Who Owns Newmar RV? 7 Facts You Should Know

Have you ever wondered who owns Newmar RV? Well, look no more. We´ve got you covered.

Newmar RV produces some of the most luxurious RV models in the world. In fact, some of the models that they produce are valued at over $1-million. This is worth more than some houses! In fact, Newmar RVs are so feature-packed that they often provide far more comfort than your average home.

One question that we seem to get asked a lot is:

who owns Newmar RV? Newmar RV has been owned by Winnebago Industries, one of the largest RV manufacturers in the world, since 2019.

Before we dive into the specifics of Newmar RV ownership, however, we figured that we would talk about the company a little bit. After all, Newmar easily produces some of the more unique RV models on the market.

Table of Contents

Who Are Newmar RV?

As we just said, Newmar RV is a company that specializes in the production of luxurious RVs. In fact, they produce the most luxurious RVs on the market, with the Newmar Dutch Star being one of the most popular of the models that they produce, although they have a whole host of them in their range.

Newmar doesn’t produce that many vehicles each year, although we could find very little information about their vehicle production statistics.

This is all down to the fact that they spend a lot of time handcrafting each and every RV that they have in their range.

This is what helps give them their luxury feel. You know that if you purchase a Newmar RV, you are going to be ending up with one of the finest vehicles that you can drive in the United States.

The History of Newmar RV

The history of Newmar begins with the Amish and Mennonite faith. In fact, the faith of these Christians has guided Newmar RV ever since its founding over 50-years ago.

The company was founded in 1968 by Marvin Miller and Mervin Newcomer. As you can probably guess, the name of the company was based upon a combination of their last names. The company was based in Nappanee, Indiana.

The company rapidly expanded throughout the 1970s. They were well known at the time for producing RVs that people wanted. This meant listening to the various dealers that came to them and listening. This allowed them to get a foothold in the market as they were one of only a few companies doing it at the time.

During the early part of the business, they were only producing fifth-wheel trailers, though. It was not until the latter end of the 1980s that they decided they wanted to branch out into Class A RVs, although they really felt that they were taking a risk then.

We suppose it was a risk for the company, but it is one that paid off as this is what the company ended up being well known for.

In 2002, in the midst of an economic downturn, the company decided to only offer Class A Motorhomes. This meant that their history in the fifth wheel market ended.

This neatly transitions us to the next stage of the history of Newmar RV. Who actually owns the company now.

Who Owns Newmar RV?

Newmar RV has been owned by Winnebago Industries, one of the largest RV manufacturers in the world, since 2019.

Newmar RV was purchased for $344-million by Winnebago Industries. As near as we can tell, this gave Winnebago Industries full control over Newmar RV, leaving no ownership stake for the original owners of the business.

That being said, according to reports, the owners of Newmar RV were also given 2-million shares in Winnebago Industries.

Although, this certainly does not bring them anywhere close to having a viable ownership stake in Winnebago. Although, those 2-million shares are certainly worth a rather sizeable chunk of change.

The Organizational Structure of Winnebago Industries

Winnebago Industries is a PLC. This means that they are a public company. As a result, the owners of the company are people that have managed to buy stocks in Winnebago. Although, as we said, the original owners of Newmar RV also have 2-million shares in the company, assuming that they have yet to sell them off.

Because of this, Winnebago Industries has thousands of part-owners. Well, legally they are part-owners. The vast majority of them are not going to get involved in the running of the company. They just wait for the cut of the profits that they end up with each year.

None of the major shareholders in Winnebago Industries own more than 14% of the company. This means that no shareholder is going to have full control over the business. If any shareholder wants to enact change, then they will often have to attain the agreement of 10-15 other major shareholders, and this is probably never going to end up happening.

All of the major shareholders in the company are either investment firms or pension companies.

This means that even the shareholders will have countless other people holding shares in them. As a result, the organizational structure of Winnebago Industries is quite convoluted.

