Starcraft placed first in Ford’s Top Volume Accounts list this summer and was followed by two other Forest River companies, Elkhart Coach and Glaval Bus.
Parent company Forest River said the achievement of its top-three placing companies “continues to underscore the strength of the overall company, its bus divisions, as well as its ongoing relationship with Ford Motor Company.”
“As Forest River’s bus divisions continue to gain market share each year, it necessitates an increase in capacity in order keep up with demand. Plans to do so are already in the works and will be completed by year-end,” added Pete Liegl, Forest River’s CEO. “We recognize that we couldn’t occupy the top three spots without the incredible support of our dealer base and nearly 800 dedicated bus employees.”
Ford also announced that Starcraft Bus was named Ford’s Top Volume Bus Account for the 10th consecutive year. Cindy Sokol of Starcraft Bus received the award from John Ruppert, Ford’s GM of vehicle sales, and Dennis Bearden, Ford pool account manager, on June 9 at Ford’s Annual Pool Account Meeting in Detroit.
“There’s a lot of talk in this industry about having the best product or the best dealers, but there is only one manufacturer and one dealer base that has been ranked number one for more than a decade,” says David Wright, president of Starcraft Bus. “We are proud of our employees, dealers and suppliers who are committed to building the best buses in the industry.
Meanwhile, Starcraft announced on Thursday tha it is increasing its production facilities by 100,000 square feet later this year with the addition of a building adjacent to its present operations. Currently, Starcraft Bus operates in 130,000 square feet. By nearly doubling its square footage, Starcraft Bus said total production capacity will increase to approximately 10,000 units per year.
The additional building will be operational by January 1, 2017.
