A spring 2020 opening is scheduled for a new RV inspection facility in Elkhart County, where multiple manufacturers could bring their products in for a quality-control once-over before they are shipped to dealers.
Elkhart engineer Chris Marbach, who is helping plan the facility, says the developer is concerned about the quality of RVs being produced and eventually ending up in the hands of consumers.
“The people behind this project want to alleviate the problem in the future,” Marbach says. “That’s pretty obvious given the amount of money being spent to build this facility.”
Marbach declined to name the developer or the exact price of the plant.
A Michigan firm would build the facility on 70 acres of land along County Road 6. The Elkhart County Commissioners this month approved a change in zoning of the parcel from agriculture to heavy business.
As proposed, the plant would employee 60 workers at capacity. As many as 37 RVs a day would be brought to the plant and stored there until they can be given quality control inspections before units are shipped to dealers.
Marbach says the developer would provide quality control to multiple manufacturers. He did not say which manufacturers would use the facility.
Neighbors spoke out against the facility, saying it would draw traffic, night lighting and hurt local property values, according to the Goshen News.
However, a representative from Lippert Components Inc., told county officials the new facility would help assure quality control and help move products to customers more quickly.
More details about the proposal will be reviewed by county officials early next year before it gets final approval. Marbach says he is confident the facility will be under construction by late March or early April.
