EDITOR’S NOTE: After the story on Dometic’s restructuring was published Thursday, Dometic officials provided new details on the restructuring impact on U.S. RV operations. For readers who might not have seen the updated story, we are re-running the updated version here.
Dometic President and CEO Juan Vargues said the supplier’s global restructuring plan, announced Thursday, will discontinue some RV product manufacturing. However, the announcement almost entirely refers to global operations and not Dometic’s U.S-based RV manufacturing.
The one area in which U.S. operations are affected is the discontinuing of large compressor refrigeration manufacturing. The operations will wind down over the next 24 months, although Dometic is seeking buyers for the division.
Other RV product categories mentioned include window products and hot and cooking products. Director of Marketing Brian Noble said those products are not a part of the main focus for North American customers and would not affect U.S. operations.
“This is the continuation of plans announced over the past three years,” Noble said, “to focus on what makes Dometic really strong. This does not really affect a lot of what we do as our main focus. Our customers should not feel much of this at all.”
The restructuring includes plans to close two manufacturing sites and five distribution centers.
Vargues said, “The current macroeconomic situation and market conditions, including high interest rates, lower consumer spend and customer purchasing patterns, are having a negative impact on our financial performance. To enable us to move with speed in execution, we are today outlining our path to strengthen profitability and to release resources for continued investments to drive profitable growth and value creation in our strategic growth areas.”
Dometic also said the company began discussions with potential segment buyers over its discontinued operations.
Vargues said the Land Vehicles Americas segment has reported negative margins in the past two years related to a weak market and increased refrigeration business competition.
“With our global restructuring program, we are taking additional significant actions, and we expect tangible improvements to be realized in 2025,” Vargues said. “We expect the Land Vehicles Americas segment to return to profit by 2026.”
