Thor Industries buys controlling interest in Heartland RVs, LLC

If Thor leaves HL's customer service model alone, everything should be fine. The added capital does allow for more stability for the company, the money to bring new innovation to the market and an increased Dealer and repair network which should ultimately help all customers. That being said, we bought a HL precisely because it wasn't a Thor product and the customer service was SO much better. We'll be watching to see how this works. I don't think Thor got as big as they are by being stupid, so we'll keep our fingers crossed.

I'm not real happy about this. I hope Thor doesn't change all the things I like about Heartland but if they have controlling interest I see alot of change coming. Price increases? I hope they keep Jim around!!! Is this why the new Heartland website didn't launch? What will we call the landmarkeverestbighornmontanabigsky blend?

Steve

Thor/Heartland??

Thor is reported as buying Heartland,please tell me it isn't so.

Exactly why we changed,well our warranty is up at any rate and we can all be lucky we have already purchased.

Re: Thor/Heartland??

Thor Industries has agreed to buy Heartland for $209 million in cash and stock.

Glad I bought my trailer over a year ago otherwise I would own a Thorland..

When I first read the email Jim sent out I was expecting to see where HL offered an IPO and went public or Heartland bought Lippert for more control...
Boy was I shocked.

Just curious WHO this is "exciting" news for. Is it for the customers who have bought HL products...new potential customers looking to buy a trailer...the employees who now work for a mega company and no longer work for a smaller startup company with something to prove...or the owners of HL who get to profit from this sale.


I have to say, one of the things I really like about buying a HL was the fact that they were the new kid on the block, small yet large enough to provide good service and had enough differences between them and SOBs to make them unique.
Now it seems they will just get watered down be just another trailer manufacturer...

Re: Thor/Heartland??

But it isn't Heartland making off with the cash. It's the private equity firm that held a controlling chunk of Heartland. Now Heartland will have to stand in line with the other Thor brands for a piece of the corporate pie. How this all shakes out remains to be seen.

I have to agree with most of the responses on thisw thread. We just had our Bighorn repaired out of warranty and were treated great by Jim P.and Heartland. Now I am concerned, I have never read on other forums the same Customer Support from Thor. I thought Heartland was doing well enough without this marriage, it seems everytime I rned around Heartland was announcing another product. Maybe this was part of the reason for the merger, I don't know but this announcement is a big concern with me.../Doug

Re: Thor/Heartland??

Big discussion here
//heartlandowners.org/showthread.ph...uys-controlling-interest-in-Heartland-RVs-LLC

If you can't beat them, buy them out. If I started up Heartland I might take the money also.

Thor Acquires Heartland RV Stake for $200M

Auww pooo...

sigh...one of the things that drove me to Heartland was that they weren't related to the big guys. What a steal of a buy though for Thor.

I think that we should wait and see. Certainly express our concerns as people are now doing. Report things good or bad as they happen. Thor does not want bad publicity. This forum can greatly help owners. Who knows? Maybe things will actually get better.

Re: Thor Acquires Heartland RV Stake for $200M

I'm with you gpshemi,
Happy for Brian and the crew to get compensated for what they built and have worked so hard for, but I like the smaller business ran/operated mentality, so if any of your guys read this, don't let your customer service and strides to keep quality top notch slip at all!
I've personally never been too impressed with much of Thor's products, so we'll see what becomes of this over the years...

Re: Thor Acquires Heartland RV Stake for $200M

I specifically didn't buy a Fuzion due to it being a Keystone product. Now Cyclone's will just be on par...
What a shame.

This is some funny stuff. I heard 5 years ago from a dealer that one of the company reps told them that they want to get big enough for a Thor buy out. If you can go back far enough in the archives I did a post about it. Didn't occur so I thought it was BS. Well what-a-ya know it happened! Thor's reputation is pretty questionable. Not "good" news for me but it may make no difference in the long run. I kind of liked the "new kid on the block" aspect of owing a Bighorn especially when they are kicking @$$ in the market. Now they are just another brand in the mix.

Take a look at all the 'brands' now owned by Thor Industries. A very large organization.....to big to fail??

Re: Thor Acquires Heartland RV Stake for $200M

gpshemi said:

I specifically didn't buy a Fuzion due to it being a Keystone product. Now Cyclone's will just be on par...What a shame.

Click to expand...

And...we did not buy several SOB's as we felt Heartland was the best all around choice! I know we can't know the "behind-the-scene" rationale for the sell out and I also know I am being selfish when I say...It's a sad day for Heartland owners but at this moment in time, I think many feel betrayed in a sense. For now...I will "keep the faith"

Re: Thor Acquires Heartland RV Stake for $200M

SJH said:

And...we did not buy several SOB's as we felt Heartland was the best all around choice! I know we can't know the "behind-the-scene" rationale for the sell out and I also know I am being selfish when I say...It's a sad day for Heartland owners but at this moment in time, I think many feel betrayed in a sense. For now...I will "keep the faith"

Click to expand...

Heartland has been positioning for this for a while. Industry news report Mr Brady talking about Market share , and the number of units produced. Short term it is a good Business move for share holders and management, but not for its Customers. Heartland in the beginning built a fine trailer (look at a early Landmark) they were built with pride , customer service was great , however once they started to be recognized for all the things that made them great , they started adding more and more trailers to there line up , and the Quality rapidly went away. Mass production quickly became the focus, this is why so many owners experience the same recurring problems. Selling the Business was more important than staying small and building Quality into there product. Thor has a less than stellar reputation in the Rv industry, and I fear this will be reflected in there future Thor/Heartland Product line...Dollars are the bottom line ! I hope you all get good service from your trailers , as well as the Dealers. JB I hope this change won't compromise your position , and that you will be able to continue with your representation of Heartland.

Thor buys Heartland for $210M

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703904304575498103883237786.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Thor Industries Inc. has acquired closely held Heartland Recreational Vehicles LLC for $210 million in cash and stock, as the recreational-vehicle sector is showing signs of life.
Thor, the world's largest RV maker, has seen results rebound this year as credit loosens up and dealers restock inventories after years of sagging sales.
Heartland, which was founded in 2003, makes towable RVs under brands such as Bighorn, Sundance and Cyclone. Its sales in the past 12 months topped $400 million.
Thor Chairman and Chief Executive Peter Orthwein said key members of Hearland's management team will remain with the company.
Thor, which also makes commercial buses and ambulances, will pay $100 million in cash and issue 4.3 million shares to owners of Heartland. There are some 52 million shares outstanding.
The deal is expected to add to Thor's earnings. In prepared comments Friday, Mr. Orthwein said the addition of Heartland will bring "many operational synergies to all Thor companies including purchasing and lean production processes."
Thor and Heartland are based in neighboring states, the former in Jackson Center, Ohio, and the latter in Elkhart, Ind.

Re: Thor buys Heartland for $210M

Looks like old news. Apologies for the duplicate post.