Fleetwood RV is a producer of recreational vehicles (RVs). Founded in 1950, Fleetwood RV is part of REV Group. Rev's recreation division includes Fleetwood RV, American Coach,

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, Holiday Rambler, Renegade RV, Midwest Automotive Designs, and Lance Campers.

History

Fleetwood RV's origins date back to 1950, when John C. Crean formed Coach Specialties Company in

southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

, as a maker of

window blind A window blind is a type of window covering. There are many different kinds of window blinds which use a variety of control systems. A typical window blind is made up of several long horizontal or vertical slats of various types of hard mate ...

s for

travel trailer A caravan, travel trailer, camper, tourer or camper trailer is a Trailer (vehicle), trailer towed behind a road vehicle to provide a place to sleep which is more comfortable and protected than a tent (although there are popup camper, fold-down ...

s. Around 1953, Crean renamed the company to Fleetwood Trailer Company, a name inspired by the automotive bodies incorporated into various Cadillac lines of automobiles. In 1957, the company was reincorporated as Fleetwood Enterprises, Inc. During its first dozen years, the company moved from Compton to

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. **Paramount Picture ...

Anaheim Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the tenth-most ...

. It moved again in 1962 to

Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. As of the 2020 census, the city has a population of 314,998. It is the most populous city in th ...

. Fleetwood became a public company in 1965, reporting annual sales of $18.5 million. The company became part of the

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in 1973, remaining there for nearly three decades. By 1989, Fleetwood RVs sales reached the one billion dollar milestone; five years later, it hit the same milestone in its sales of manufactured homes.

21st century

In November 2008, Fleetwood Enterprises announced it was closing several

factories A factory, manufacturing plant or production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. Th ...

across the United States. On March 10, 2009, the company filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 of the United States Code and announced the closing of its

division. On July 17, 2009, the

private equity firm A private equity firm or private equity company (often described as a financial sponsor) is an investment management company that provides financial backing and makes investments in the private equity of a Startup company, startup or of an existin ...

American Industrial Partners ("AIP") acquired the motorized recreational vehicle assets from the company. The next month, Cavco Industries acquired the manufactured housing division. Fleetwood RV is now headquartered in Decatur, Indiana. In 2010, AIP combined Fleetwood with E-One,

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and Halcore Group to form Allied Specialty Vehicles. On February 2, 2010, Heartland Recreational Vehicles acquired the remaining active trademarks of the towable brands of Fleetwood Enterprises, Inc.

References

{{Authority control 1950 establishments in California Recreational vehicle manufacturers Manufacturing companies established in 1950 Defunct companies based in California Defunct companies based in Indiana Private equity portfolio companies Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2009