Luckily, we do not have to pay that much attention to who owns shares in the company. This is because none of these people will have a major impact on the running of the business.

Who Makes the Key Decisions at Newmar RV?

The shareholders are not going to have that much of a say in the running of Newmar. In fact, it is unlikely that they will even have a say in the running of Winnebago. These people are really there to get a paycheck for their shares (i.e. a cut of the profit) and they leave the running of the company to the experts.

It is likely that the major, major decisions i.e. the opening of new premises, etc. will be covered by Michael Happe. He is the CEO of Winnebago Industries, and his word is the final word on pretty much every major decision.

The day-to-day running of Newmar RV will be carried out by Matt Miller. As you can probably guess from his name, he is related to one of the original founders of the company. Matt Miller is going to be responsible for the decisions that only impact Newmar RV.

This means that he can launch new products, design new vehicles, etc. Of course, all of this will be based upon the budget that they are given from Winnebago Industries.

Because Newmar RV is still run by one of the relatives of a founder of the company, it still feels very much like a ‘family run’ business. In fact, you will be surprised at how few people out there know that the company is being run by one of the largest RV manufacturers in the world.

If you head to the Newmar RV website, you will barely see a mention of the Winnebago ownership bar a single link in the website’s footer.

Of course, Winnebago will help to provide resources for Newmar RV whenever they need them. Winnebago Industries will have teams that can assist with the design and development of products. They will also be able to source manufacturing materials.

Newmar Canyon Star Official Tour | Diesel Class A RV >> Check out the video below:

It is likely that Newmar RV is in a far better position working under Winnebago Industries than they were when they operated as an independent company.

The only time that the shareholders are likely to have an impact on the running of the company is if they are not happy with the way in which Winnebago Industries is being run. The shareholders will be allowed to vote on whether any of the board members should be removed.

The shareholders may also be allowed to vote on the biggest financial decisions, but this is going to be quite rare.

Can You Buy a Share in Winnebago Industries?

Yes!

As we said before, since Winnebago Industries is a PLC, it means that you are able to buy a share in the company if you really want. In order to buy shares, you will need to head to a stockbroker.

Since we do not have that much in the way of financial knowledge, we are not going to be able to provide you with any advice on how you can go about this.

Once you own a share in Winnebago Industries (or several shares), you will be able to enjoy a cut of their profits each year (normally a few cents per share), and you will also be entitled to voting rights at their AGMs. Although, it is unlikely that your single vote is going to have that much of an impact on the way that the company is run.

Where Can You Buy a Newmar RV?

Most RV stockists are probably not going to be keeping many Newmar RVs in stock. They are larger vehicles and they take up a huge amount of space. However, we do suggest that you head to an RV show or two. They are almost always going to be a focal point there.

Of course, since the company is owned by Winnebago, you can easily go to any company that offers Winnebago vehicles and purchase through them.

If you really want to get a feel for what the Newmar RVs are like, then you can book an appointment to look around their factory. This is probably one of the best ways for you to be able to see a wealth of their vehicles all on show.

Remember, it is unlikely that you are going to be picking up one of these vehicles and just driving away with one. As we said near the start, Newmar is a company that does pride itself on the more customized approach.

This means that they will listen to you when you come up with ideas for the type of vehicle that you want. Of course, since this is such a popular company, they often get booked up far in advance, so it may still take months before you can get your hands on one of these mighty fine vehicles.

Conclusion

So, there you have it. Newmar RV is owned by Winnebago Industries. They have been since 2010. However, Winnebago Industries do not really have an impact on the day-to-day running of Newmar RV.

Instead, this is still going to be left in the hands of a relative of one of the original founders of the business.

This helps Newmar RV to have that ‘family ownership’ feel, despite being owned by that massive company and having thousands of staff members on their payroll.

References

https://www.newmarcorp.com/why-newmar/

https://www.motorbiscuit.com/