Coburg, Ore.-based Marathon Coach says it plans to hire “a substantial number” of new employees at its Oregon manufacturing facility, as well as service technicians at all three of its nationwide sales and service locations.
“Marathon has remained open over the last several months,” said Marathon Coach President and Owner Steve Schoellhorn. “Our business, thankfully, has continued to be strong, so much so that with the current increase in sales, we now find ourselves unusually low in inventory. While nothing is certain moving forward, I’m very optimistic about the RV industry in general and about Marathon and the bus conversion niche in particular.”
The company says that with the overall RV industry sales reported to have grown dramatically since April, and Marathon’s projected 30 percent increased sales of new coaches over 2019, it’s apparent that Americans are ready to get out while staying in as the country reopens again.
“As I talk to customers during these times, many of them have expressed that they’ve really missed getting out in their coaches, being on the road and seeing the sights from the comfort of their own coach where they have control of their environment,” said Schoellhorn.
Production at Marathon Coach has stayed steady with custom-ordered coaches and one-of-a-kind show coaches coming off the production line regularly.
“Many people have been asking me where I see Marathon going the rest of the year, into 2021 and beyond,” said Schoellhorn. “While these are definitely different times, one thing I am hearing from customers and prospects is that they plan to motorhome a lot more, indicating they’re going to be cutting back on cruises and international travel. We will be increasing production in the second half of 2020 and expect future production growth in 2021.”
