Hi Laurie,
I really appreciate your observations and comments, living in a country where this kind of product and a lot of ingenuity related to the application is and has been developed for years makes your insights complimentary. We have recognized a company out of Australia as having the best method of manufacturing XPS composite panels and assembly along with a pretty impeccable track record with the products they produce, and have an honourable agreement with them and share technology back and forth to advance this availability in North America. So there is a chunk of Australia in the foundation of our body.
I like to build stuff that is serviceable anywhere hence part of the decision to use the Timbren suspension, believe me we could have designed a pretty killer suspension system that would be extremely robust but I become the sole source for the replacement parts, which maybe great for me but what about my customer in a state or province far away? I have spent a lot of time in the drivers seat desert racing in sportsman, class 1, and trophy truck and have the knowledge to knock that out of the park but I have dealt with custom and one off my entire life and know how much of a pain it can be at times. It doesn't hurt that the Timbren suspension does perform very well and rides very smooth, in fact on rough roads at speed we are considering putting a lightly damped shock to reduce the rebound as we see that the only issue so far. We have also used Timbren products commercially for years and it has always been a great durable solution. So it's pretty good stuff, and it helps reduce the manufacturing costs so we can bring a composite body trailer to market for the same kind of money as the conventional wood bodied high end off road trailers.
The market here in North America will undoubtedly feel an effect from Chinese manufacturing, but only to a degree. We may lose to the builder buying parts as that stream is open here, but for the client looking for a turn key solution I don't think it will be as much as a threat as logistics on a bigger product offset the lower cost. We may see a large RV builder buy into the market and load up on Chinese raw materials but we are all too familiar with the way the large scale RV builder do things, and that's why this niche market exists, and will always exist. All of our sales to date have also been to a mostly professional clientele, engineers, nurses, doctors, law enforcement, educators, business people, etc. who do not have the time or desire to actually build a product but rather purchase it. And we do sell parts but we don't sell panels, extrusions, or empty shells so that keeps us a little more isolated from the China effect. As well here in North America (especially USA) we are going to be seeing seriously revised trade agreements and China is not really a good trade partner with Canada or the USA, and with economic downturns on natural resources we are seeing a large push to bring manufacturing back on shore, I expect to see some pretty hefty tariffs introduced one the next year or two which will be beneficial. All of our cores, skins, extrusions, frame materials, are made in Canada and USA and our business relations extend largely on both sides of the border. There are a couple pieces that filter in from China, but there are now products that are not built anywhere else in the world other than China, kinda scary to a degree.
And your right about bringing something new to market, we designed and built the trailer line largely out of response to our camper displayed at Expo west in Flagstaff last year. The inquiries were coming from people who were buying, and tired of a 7-18 month lead time, and not really satisfied that they were getting a wood body for the money. People were looking for a composite solution so we built one, and a few more have followed since, off to a slower start than anticipated, but nonetheless it's moving along. And it works well with the camper builds and Mercedes conversions that take a little longer to complete, a good fit for the production dept. So thanks for sharing the positive vibes, it's all good stuff! And the TDK isn't a tear drop, I'll let you figure out the acronym! My marketing slogan that I keep getting in trouble for is "No more wood, no more tears", and it goes hand in hand with the TDK! For most new developments and releases check out www.overlandex.com and our Facebook page, I have a couple really cool builds I will post on here in the near future too.
Cheers,
Mark.
I really appreciate your observations and comments, living in a country where this kind of product and a lot of ingenuity related to the application is and has been developed for years makes your insights complimentary. We have recognized a company out of Australia as having the best method of manufacturing XPS composite panels and assembly along with a pretty impeccable track record with the products they produce, and have an honourable agreement with them and share technology back and forth to advance this availability in North America. So there is a chunk of Australia in the foundation of our body.
I like to build stuff that is serviceable anywhere hence part of the decision to use the Timbren suspension, believe me we could have designed a pretty killer suspension system that would be extremely robust but I become the sole source for the replacement parts, which maybe great for me but what about my customer in a state or province far away? I have spent a lot of time in the drivers seat desert racing in sportsman, class 1, and trophy truck and have the knowledge to knock that out of the park but I have dealt with custom and one off my entire life and know how much of a pain it can be at times. It doesn't hurt that the Timbren suspension does perform very well and rides very smooth, in fact on rough roads at speed we are considering putting a lightly damped shock to reduce the rebound as we see that the only issue so far. We have also used Timbren products commercially for years and it has always been a great durable solution. So it's pretty good stuff, and it helps reduce the manufacturing costs so we can bring a composite body trailer to market for the same kind of money as the conventional wood bodied high end off road trailers.
The market here in North America will undoubtedly feel an effect from Chinese manufacturing, but only to a degree. We may lose to the builder buying parts as that stream is open here, but for the client looking for a turn key solution I don't think it will be as much as a threat as logistics on a bigger product offset the lower cost. We may see a large RV builder buy into the market and load up on Chinese raw materials but we are all too familiar with the way the large scale RV builder do things, and that's why this niche market exists, and will always exist. All of our sales to date have also been to a mostly professional clientele, engineers, nurses, doctors, law enforcement, educators, business people, etc. who do not have the time or desire to actually build a product but rather purchase it. And we do sell parts but we don't sell panels, extrusions, or empty shells so that keeps us a little more isolated from the China effect. As well here in North America (especially USA) we are going to be seeing seriously revised trade agreements and China is not really a good trade partner with Canada or the USA, and with economic downturns on natural resources we are seeing a large push to bring manufacturing back on shore, I expect to see some pretty hefty tariffs introduced one the next year or two which will be beneficial. All of our cores, skins, extrusions, frame materials, are made in Canada and USA and our business relations extend largely on both sides of the border. There are a couple pieces that filter in from China, but there are now products that are not built anywhere else in the world other than China, kinda scary to a degree.
And your right about bringing something new to market, we designed and built the trailer line largely out of response to our camper displayed at Expo west in Flagstaff last year. The inquiries were coming from people who were buying, and tired of a 7-18 month lead time, and not really satisfied that they were getting a wood body for the money. People were looking for a composite solution so we built one, and a few more have followed since, off to a slower start than anticipated, but nonetheless it's moving along. And it works well with the camper builds and Mercedes conversions that take a little longer to complete, a good fit for the production dept. So thanks for sharing the positive vibes, it's all good stuff! And the TDK isn't a tear drop, I'll let you figure out the acronym! My marketing slogan that I keep getting in trouble for is "No more wood, no more tears", and it goes hand in hand with the TDK! For most new developments and releases check out www.overlandex.com and our Facebook page, I have a couple really cool builds I will post on here in the near future too.
Cheers,
Mark.
