Winnebago Refines Manufacturing Technology In Market-Share Bid

Winnebago Industries is in a major scrap with other recreational-vehicle companies for share of a market that is in at least short-term decline as the industry reckons with a recent falloff in sales after a boom that lasted more than a decade. During that unprecedented run in sales, makers solidified and extended their customer base and benefited from consumer behavior that changed during Covid.

The new circumstances make it even more important for Forest City, Iowa-based Winnebago Industries to work continually on quality in manufacturing at its plants in Iowa and Indiana. I recently discussed Winnebago’s approach with Huw Bower, president of the company’s Winnebago brand.

We’ve invested around specific forming and cutting machines that cut with speed and volume but also accuracy, and that makes the whole assembly process much easier. On the line and in assembling cabinets, it’s a craftsman environment, where they’re highly skilled, and it’s difficult to automate. But because this automation can control tolerances to a much greater degree, the fit and finish becomes infinitely easier, and the quality is higher.

What is the importance of increasing automation to your efforts to improve manufacturing of Winnebagos?

We constantly look at automation opportunities. There are routers and cutters and lasers that make our work more efficient and accurate. We are moderating production to be more closely aligned with retail demand. Our brands are really strong brands and important parts of a dealer’s portfolio. They’re not always the highest volume, but they attract attention and have a strong [profit] margin profile and a differentiating message. We’re getting increasing share of “shelf space” at dealers.

How is your supply chain these days after emerging from Covid?

In the manufacturing environment, we have seen normalization of production rates, looking at some new products we brought out. We are still chassis-constrained and our pipeline inventories aren’t at levels we’d want. There is opportunity, as some of the chassis OEMs get incremental capacity, for us to continue to make high-demand vehicles that have yet to meet the ideal levels in pipelines.

Are you bringing AI into your factories?

We’re using advanced technology to upgrade machinery like lasers, routers and cutters, which are vertically integrated in our north Iowa campus. We’ve invested in technology around specific forming and cutting machines that cut with speed and volume but also accuracy, and that makes the whole assembly process much easier.

The assembly of cabinets is a craftsman environment and a highly skilled environment and is difficult to automate. But because now we can control tolerances to a much greater degree, fit and finish becomes infinitely easier, and quality is higher.

Where we can use AI increasingly is in digital work instructions and the efficacy of training. We’re aren’t using robot assistance in a conventional sense; there’s not the volume and scale and repeatability in the product line. But we are digitally transforming the operating environment and implementing a new ERP. That will be the digital foundation for future manufacturing improvements, in our core Winnebago motor-home business in Iowa.

The benefit of being part of Winnebago Industries is that we have a centralized structure and we can leverage volumes for all brands. We have an advanced-technology group and a center of excellence that are looking at exactly those [AI] kinds of opportunities. One of the first areas that could benefit is some of the volume work in our plastics-thermoforming area, and repeatability in stitchcraft — vertical operations where we could leverage those insights.