Thursday, January 08, 2009
SMALL-BUSINESS PRINCIPLES HELP RV MANUFACTURER HANDLE CHALLENGES
By JACK KATZANEK
The Press-Enterprise
Recreational vehicles are considered major purchases, and most of the companies that make them have thousands of employees scattered across several states.
That makes Eclipse Recreation Vehicles Inc. an exception. The Riverside manufacturer of travel trailers and "toy-haulers" embraces the principles of small businesses, which is helping the company survive a dangerously weak market for the industry.
Eclipse is owned by Joanne and Dallen Trealoff, a local couple with deep roots in what until a few years ago was considered one of Inland Southern California's major industries.
Dallen Trealoff was there for much of that success. He has been working in the industry for more than 30 years, starting with Fleetwood Enterprises Inc. in the early 1970s. Along the way he was a top marketing person for Skyline Corp. and Forest River Inc.
The Trealoffs founded Eclipse in 2003 and moved to Riverside a few years later. The complex on Kansas Avenue has 160,000 feet of production and office space, and the company will probably swell to about 100 when the peak production season starts in a few weeks.
Sales were as high as $56 million in the third full year of operation but fell to $28 million in 2008.
Owners Dallen and Joanne Trealoff founded Eclipse Recreation Vehicles in 2003. "We run a tight ship," Joanne Trealoff said.
Eclipse follows the classic rules for small businesses. The Trealoffs keep close tabs on the market, they keep their inventory where the market dictates it should be, and they don't purchase more materials than necessary. And, the company is debt-free.
"We run a tight ship, and we look at everything all the time," Joanne Trealoff said.
Q: Why did you decide to go into business for yourself after years of working for others?
Dallen: I had thought about it for years. Everybody does. But you know the term 'golden handcuffs'? You get comfortable staying at your job. But in hindsight, it's been absolutely incredible.
Joanne: It was the right timing. At that point in time, a lot of people didn't want to make a change. We were the ones who were supposed to fail.
Q: How did you use the contacts you picked up in the industry?
Dallen: There were some dealers I had been doing business with since 1976. We use input from thousands of conversations. There are no mystical ways. It's about listening, and coming up with a big decision.
Q: How do you make a relatively high-end item like an RV attractive to customers?
Dallen: Instead of looking at the price, we look at what's the value. Our whole goal is to give the customer what he's looking for at the price he's looking for.
Q: What is the key to keeping your operations running well?
Joanne: One of the great things about this has been coming up with great personnel. At first, the staff was all confined to a single double-wide, and even when production was up we were very streamlined. Less is better. Sometimes you have to keep a lot of balls in the air, but we're all integrated, we all work together.
Dallen: We all want to do a great job. I want better things for our employees, better benefits. It's our job as owners to make sure it's all in place.
Q: How are you surviving the weak economy?
Dallen: This will be an interesting year. The funny thing is that we tend to get stuck on unemployment. If it's at about 8 percent in California, that means that 92 percent of the people are working. The nice thing is, we can adjust. It won't be a horrible year by any means.
Joanne: You have to hand it to our sales staff. There are manufacturers with hundreds of repurchases out there, but our sales team, and Dallen, actually flew to Utah to help a dealer sell some of his inventory. No one ever does that.
Reach Jack Katzanek at 951-368-9553 or at jkatzanek@PE.com
Eclipse RV
Product: Trailers and toy-haulers
Owners: Dallen and Joanne Trealoff
Location: Riverside
Employees: Almost 100 at peak season
Sales in 2008: $28 million
The Press-Enterprise
Recreational vehicles are considered major purchases, and most of the companies that make them have thousands of employees scattered across several states.
That makes Eclipse Recreation Vehicles Inc. an exception. The Riverside manufacturer of travel trailers and "toy-haulers" embraces the principles of small businesses, which is helping the company survive a dangerously weak market for the industry.
Eclipse is owned by Joanne and Dallen Trealoff, a local couple with deep roots in what until a few years ago was considered one of Inland Southern California's major industries.
Dallen Trealoff was there for much of that success. He has been working in the industry for more than 30 years, starting with Fleetwood Enterprises Inc. in the early 1970s. Along the way he was a top marketing person for Skyline Corp. and Forest River Inc.
The Trealoffs founded Eclipse in 2003 and moved to Riverside a few years later. The complex on Kansas Avenue has 160,000 feet of production and office space, and the company will probably swell to about 100 when the peak production season starts in a few weeks.
Sales were as high as $56 million in the third full year of operation but fell to $28 million in 2008.
Owners Dallen and Joanne Trealoff founded Eclipse Recreation Vehicles in 2003. "We run a tight ship," Joanne Trealoff said.
Eclipse follows the classic rules for small businesses. The Trealoffs keep close tabs on the market, they keep their inventory where the market dictates it should be, and they don't purchase more materials than necessary. And, the company is debt-free.
"We run a tight ship, and we look at everything all the time," Joanne Trealoff said.
Q: Why did you decide to go into business for yourself after years of working for others?
Dallen: I had thought about it for years. Everybody does. But you know the term 'golden handcuffs'? You get comfortable staying at your job. But in hindsight, it's been absolutely incredible.
Joanne: It was the right timing. At that point in time, a lot of people didn't want to make a change. We were the ones who were supposed to fail.
Q: How did you use the contacts you picked up in the industry?
Dallen: There were some dealers I had been doing business with since 1976. We use input from thousands of conversations. There are no mystical ways. It's about listening, and coming up with a big decision.
Q: How do you make a relatively high-end item like an RV attractive to customers?
Dallen: Instead of looking at the price, we look at what's the value. Our whole goal is to give the customer what he's looking for at the price he's looking for.
Q: What is the key to keeping your operations running well?
Joanne: One of the great things about this has been coming up with great personnel. At first, the staff was all confined to a single double-wide, and even when production was up we were very streamlined. Less is better. Sometimes you have to keep a lot of balls in the air, but we're all integrated, we all work together.
Dallen: We all want to do a great job. I want better things for our employees, better benefits. It's our job as owners to make sure it's all in place.
Q: How are you surviving the weak economy?
Dallen: This will be an interesting year. The funny thing is that we tend to get stuck on unemployment. If it's at about 8 percent in California, that means that 92 percent of the people are working. The nice thing is, we can adjust. It won't be a horrible year by any means.
Joanne: You have to hand it to our sales staff. There are manufacturers with hundreds of repurchases out there, but our sales team, and Dallen, actually flew to Utah to help a dealer sell some of his inventory. No one ever does that.
Reach Jack Katzanek at 951-368-9553 or at jkatzanek@PE.com
Eclipse RV
Product: Trailers and toy-haulers
Owners: Dallen and Joanne Trealoff
Location: Riverside
Employees: Almost 100 at peak season
Sales in 2008: $28 million
