With an increase in RV sales each year since 2012, the issue is there aren’t enough people to fill the jobs in order to keep up with the demand, say the executives of two Indiana-based RV companies.
In an interview with Inside Indiana Business, Scott Mereness, the President of Lippert Components Inc. based in Elkhart, says more workers are needed in northern Indiana to handle the needs of the RV industry.
“There’s just not enough people in Elkhart County to fuel the type of industry levels that we’re currently at,” says Mereness.
Recently, Gov. Eric Holcomb (R-IN) said more than 80,000 jobs requiring skilled workers are going unfilled across the state.
Chase Healey, the Director of Specialty Vehicle Sales with Furrion, says his company is seeking qualified help.
“Today, we have 20 different positions that are open. We encourage anyone interested in those positions to check out our LinkedIn page,” says Healey.
Both companies are showcasing their RVs at the annual Elkhart RV Dealer Open House, which has brought around 30 companies and 4,000 people who work in the RV industry to the a annual event which runs through Thursday at the Elkhart East Corporate Park.
The RV Industry Association (RVIA), which is based in Virginia and has an office in Elkhart, organizes the annual event.
RV sales in 2018 are expected to match those of last year.
According to the RVIA, sales of motor homes saw its biggest increase of 17.2 percent in 2017 with nearly 505,000 vehicles sold in the United States.
The RVIA also says more than 80 percent of the recreational vehicles sold in the U.S. are made in Elkhart and the surrounding area. The city calls itself “The RV Capital of the World.”
