The First UK Touring Caravan Manufacturer Has Reopened
Posted: 05/06/2020 Author: Jackie ShipleyFamily run Coachman Caravans of Hull is the first UK touring caravan manufacturer to reopen its factory and return to production following a temporary closure due to Covid-19. Following a period of over ten weeks shut following government guidelines on the 24th March, Coachman Caravans took the lead and returned to work on Thursday 4th June. Amazingly, the high-end caravan manufacturer is producing pre-Covid-19 levels of production from the get-go.
Manufacturers and Dealerships
Despite closures of manufacturers and dealerships across the industry, the UK staycation is expected to boom in the coming months, with Coachman Caravans already seeing the uptake. Elliot Hibbs, Managing Director, commented, “We’re all excited to get back into the factory and producing. We have spent the past few weeks putting safety precautions in place to ensure our staff members are kept safe and we are confident now is the right time to return to work.
“Whilst we expected our closure and the effects of Covid-19 to have detrimental effects on the business, we have not seen this. Our order book is full until the end of the year and we had less than 2% of orders cancelled during lockdown, many of which have now been replaced,” added Elliot.
Throughout the forced closure of not just manufacturers but dealerships too, many of Coachman’s 35 dealerships across the UK have continued to retail through online platforms and by using virtual tours. A combination of the UK’s desire to holiday at home in the safety of their own caravan and these new found marketing techniques to allow people to browse and buy from their sofas, has seen both new and used caravan sales remain relatively strong, with a rising increase in sales over the last two weeks.
Coachman Caravans has followed all government guidelines in order to restart production, with the inclusion of thermal imaging cameras at entrances to the site, PPE for all staff members and the allowance of 2m social distancing throughout the premises.
You can discover more about Coachman Caravans 2020 collection and the dealer network here