Cambridge campervan and RV company back on track after bumpy road
A Cambridge company is celebrating 50 years and looking forward to the future just years after it barely survived financial turmoil.
Roadtrek Inc., a company credited with revolutionizing the campervan and RV manufacturing industry, was on the brink of collapse in 2019. The company was put into receivership by Erwin Hymer North America in February 2019. Staff were terminated and the company was put up for sale.
More than 800 people lost their jobs.
But today, the company’s new owners say the path ahead looks much smoother.
“We have a strong financial stability, a consistent and bright future,” Roadtrek Inc. CEO Massimiliano Miletto Petrazzini told CTV News Kitchener.
The company offers six mid-sized RV models.
From the brink of collapse
The company was purchased by a French group, Rapido, a few months after the massive layoffs in 2019.
Today, the facility boasts 110 employees, with space to bring in more if demand continues to grow.
Former president Jeff Hanemaayer ran Roadtrek when he was 21-years-old after his father founded the company in the 70s.
He told CTV his dad’s goal was to design a better RV than what was already on the market.
“[The company] started with my father’s idea of a product. I grew the company, and it’s really great to see that legacy continue. It would have been a shame if it died because of the dark years under Erwin Hymer Group ownership.”
Hope for the future
Roadtrek hosted a three-day festival on Guelph Lake Island to mark the company’s 50th anniversary.
The event was more than just a celebration of survival. The company also used the festival as an opportunity to introduce new people to the RV lifestyle.
“When we travel to the States, we see them everywhere,” Roadtrek owner Lyne Webb said. “They’re a very popular brand. I think it’s great for the Kitchener-Waterloo area to have this calibre of business.”
It was also an opportunity to look ahead to what may still be coming down the road.
“We are going to start to design a couple of new models this fall,” Petrazzini said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Police arrest 18-year-old woman who allegedly stole Porsche and ran over its owner
Police have arrested an 18-year-old woman who allegedly stole a Porsche and then ran over its owner in an incident that was captured on video.
Woman nearly shut out of mother's estate sues brother in B.C. Supreme Court – and wins
Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.
Woman shot by B.C. police was Colombian refugee with young daughter, advocate says
Advocates have identified the woman who died this week after being shot by police in Surrey, B.C., as a South American refugee who was raising a young daughter.
3 injured after man with knife enters Montreal-area mosque
Three men were injured after trying to subdue a man armed with a knife during afternoon prayers at a Montreal-area mosque Friday afternoon.
Kamala Harris tells Oprah any intruder to her home is 'getting shot'
U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris on Thursday issued a warning to any potential home intruder: 'If somebody breaks in my house, they're getting shot.'
Teen arrested in New Brunswick after emergency alert; 5 people in custody
A 15-year-old boy who was the subject of an emergency alert in New Brunswick has been arrested.
On the trail of the mystery woman whose company licensed exploding pagers
What Cristiana Barsony-Arcidiacono, 49, the Italian-Hungarian CEO and owner of Hungary-based BAC Consulting, says she hasn't done is make the exploding pagers that killed 12 people and wounded more than 2,000 in Lebanon this week.
'We're still pushing hard': Search for missing Manitoba boy continues, RCMP find tracks
The search for a missing six-year-old boy in Shamattawa is continuing Friday as RCMP hope recent tips can help lead to a happy conclusion.
Video released of person of interest after cat is allegedly set on fire in Orillia, Ont.
Provincial police investigating the death of a cat that was allegedly set on fire in Orillia earlier this week released surveillance video of a person of interest in the case.