American manufacturer Heartland Recreational Vehicles will be integrated under Jayco Inc as part of a strategic organisational restructure implemented by the owner of the two companies THOR Industries.

THOR says the move is designed to optimise enterprise structure and strengthen its brand portfolio. It will also provide THOR with improved synergies across its brands, reduced operating costs, enhanced customer service capabilities, and a more efficient distribution strategy to a consolidated dealer base.

Bob Martin, President and Chief Executive Officer of THOR Industries, said: “Through the current downcycle, our companies focused on appropriate brand rationalisation and right sizing their product lineups to meet the current market conditions and customer demands. This restructuring takes the idea of rationalization for optimization to the next level as we considered the impact of the evolved marketplace in the U.S. RV market, which includes significant dealer consolidation. This move aligns Heartland with Jayco’s proven track record of optimized operations, a strong competitive brand offering, and customer service. As we have previously discussed, Heartland has faced recent challenges in these areas while Jayco, under the leadership of Ken Walters, has demonstrated consistent excellence in each area.

“Aligning key Heartland brands under the Jayco umbrella creates potential to maximize the performance of those brands.  By leveraging Jayco’s expertise, and leaning into Jayco’s support structure, we are confident that Heartland will achieve meaningful performance improvements, delivering greater value to our customers, dealers, and stakeholders.”

Ken Walters, President of Jayco, added: “Jayco and its brands, which include its Jayco flagship as well as Entegra Coach, Highland Ridge RV, and Starcraft, is synonymous with excellence. That excellence runs from production through the life of a customer’s ownership experience. As we welcome Heartland into the Jayco family, we will ensure the same excellence in the products that Jayco currently offers to the market and also in the relationships that we manage both with our dealers and our retail customers.

“Importantly, there will be no disruption of the ownership experience of current Heartland owners and dealers. We will work with the Heartland customer service team to ensure the same high standards that we provide to our Jayco customers. We look forward to working with key members of the Heartland team to get those brands back where they belong in the market.”

As part of the restructuring, certain private label brands manufactured by Heartland will be transferred to Dutchmen Manufacturing, a division of THOR’s subsidiary Keystone RV Company. 

Bob Martin added: “Under the leadership of Aaron Young, these private label brands will be under leadership that has proven its ability to deliver private label offerings with strong margins.  Consolidating this business with Dutchmen’s current lineup will improve our operating leverage at Dutchmen and empower Dutchmen to continue to provide high quality private label brands previously offered by Heartland.”

The transition is due to take place over the coming months focussing on a seamless integration process for employees, dealers, and customers.

Photo: Heartland RV/THOR Industries