“That’s been our goal all along – to produce motorhomes again,” said Tonya Buendia, who performs sales support for Country Coach. “We pretty much have the funding we think we’re going to need. It’s just a matter of filling out paperwork and getting attorneys involved to do that and get that all done.”
Country Coach is applying for funding from foreign investors with an EB5 application through the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service. The program gives investors “conditional permanent resident” status in the U.S. in exchange for capital investments of either $500,000 or $1 million. Companies receiving the funding must create or preserve a set amount of full-time jobs within a two year period. Buendia said it could take up to nine months for Country Coach to complete the application process and receive funding.
“There are so many aspects of the motorhome manufacturing business that have to be explained and laid out in an organized format that meets the expectations of the non-manufacturing investors,” stated Ron Lee, president of Country Coach, in the company’s summer newsletter. “We will be expected to follow our business plan very closely and produce the appropriate number of jobs.
“The good thing about this funding source is when the payback is complete, Country Coach will remain whole and under current ownership,” he added. “Of course nothing is a sure thing, but I feel this funding source has an 80 percent or better chance of success.”
Country Coach is projecting that it will begin producing motorhomes next year, according to Buendia. The company aims to manufacturer 25 units in its first year.
“The new coaches will have the ‘family resemblance,’ as Ron Lee says, to the original Country Coach line,” she said. “We’ll steadily increase the amount produced each year. It’s not like we’ll go from 25 to 2,000. It’ll probably be like 25 the first year to 50 the next year.”
Since launching in 2011, Country Coach has attempted to reestablish all its manufacturing capabilities, according to Lee. That includes building parts for motorhomes previously produced by the former Country Coach company.
“Next is the task of reengineering the 2014 Country Coach,” Lee stated in the newsletter. “We have to replace all those pieces and parts that are no longer available, find replacements, or alter design to accept new components.”
Beyond assisting RV dealership service centers with motorhome parts, Country Coach also has been servicing motorhome customers’ units in its own 200,000-square-foot service facility in Junction City, Ore., as well as selling consignment coaches. The company’s growth in the last year has led it to recently create two new full-time positions, according to Country Coach.
