Word: elkhart
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...have permitted more Americans to indulge their love of the open road, sales of recreational vehicles spurted to $ 1.6 billion last year, from a mere $87 million in 1961. Within the next six years, sales are expected to top $3 billion. Today, more than 800 companies, many clustered around Elkhart, Ind., now make recreational vehicles. Most are still run by their founders, a group of entrepreneurs who have made millions merely by buying the necessary parts and assembling campers and trailers. Some of the nation's largest corporations, however, are also getting into the business. Boise Cascade, W.R. Grace...
...Elkhart...
Behind the Store. Why the rapid growth? One major reason, says Arthur Decio, 38, founder, chairman and president of Skyline Corp., of Elkhart, Ind., is that "some years ago, builders just decided to forget about low-income groups. This was our opportunity, and we are trying to make the most of it." Last year Decio's Skyline sold about 30,000 mobile homes and 12,000 travel trailers, more than any other U.S. firm. For the company's fiscal year, which ended May 31, it earned almost $9,000,000 on sales of $180 million, a jump...
Decio himself is worth at least $70 million.* The son of an Italian immigrant grocer, he grew up in Elkhart next to the railroad tracks. When he was 21, he went to work in the garage behind the grocery store, where his father built mobile homes in his spare time. Later, Decio invested his savings of $3,200, talked friends into putting up $7,000, and began to introduce some method into what was then a helter-skelter industry. Borrowing some ideas from auto manufacturers, he offered many different models and sold them through competing dealers. From the garage...
Though the cars cost $40,000 to develop and build, they are paying rich dividends. In this year's first and third Can-Am races, at Elkhart Lake, Wis., and Edmonton, Canada, Hulme and McLaren drove to first-and second-place victories. In the Canadian race, both averaged over 100 m.p.h...