Aliner, a manufacturer of A-frame towable campers, cut down how many models it offered in 2021, a move the company stated will pay off in the long run.
In November 2021, the small manufacturer was able to claim a significant market share from the largest names in the business. Statistical Surveys Inc. reported Aliner secured its largest market share for folding campers (26%), second only to Forest River’s market share (39.8%) among manufacturers.
In 2022, company officials said they will look to build on the success from the past 12 months. Brett Randall, Aliner president and CEO, said the company focused in 2021 on producing a significant quantity of RVs to send to its dealership base, rather than providing a more diverse range of RVs but with fewer of each provided to the end consumer. The plan culminated in a 150% production output rate, compared with pre-pandemic levels, the CEO said.
“We have pretty much doubled our market share percentage in the last year or so,” Randall said. “I think it is a testament to our dealers who, during the pandemic, they were doing an outstanding job; our vendor partners, who have done a fabulous job of keeping us supplied with components so we can build product; and our team has really come together.”
Randall said the company, through its focused product line, increased its capacities and productivity while reducing warranty costs. The CEO said warranty costs were under 1.5% in 2021.
“That is a historic low for us, and is definitely low for the industry,” Randall said.
As the company moves into the second half of 2022, Randall said, management will revisit floorplans to return to pre-pandemic floorplan numbers.
“When we deal with model change in July, the plan is to strategically and systematically bring back floorplans, colors and models — other types of things that were temporarily suspended for 2021,” Randall said.
The company suspended the Somerset, Ascape and Titanium 12 during 2021 and standardized other models for efficiency, including changing color schemes to only black on gray for all models.
“We are continuing to grow, we are hiring, we are excited to continue to service our existing dealer base and selectively add dealerships going forward,” Randall said.
