunset Trail, and park models under the trade names Tranquility and Westchester. Park models are factory built second homes designed for recreational living. Thor’s Citair subsidiary manufactures travel trailers, fifth wheels, truck campers and park models. It operates under the name General Coach and sells recreation vehicles under various trade names. The Keystone subsidiary manufactures and sells travel trailers and fifth wheels under trade names, such as Montana, Springdale, Hornet, Sprinter, Outback, Laredo, Everest, Mountaineer, Challenger and Cougar. The Komfort subsidiary manufactures and sells travel trailers and fifth wheels under the trade names, Komfort and Trailblazer, primarily in the western United States and western Canada.

Thor’s Damon subsidiary manufactures and sells gasoline and diesel Class A motor homes under the names Daybreak, Challenger, Astoria, Tuscany and Outlaw. Damon has also introduced the Avanti, a Class A diesel motorhome. Breckenridge is the park model division of Damon Corporation. ElDorado National, which consists of the Company’s ElDorado Kansas and ElDorado California subsidiaries, manufactures and sells buses for transit, airport car rental and hotel/motel shuttles, paramedical transit for hospitals and nursing homes, tour and charter operations, and other uses. ElDorado National manufactures and sells buses under trade names, such as Aerolite, AeroElite, Aerotech, Escort, MST, Transmark, EZ Rider and Axess, its 40-foot bus. Champion manufactures and sells small and mid-size buses under trade names, such as Challenger, Defender and Crusader. General Coach manufactures and sells small and mid-sized buses under trade names, such as American Cruiser, Classic Coach and EZ Trans. Goshen Coach manufactures and sells small and mid-size buses under trade names, such as GC II and Pacer.

Recreation Vehicles

The Company manufactures and sells a range of recreation vehicles throughout the United States and Canada, as well as related parts and accessories. Recreation vehicle classifications are based upon standards established by the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association (RVIA). The principal types of recreation vehicles that it produces include conventional travel trailers, fifth wheels, Class A, Class C and Class B motorhomes and park models.

Travel trailers are non-motorized vehicles, which are designed to be towed by passenger automobiles, pickup trucks, sport utility vehicles (SUVs) or vans. Conventional trailers are towed by means of a frame hitch attached to the towing vehicle. Fifth wheel trailers, designed to be towed by pickup trucks, are constructed with a raised forward section that is attached to the bed area of the pickup truck. Class A motorhomes, constructed on medium-duty truck chassis, are supplied complete with engine and drive train components by motor vehicle manufacturers, such as Workhorse Custom Chassis, Spartan, Ford and Freightliner. The Company designs, manufactures and installs the living area and driver’s compartment of Class A motorhomes. Class C and Class B motorhomes are built on a Ford, General Motors or Freightliner small truck or van chassis, which includes an engine, drive train components and a finished cab section. The Company constructs a living area, which has access to the driver’s compartment and attaches to the cab section.

Buses

The Company’s buses are sold under the names ElDorado National, Champion Bus, General Coach and Goshen Coach. Its small and mid-size products consist of mass transit, airport shuttle and commercial and tourist use buses. The Axess 40-foot bus is designed for transit and airport shuttle uses. Its bus production facilities in Salina, Kansas; Riverside, California; Imlay City, Michigan, and Elkhart, Indiana are designed to provide assembly line manufacturing of its buses. The vehicles are produced according to specific orders, which are normally obtained by dealers. Some of the chassis, all of the engines and auxiliary units, and some of the seating and other components used in the production of its small and mid-size buses are purchased in finished form. The Company’s Riverside, California, facility assembles chassis for its rear engine buses from industry standard components and assembles these buses directly on the chassis.