Airstream 2007 Production Statistics

TIMEMACHINE · 12-12-2006, 05:44 PM

I have seen threads regarding how many Airstreams have been produced from the beginning and speculation on how many are still rolling. I have also seen threads that talk about Airstream's corporate strategy. My question is: Does anybody know how many Airstreams are being produced this year (2007 model year) and what are the ratios of models and sizes?

John

2airishuman · 12-12-2006, 06:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TIMEMACHINE

I have seen threads regarding how many Airstreams have been produced from the beginning and speculation on how many are still rolling. I have also seen threads that talk about Airstream's corporate strategy. My question is: Does anybody know how many Airstreams are being produced this year (2007 model year) and what are the ratios of models and sizes?John

hi john

short answer yes someone knows...

will we get that info...not likely...

if you own thor stock the annual report carries some of the airstream info, but it's buried deep and still doesn't answer your exact question.

i've posted this before but here it is again.

up 2 2002 a/s was producing 5-600 trailers yearly...
and 4 2006 this is expected to be 2100 units...

they have no desire to split out the models and give us data for every length, floor plan decor and so on...

many years past this info would have been hard to generate...

now it's 'proprietary'....sort of.

and i mean that in the terms original 'holy' meaning...

thor is a 3 billion dollar a year company....

a/s does 100 million of that....just a sliver of silver, if you will...

but the silver bullets are the halo brand for the company....

so the golden advertising is valuable way beyond the number of units produced...

and they keep us guessing

cheers
2air'

a visit to the factory and taking the tour gives a glimpse of production and ratios of what is on the line on a given day....
1-34, 2-5 classics, 4-8 bambis, 4-10 internationals, 20-30 safaris 'bvd' models...

don't forget, 75 limited edition 19s last year and the 50 quicksilvers 16s actually became 100 quicksilvers...

Mike Lewis · 12-12-2006, 07:41 PM

We were at the factory late sept and did the tour. they told how many they we building but for the life of me i can't remember. i do remember the number 200 as being the back orders they had. The tour leader also said they we ramping up for more production as they have some automated machines ordered to do cabinetry panel cuts and were looking to hire a significant number more people. ---pieman
Someone posted here that they had one ordered with the production date of may. That seems to indicate that the 200 back log is pretty close. Last year this time it took us 12 weeks to get a 30' classic.----pieman

**CanoeStream** · 12-12-2006, 08:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2airishuman

a visit to the factory and taking the tour gives a glimpse of production and ratios of what is on the line on a given day....
1-34, 2-5 classics, 4-8 bambis, 4-10 internationals, 20-30 safaris 'bvd' models...

Never tho't of it that way -- I own a BVD! Brings up some interesting differences however ...

. Cool, 2air'. Cool.

bojeepers · 12-12-2006, 10:58 PM

We have been looking at the Safari 25 SE with a front br at our dealer in Arkansas.I asked the sales person if he knew what the weeky production was.He told m e that A/S told them it was 12 to 14 units a week...seems low to me.. Bobby

**jcanavera** · 12-12-2006, 11:09 PM

When we visited the summer on 2001 the production was about 25 units a week. Normally when you take the tour at JC you will be given a weekly production figure.

Jack

Silvertwinkie · 12-12-2006, 11:32 PM

Keep in mind when doing the yearly totals to back out a few weeks for when production ceases during the holidays and for various national holidays.

I too seem to reacall between 19 and 25 units per week.

I would be totally floored if they did 2100 a year. At that level, backing out two weeks out of the year for the holidays combined, that is about 42 units a week on average. Which if they did this, I'd be shocked if they could keep the QC up to snuff at those high numbers IMHO.

2airishuman · 12-13-2006, 01:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Silvertwinkie

I would be totally floored if they did 2100 a year.

so why would i offer such specifics without cause?

2100 this year is a direct quote from dicky riegel...

rvbusinessnews volume 57, number 2, may 2006. page 54...as i vaguely recall

i'm not one to just make up numbers on such a specific issue.

cheers
2air'

wheel interested · 12-13-2006, 04:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2airishuman

rvbusinessnews volume 57, number 2, may 2006. page 54...as i vaguely recall

2air'

That's some vague recollection of yours!

No question of your credibility, but there is a real question of what levels of standard can be maintained.

