In 1986 Merv Rumpel was unhappy with the compact motorhomes available on the market, and knew he could build something better. Three decades later, Pleasure-Way Industries remains a true Canadian success story.
By Craig Ritchie
Merv Rumpel is one of those people who are not afraid to roll up their sleeves and take matters into their own hands.
Since he founded Saskatoon RV dealership Glenwood Trailer Sales (now Glenwood RV Centre) in 1968, Rumpel had witnessed growing interest in camper vans. By the mid-1980s, he was actively searching for a high quality Class B motorhome that would comple-ment his dealership’s bread-and-butter Triple E, Dutchmen and Jayco product. Unable to find one that he liked, Rumpel decided that he could build a better, higher quality camper van than what he was seeing in the market. Rolling up his sleeves, he set out to create an all-new manufacturing business that would build high-end mini-motorhomes unlike any other – truly luxurious RVs with innovative designs and precision, high quality craftsmanship.
In keeping with his belief that RV travel was the most pleasurable of all, he named his new business Pleasure-Way. The fledgling company built its first Pleasure-Way van in 1985, using a Dodge chassis with a dropped floor and raised roof. “Because my father was a successful RV dealer, he knew a lot of other dealers, and it really wasn’t difficult to find customers to sell the product,” says Dean Rumpel, 49, Merv’s son and current president of Pleasure-Way Industries Ltd. “I think we sold 10 or 12 vans in 1986, which was our first full year, through our own dealership and other dealers that my father had relationships with.”
That business volume soared to 77 units in Pleasure-Way’s second full year of production. Word of mouth and end-less networking by Merv Rumpel quickly grew the dealer network.
Production nearly doubled again in 1988, when the company sold a whopping 120 units and added a second US dealer in Jew Jersey. Spurred by such dramatic growth, Pleasure-Way moved that year from its original location on the Glenwood Trailer Sales dealership property to its own dedicated manufacturing space across town. With the added production capacity, Merv Rumpel forecast sales of 250 units for the coming year, and doubling the production team from 20 people to 40.
Although growth slowed with the recession of the early 1990s, Pleasure-Way’s high product quality and customer-focused approach kept the firm on solid ground, and well positioned to move forward as economic conditions improved. The dealer network continued to grow, now including Tveten RV in Washington State and Scott Motor Coach in New Jersey, Pleasure-Way’s first American dealers. From its original eight employees, the company grew to approximately 200 people by 2007.
Today, Pleasure-Way has returned to near pre-downturn levels with more than 150 employees producing a full line of five different models, built on either the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter and Dodge Ram Promaster chassis. Its North American dealer network now encompasses approximately 60 dealers in Canada and the US.
To this day, units are built by hand on the shop floor by skilled crafts-men, often working in the company of a junior apprentice so their unique skills can pass along to the next generation. There is no automation, there is no assembly line. Individual components are measured, constructed and hand-fit to each individual chassis in order to accommodate slight tolerance differences that exist from one vehicle to the next. Custom cabinetry isn’t purchased, but hand-built on-site at Pleasure-Way’s own dedicated mill shop. Between hand cutting, shaping and finishing, it takes an average of 22 hours to complete just a single set of cabin doors. Mass production, this ain’t.
Quality control audits ensure that the company’s meticulous standards are met or exceeded throughout. “We don’t staple anything,” says Rumpel. On average, it takes six weeks and more than 400 man-hours to finish each Pleasure-Way motorhome. It’s an approach reflected in Pleasure-Way’s tag line, “Created, not manufactured,” and one which allows the company to stand behind its products with a full five-year warranty.
“The cornerstone of Pleasure-Way Industries Ltd. was built upon my father’s old-fashioned work ethic, pride in craftsmanship and a ‘customer comes first’ approach to business,” says Dean Rumpel. “We are proud to follow these principles today. Even now, in our 30th anniversary year, we still do not mass produce our motorhomes on assembly lines. Each motorhome is hand-crafted and custom-fitted to exacting standards and quality inspections.”
The real benefit to this focus on process, time and quality is that Pleasure-Way enjoys one of the lowest warranty claim rates in the entire RV industry. Not only does this ultimately lower costs for both Pleasure-Way and its dealers, but having everything work the way it should right from the start simply builds long-term customer loyalty.
The approach builds loyalty within the company as well. More than 30 percent of Pleasure-Way’s employees have been with the company for 10 years or more. Many have been there for more than 20 years, and some have been there since the very beginning. “They all take great pride in what they do and the role they play in making our motorhomes unsurpassed in the industry,” says Rumpel. “Their dedication and commitment to quality is evident in every detail in our coaches, and in our incomparable customer service.”
Pleasure-Way’s focus on quality has resulted in the company being honoured by numerous awards, including the RVDA Quality Circle Award in 2014 – the fifth consecutive year it has been recognized.
There’s no assembly line at Pleasure-Way. Every component is carefully hand-made by skilled craftsmen, who often work in the company of a junior apprentice in order to ensure that critical skills and knowledge are passed along to the next generation.
Pleasure-Way is still owned and operated as a family business. Dean Rumpel started out by working in the family’s Glenwood RV dealership with brother Terry (who now runs it), then moved to the Pleasure-Way manufacturing business working in the upholstery department. Over time he assumed increasingly greater responsibilities – purchasing, warranty administration, sales, and marketing – grooming him to ultimately succeed father Merv as president in 2004. Merv, now 83 and officially retired, still maintains an office at the Pleasure-Way plant. “He still comes in now and then when he’s in town,” says Dean Rumpel. “He checks up on me. He may be retired but he still genuinely enjoys this industry.”
Looking ahead, Pleasure-Way faces a prosperous future as it celebrates 30 years in the RV industry. With the third generation of the Rumpel family now coming into the business – Terry’s son, Devon, who heads Pleasure-Way’s video production department and is responsible for filming, production and the company’s YouTube channel – the company’s prospects have never looked brighter.
