The Alpine Coach Association  held its 2008 “Desert Rat Rally” in Quartzsite, AZ January 16-21. Bob Wert, President, WRV, made a surprise visit to reinforce WRV’s bold new direction to get the Alpine Coach back into a leadership role in the premium segment of the motor coach market. (See RoTi review of Alpine Coach)

Since the purchase of WRV in December of 2006, Monomoy Capital Partners has continued the momentum of excitement by focusing serious effort on the visionary product development for the entire 2009 line up.
(See RoTi news item - Western New President)

In his address to the association, Mr. Wert outlined the top three action items that have been named priority to regain the desired goal of motor coach leadership.

1.  “First and foremost, WRV must rebuild the brand; It will take time and due diligence to achieve this goal. WRV will be successful with the approach of one customer at a time, one unit at a time. WRV will renew the faith of its customers by providing exceptional service before, after and during the sales process.
2. Secondly, to service our customers, WRV must rebuild the dealer network. In their relentless pursuit of perfection, WRV will ensure their customer’s peace of mind by expanding their top quality sales & service dealer network.” Wert continues by saying, “In addition to our top volume dealers Guaranty RV & I-5 Ulhmann RV in the Northwest and Longview RV Superstores in Florida & Connecticut, we will add top quality dealers in Texas, Arizona, & Southern California shortly.”
3. “And finally, the best way to win our customers one at a time is to launch leading edge products not just one at a time but in multiples!” With great enthusiasm, Wert describes WRV’s recent product launches; “The New Alpine Coach Limited featuring the Exclusive Peak Custom Chassis, with its 425 hp Cummins ISL Diesel Engine standard in each model, Hardwood Maple Cabinetry (with Custom Solid Cherry as an option), an industry-leading 5-Year/ 36,000 mile limited structural warranty, HWH Air Leveling System, and fully vacuum-bonded solid body structure has created a bold and innovative new product. Five new floor plans, all created from extensive customer feedback, will be launched over the next 4 months giving the Alpine Coach customer the “built just for me” feel. The Alpine Coach Limited falls in a price segment that represents almost a 40% share of the Class “A” diesel market. Wert proudly notes, “This product provides features typically not found at this price point.”

Alpenlite Ridgeline

In keeping the pace on new product launches positioned in the most competitive price points, Wert also spoke of the new Alpenlite Fifth-Wheel product, the Ridgeline; “The new Alpenlite Ridgeline will allow WRV to compete in a market that targets the younger traveler as well as a broader senior market.” Wert goes on by saying, “the Alpenlite Ridgeline features many of the high quality standard features that the Alpenlite Voyager and Limited Series counter parts do, but at a price point that won’t compromise the quality or premium construction Alpenlite consumers have grown to expect.”

Partnership with Coach-Net

Burk Morgan, Director of Sales, Motorized Division and Max Zackula, Field Service Manager for WRV, announced the live partnership between WRV and Coach-Net, the leading provider of emergency roadside assistance, technical support, and travel-related service for the RV industry. Coach-Net will provide technical and emergency roadside assistance for all 2007, 2008 and 2009 Alpine Coach and Alpenlite products, compliments of Western RV. Morgan states, “This partnership exemplifies WRV’s relentless pursuit of perfection in providing premium products backed by superior customer service.”

"Rebuilding the brand" ...
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