From the standpoint of past quality control reports, vamping up production again with the possible addition of more new workers, is stunning to new owners. I'm thinking less time could be devoted to each unit. Forget the saw dust, metal shavings, abandoned screws and leaky showers, they may just be pulling out Airstreams for transport with left over tools and a pokey worker on board.

What are "BVD" Safaris? I just can't figure that out.

rickandsandi · 12-13-2006, 04:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bojeepers

We have been looking at the Safari 25 SE with a front br at our dealer in Arkansas.I asked the sales person if he knew what the weeky production was.He told m e that A/S told them it was 12 to 14 units a week...seems low to me.. Bobby

Currently there are 30 +/- completed AS coming off the line every Monday, There are about 10 Base Camps and they are gearing up for the shells for UK.

Silvertwinkie · 12-13-2006, 07:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2airishuman

so why would i offer such specifics without cause?

2100 this year is a direct quote from dicky riegel...

i'm not one to just make up numbers on such a specific issue.

cheers
2air'

Joe,

No one is questioning your post of the 2100 number, my question was more to point out that if they do or have hit that number we're clearly up to over 40 units a week and it's no wonder that QC issue, even the smaller ones, like no Airstream names on the front or back caps, will be more commonplace.

Again, no one that I can see, including me is suggesting you made anything up. If you re-read the post, it's more of a shock and awe at how floored and amazed I was to hear that they were or could hit that number.

2airishuman · 12-13-2006, 10:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wheel in

there is a real question of what levels of standard can be maintained. From the standpoint of past quality control reports, vamping up production again with the possible addition of more new workers, is stunning to new owners. I'm thinking less time could be devoted to each unit. Forget the saw dust, metal shavings, abandoned screws and leaky showers, they may just be pulling out Airstreams for transport with left over tools and a pokey worker on board.

hi wheel'n...

i agree with those concerns. production errors are a moving target.
what we see in a unit at any given point may/maynot have been addressed already...it's a down stream thing...

my read of production data is, the increase was gradual and most of the pain was in 2003 and 04.
eliminating moho models increased focus on the main product. space issues inside the building improved too.
visiting now the line looks much less hurry'd than in 04/05.

the other big issues was introduction of new models....
until 4 years ago they were building vanilla and chocolate.
all of the new models, materials and interior styling changes from 2002-05 stressed the workers who were on autopilot.
some left and new folks were hired. now they seem to like the variety of units better, or at least seem to have adapted to the rapid regular variations...
i think this was an issue for ccds and other designs during 02-05

they also had significant overtime issues which were symptomatic of a bigger problem and affected errors.
they have managed to reduce overtime significantly and still meet production goals..
month2month volume is more level than in years past, and so on.

so like inflation or interest or my waistline the growth has been steady and now looks dramatic.
my point in this and the other 'production' thread is a/s feels they are on top of these issues now...

so the ramping up was gradual and new hires are not a high percentage on the line...

and at this production level, they really don't look busy or stressed on the line.

your 2007? model looks much better finished than my 05...
except the door is at the wrong end, how'd that happen?

cheers
2air'

i'll explain the bvd thing off line, it is after all undies...

12-13-2006, 11:04 AM

I think that QC (at least for 2007) is much improved regardless of the increased production numbers. I am very much aware of quality of fit and finish as this is what I'm involved in every day in my work. My 2007 25' Classic is top quality. There are a few ( very few) and very minor issues that I corrected that you might expect on any hand built product, but the overall end result is pretty darn good. With the increased production Airstream managed to include some special order changes on my Classic including one just a week before the build date. I don't know about the other models but if my unit is any indication of improved QC then Airstream is listening and getting it right.

safari57 · 12-13-2006, 11:13 AM

Just as a note I worked in the RV manufacturing business for several years (SOB's

) and when volumes went up QC was impacted, but not by much.

The people on the line still took a lot of pride in their work and were quick to report issues, and the QC folks were also very good at ramping up themselves. There is often a bit more emphasis put on the dealers pre-delivery prep and it's often at that level where trends are picked up that are missed at the factory. If they are quick to report it then the problem gets resolved at manufacturer - no one intentionally builds a bad product, but in our case it seemed like only a few dealers were really as aggressive as one would hope with their pre-delivery prep and that was an issue. Many (not all thankfully) of the dealers did a very cursory job of what should be a critical component of their part in the sale/delivery of a unit. From what I've seen on the forum it would appear IMHO that other than annoying minor issues, the mother ship is doing a good job of staying on top of the QC, as are the dealers.
Barry