Getting a little free time here to post more about the rally and to get feedback on activities as we look ahead, planning future rallies.
On Saturday, about 90 of us boarded two buses and left the Fairgrounds around 7:30 AM for our plant tours and lunch.
//heartlandowners.org/attachments/bus.jpg
Our first stop was the Lippert Component's plant in Goshen. At this plant, we split into two groups and were led, one after the other through a tour of an active frame shop. We were able to see frames go from raw stock to completed assemblies out the back door. The tour was pretty fast and the plant was very noisy. I didn't hear much of what our guide said but it was fairly evident to see what was going on at each stage of the fabrication, through paint and final finish. Their lot was a sea of completed frames. Lippert has many plants around the country that build various types of frames for many manufacturers. For me, this was a great tour as it was neat to see the foundation of your rolling home come to life.
//heartlandowners.org/attachments/lippert.jpg
Scott Tuttle asked that all of the first time rally attendees board bus one, his bus. Between plants, Scott spoke about how Heartland was formed, where they are today and perhaps where they are headed. I was on bus two with the rally returnees plus a few first timers that could not fit on bus one.
Our second plant stop was Flair Interiors, also in Goshen. As their name implies, their tour had flair! They greeted us as we arrived and led us into their showroom in four groups where we enjoyed refreshments (bagels, muffins, fruit, drinks etc.) and where we got to see and try out all of their furniture, see different styles of fabrics and speak to management personnel. Each group then moved into the design/engineering area, then out to the plant. One thing I thought was interesting is that Flair has mapped every step of every job out and has timings down to the second. This allows them to maintain an optimal level of throughput performance and hopefully maintain a high level of repeatable quality. When we returned to our buses, their "flair" continued as every seat in each bus had a custom pillow on it. Gifts to us, courtesy of Flair Interiors. Thank you Flair. Below is an image of the leather side of the pillow. The other side was covered with a nice fabric.
//heartlandowners.org/attachments/flair_heartland_pillows.jpg
Finally, we headed north towards Elkhart for our last tour at Heartland's two primary plants, for a sneak preview of the new Landmark, other coach tours and for lunch. Scott Tuttle led one tour with half of us through the Bighorn/Big Country plant while Coley Brady led the other group on a tour of the Cyclone plant. These plants are adjacent to one another other. The two groups then swapped plants. Before and after the Heartland plant tours, we got a chance to walk through new units on display (image below). We concluded with lunch at the plant (burgers/brats etc.).
//heartlandowners.org/attachments/heartland_trailers.jpg
This was a real skinny paraphrase of this 6 hour segment of the rally but it give those who were unable to join us, a little flavor of what we experienced.
Now for this who made these tours, we'd like to hear your feedback on:
1) What you liked
2) What you didn't care much about
3) What you'd like to see when we return to the area in 2009
4) Other comments
Fire away and thank you,
Jim
PS: Thanks to those who took pictures during the rally and sent me CDs with these great images.
On Saturday, about 90 of us boarded two buses and left the Fairgrounds around 7:30 AM for our plant tours and lunch.
//heartlandowners.org/attachments/bus.jpg
Our first stop was the Lippert Component's plant in Goshen. At this plant, we split into two groups and were led, one after the other through a tour of an active frame shop. We were able to see frames go from raw stock to completed assemblies out the back door. The tour was pretty fast and the plant was very noisy. I didn't hear much of what our guide said but it was fairly evident to see what was going on at each stage of the fabrication, through paint and final finish. Their lot was a sea of completed frames. Lippert has many plants around the country that build various types of frames for many manufacturers. For me, this was a great tour as it was neat to see the foundation of your rolling home come to life.
//heartlandowners.org/attachments/lippert.jpg
Scott Tuttle asked that all of the first time rally attendees board bus one, his bus. Between plants, Scott spoke about how Heartland was formed, where they are today and perhaps where they are headed. I was on bus two with the rally returnees plus a few first timers that could not fit on bus one.
Our second plant stop was Flair Interiors, also in Goshen. As their name implies, their tour had flair! They greeted us as we arrived and led us into their showroom in four groups where we enjoyed refreshments (bagels, muffins, fruit, drinks etc.) and where we got to see and try out all of their furniture, see different styles of fabrics and speak to management personnel. Each group then moved into the design/engineering area, then out to the plant. One thing I thought was interesting is that Flair has mapped every step of every job out and has timings down to the second. This allows them to maintain an optimal level of throughput performance and hopefully maintain a high level of repeatable quality. When we returned to our buses, their "flair" continued as every seat in each bus had a custom pillow on it. Gifts to us, courtesy of Flair Interiors. Thank you Flair. Below is an image of the leather side of the pillow. The other side was covered with a nice fabric.
//heartlandowners.org/attachments/flair_heartland_pillows.jpg
Finally, we headed north towards Elkhart for our last tour at Heartland's two primary plants, for a sneak preview of the new Landmark, other coach tours and for lunch. Scott Tuttle led one tour with half of us through the Bighorn/Big Country plant while Coley Brady led the other group on a tour of the Cyclone plant. These plants are adjacent to one another other. The two groups then swapped plants. Before and after the Heartland plant tours, we got a chance to walk through new units on display (image below). We concluded with lunch at the plant (burgers/brats etc.).
//heartlandowners.org/attachments/heartland_trailers.jpg
This was a real skinny paraphrase of this 6 hour segment of the rally but it give those who were unable to join us, a little flavor of what we experienced.
Now for this who made these tours, we'd like to hear your feedback on:
1) What you liked
2) What you didn't care much about
3) What you'd like to see when we return to the area in 2009
4) Other comments
Fire away and thank you,
Jim
PS: Thanks to those who took pictures during the rally and sent me CDs with these great images.
Our guide was not very well informed at all. We made the trip to Elkhart mainly to take the tour with our friends who just recently ordered a 3600rl. Wish we could have made you guys tour but the timing wasn't right.
