It’s another massive blow for the industry, with staff and customers left waiting. (Source: 7News)
A luxury off-road caravan manufacturer has collapsed, leaving customers and staff in limbo. It’s the latest company in the industry to be forced into the devastating position.
Documents filed with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) on Monday show Zone RV has entered voluntary administration.
Zone Manufacturing Pty Ltd, the company behind the business, which is based in Coolum on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, has had administrators appointed with the first creditors meeting scheduled for next Wednesday.
David Fealy has decades of experience in the manufacturing and caravan industry, including working with some of the nation’s biggest brands. He told Yahoo Finance the latest collapse shows the precarious position the domestic industry finds itself in.
“Right now, the RV industry in Australia is in a tougher place than most people realise,” he said.
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“Local manufacturers are being squeezed from every angle; cheaper imports on one side, soaring costs on the other, and warranty expectations that can destroy a small builder overnight.
“What used to be a stable, proudly Australian industry is now a pressure cooker — and unless things change, we risk losing the very manufacturers who built the market in the first place,” he told Yahoo Finance.
The Zone RV company Facebook page has now been pulled down.
In a public Facebook group for customers of the caravan company, one anonymous employee on Monday lamented that hundreds of workers now face losing their job just weeks out from Christmas.
“The writing has been on the wall for months! … Sadly we have lost our jobs at such a terrible time of the year,” they wrote.
“Australian manufacturers going down. Very sad,” one person wrote.
“Feel sorry for all involved,” said another.
The company’s luxury caravans sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars. (Source: ZoneRV)
According to the ABC, staff were given the news on Monday with some 250 workers owed entitlements such as holiday pay, who are now waiting to see what happens.
In a statement, a spokesperson for administrators Cor Cordis said the restructuring firm was conducting an “urgent review” of the caravan company’s situation.
The administrators “primary objective is to preserve value for all stakeholders, including approximately 250 employees customers and suppliers, and to determine the strategic options available for the business moving forward,” they said.
“Zone RV will continue to trade in a substantially reduced capacity.”
Have you been impacted by the Zone RV collapse? Nick.whigham@yahooinc.com
Administrator Rahul Goyal said the group’s immediate priority is “to assess all viable options that maximise outcomes for all stakeholders while exploring avenues for a sustainable future for the brand,” The Courier Mail reported.
According to the company’s website, its “Australian-made caravans are optimised for safety and weight, incorporating technology from the aeronautical and marine industries to ensure they can navigate even the toughest terrains.”
It’s most expensive vans cost more than $250,000.
Local manufacturers are being squeezed from every angle, industry insiders say. (Source: 7News)
David Biggar, listed in ASIC documents as the company’s director, had previously touted the company’s investment in the biggest 3D printer in the southern hemisphere.
One customer told the media he has just paid the balance on his $194,000 caravan only hours before learning the company was headed towards administration.
“It’s a life savings,” Ray Barbison told 7News. “Like, I’m 75. I can’t get that money back. I can’t go out and earn it.”
He had planned to tour around Australia in his new caravan. But those plans are now very much up in the air.
It comes after Victorian caravan manufacturer Tango Caravans collapsed late last year, leaving customers and suppliers out of pocket. One young couple who spoke to Yahoo lost $94,000 after paying for a van that was never delivered.
Another pair of retirees told Yahoo they were asked to pay $72,000 for the final payment for their caravan only to soon discover through the news that the dealership had been plunged into liquidation in August 2024, owing 70 unsecured creditors, mainly customers, a total of $3,283,688 — as well as nearly $50,000 in wages, annual leave and superannuation.
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