Published: November 17, 2008 04:00 pm         

Jayco to close Topeka RV plant

MIDDLEBURY, Ind. — Jayco Corp. will close its Starcraft trailer plant in Topeka in early January eliminating 244 jobs.

“This decision has been taken with deep regret because we know that it will place hardship on many of our employees and their families,” said Derald Bontrager, Jayco’s president and chief operating officer. “But, the RV industry has been hit hard, first by runaway fuel prices and, more recently, by severely diminished consumer confidence and significant decline in the supply of credit at both retail and wholesale levels. Business conditions dictate that we take steps to reduce operating costs and maintain production capacity that reflects marketplace realities.”

The Starcraft plant builds folding camping trailers, truck campers, travel trailers and fifth wheel travel trailers. That production will be shifted to Jayco’s Middlebury plants. The Starcraft brand will continue to operate separately and have its own sales staff and product development staff, according to Bontrager.

Sid Johnson, director of marketing for Jayco, said the company will make an effort to move some of the Topeka workers to the Middlbury plant, “but it will be very few people,” he said. That’s because the the downturn has left the Middlebury workers with enough manhours to absorb the Topeka work, Johnson indicated.

“There is no doubt that the RV industry is undergoing fundamental, long-term change and it is critical that Jayco position itself to be able to adapt to these new market circumstances, “Bontrager said. “We are confident that the industry will rebound and Jayco will have the necessary capacity to continue to enjoy healthy market share increases.”

The plant closing is the second this fall of the small town in LaGrange County. Champion Homes, which builds modular homes, announced in October it would close a plant in Topeka. That closure eliminated 120 jobs.

Other RV factories in the town are operating with reduced work weeks.