Can we expect Hymer quality in Explorer products?

[oldagetraveller1]

Now that Explorer are to be part of the Hymer Group, should we expect the legendary Hymer quality control and durability to be applied to Explorer caravans and motor homes?

 

[Martin24]

Early days BUT I think they have kept senior management in place so could take a long time.

 

[ProfJohnL]

I am certain that Hymer's involvement with the Explorer group will be a real benefit to the UK caravan industries dismal Quality Control and product reliability.

But the big problem is the UK industry is beset with customs and practices. These protections were probably hard won workers benefits gained many years ago when the industry was run in a rather appalling way, The production was highly seasonal and employees were frankly very poorly treated with little or no job security from season to season. Consequently Union activity grew strongly, and there were a number of quite significant industrial actions taken in the 1970s and 80s.

As a result there are many Customs and Practices which have become entrenched in the industry, which are biased towards production numbers rather than excelling at quality. Negotiating the removal of these barriers to modern quality based processes will be long and hard.

The Hymer effect, will I think make an important difference. Firstly becasue Hymer has a large continental production capacity It will not be afraid to close UK plants if it cannot renegotiate working conditions and Quality Control systems in the UK. This threat (though it might not be a stated position of the company) will I think begin to loosen some of the previously concrete mindsets against change.

Hymer's large international production base may well have some benefits in terms of purchasing power for components. It will certainly allow Explorer to look at wider selection of parts from around the world.

Hymer are not perfect, but they have gained an enviable reputation for design and product quality that significantly overshadows most of the UK manufacturers. This I am certain does concern the other UK manufacturers, becasue if Hymer are able improve the Explorer ranges, in terms of fit, finish and overall quality and reliability, that will give them a significant competitive edge over the other manufacturers.

Like it or not Warranty is not free, We all pay for it and all manufacturers have to add a cost element to the purchase price of their products to provide the funding to cover warranty costs. No manufacturer will tell you how much they inflate the price of their products to cover warranty, but it would not surprise me to find 5 to 10% of the purchase price of UK caravans is the premium we all pay to cover the manufacturer's warranty costs.

It is a well established commercial truth, that if products are well designed and reliable from the factory gate, warranty costs fall significantly, so any UK manufacturer that could reduce the warranty premium to say 4% or even lower, has greater capacity to reduce the sales price of their products. I suggest that such savings are both realistic, and probable if Hymer can implement real quality assurance procedures at Explorer. This could give Explorer enough of a competitive edge to hurt the sales of the other UK manufacturers.

This will not have escaped the notice of the other manufacturers, and you will be sure that if Hymer is able to renegotiate the working conditions of the explore employees, within weeks you will see similar agreements at the other manufacturers.

Such changes to working conditions are not always detrimental to the employee. With the current employments regulations, workers have far more rights than they used to including employment protection. Working conditions may change, modern production systems if implemented correctly can improve working conditions, With fewer opportunities to make errors on an assembly, the final numbers rolling of a production line can match or even exceed the previous haphazard arrangements where non compliant goods either had to be reworked (which slowed production down) or allowed to escape the factory and reach the customer.

It is another well proven commercial fact that the cost of rectifying goods in the after market sector is many fold the cost of keeping them within the factory, or preventing them occurring in the first place.

Overall this is good news for the consumer, who for too long has been the victim of poor quality control. But it won't be a quick fix, and of course it won't make any difference for those customers who have a pre improvement caravan.

 

[Raywood]

I do wonder if things will improve given that senior management remain, but I am not sure what the long term intentions are. Hymer have a reputation for quality and having given their name to the product they seem to have two choices, either improve the product or long term move it abroad, and only time will tell which way they go. German companies do not have a good record of keeping British manufacturing intact though so if I worked at Explorer I would be worried. Given the current order book for Eldiss and Compass I cannot see an immediate closure though.

 

[Martin24]

It may sound harsh but given the UK caravan industry quality issues, then close down and move it all abroad isn't necessarily a bad thing.

 

[Dustydog]

Brexit.
This will no doubt gave a big influence. If the Europeans apply levies on our exports we may reciprocate on their exports. Hymer may well choose to use the UK plant as vehicle to save these levies.
Conversely we all remember what happened to Fleetwood. hmy: