Swift factory visit 17th April

[mealsonwheels]

A big thank you to Kathy and all at SwiftGroup for the factory visit today. It was really interesting to see the complete building process of a caravan from start to finish. We came away knowing what it is that has made SwiftGroup the market leaders.

The delicious lunch was fantastic and anyone going on the June visit, has a treat in store!

Thanks again, we had a most enjoyable day.

 

[SwiftGroup_374327846]

Thank you for your comments.

We really enjoyed the day as well. It is a welcome break from the normal day job.

Best Wishes

Kath

 

[JasonR_374341560]

I'm sure that Swift put on a good show and it is interesting to see how caravans are made.

But surely Bailey are the market leaders in the UK caravan market! Something like 1 in 3 caravans is made by Bailey I seem to remember,

 

[ValA.]

You may be right - but don't forget that Swift also 'covers' Abbey, Ace, Bessacarr, Sprite and Sterling, as well as Swift - and they produce motorhomes and mobile homes too.

I wouldn't mind going on any future trip - as we have (and love) a Swift. Is the June trip fully booked - and if so are there any more planned? Many thanks.

Val

 

[SwiftGroup_374327846]

I can confirm that Swift are the leading UK manufacturer in touring caravans, with a market share of around 40%. We produce around 12,500 touring caravans per annum. These figures do not include our production figures for motorhomes or holiday homes.

Bailey have around 25% of the UK market share.

Regards

Kath

 

[mealsonwheels]

Hi Val A.

I believe the next visit is scheduled for 19th June.

If you contact Customer Services at Swift to express your interest in going and if it's not fully booked, they will put you on the list and send you confirmation.

 

[JasonR_374341560]

Posting Removed

 

[Damian]

Before this topic gets out of hand.

Swift Group have led the way with forum participation and it is a very valuable addition to the forum, and especially to Swift Owners, some of whom have had brilliant responses to queries posted here.

In this case, Swift Group did not start the topic, and as such the comment:"should a manufacturers representative be using the forum to advertise their wares." is wholly unjustified.

Users of the forum were advised right at the start of manufacturers postings that personal likes and dislikes will NOT be aired on the forum,and as such the above posting by JasonR WILL be removed later today.

 

[Parksy]

Damian beat me to it!!

Swift Group have taken part in this and other caravan forums and imo this is a pioneering and refreshing approach by the leading caravan manufacturer in Britain. Bailey Caravans have followed suit and the sooner other caravan manufacturers take part in internet forums and speak directly to the caravan buying public the better.

The least that we can do as members of this forum is to refrain from having little digs at manufacturers on here, if anyone has problems with manufacturers products there is a mechanism in place to deal with it

 

[JasonR_374341560]

Whoops! Sorry Mod and Swift. I was not aware of that.

But I will ask another question elsewhere.

 

[Parksy]

Al Ko Kober the caravan chassis and associated product manufacturer also take part in a caravan forum (sadly not this one yet)where they answer queries about their products and of course Nigel from Millenco still bravely posts on here despite the initial rocky reception that he received ;0

 

[colin-yorkshire]

hi all

sorry mods but I genuinely think you have got this one wrong, why because this is an open disscusion forum for caravan users and owners and also potential new buyers who require relevent information both good and bad before making a decision as to what to buy and spend their hard earned cash on.

quote "Users of the forum were advised right at the start of manufacturers postings that personal likes and dislikes will NOT be aired on the forum,and as such the above posting by JasonR WILL be removed later today".

just because a manufacturer post on a particular forum is no excuse for stifeling a debate on build quality or price because that manufacturer contributes to the forum if I was looking into buying a new van I would want to know as much as possible before parting with my money.

this works both ways, I want to know what is good and what is bad in equal measure if contibutors cannot comment good or bad simply because a manufacturer posts I think this is wrong.

when I first started out caravannig over 30 years ago my father recommended going out and looking at as many vans as possible and then after deciding which one we liked go and look at as many old ones as possible of the same type.

in that way one could get a good feel as to how a paticular van weathers, if anything is suspect or likley to break it will have done over the years also an old one would give some indication of what sort of condition it will be in after a few years use.

nowadays this is not practical or posible as manufacturers change models just about every year or two and a out of date model will be worth considerably less than a current one when trading in.

this is why all relevent information including likes and dislikes is invaluable to forum members who want answers and no customer help lines dont help much after the initial question "is it still under warranty" no hard luck chum or in some cases hard luck if it is??.

any information good or bad is as much use to manufacturers as it is to the rest of us if they don't know whats going wrong they won't be able to fix it will they??.

so come on mods have a re-think you know it makes sense.

colin (bailey owner)

 

[Damian]

Just to clarify the earlier position, and modify slightly part of my posting, which on second reading does not entirely make sense.

The original posting was a Thank You to Swift for arranging and carrying out a very enjoyable days insight into the production methods of todays caravans, and I hasten to add I did not attend, but those who did, and have in the past open days all give excellent reports of the value they got from the day.

The post which was removed was an outright attack on Swift, which was totally out of order, completely unsubstantiated and bore more of a childish reply to being informed that Swift Group sell and make more caravans than Bailey.

Th epart which need clarification is "Users of the forum were advised right at the start of manufacturers postings that personal likes and dislikes will NOT be aired on the forum,"

This is, or was an ill thought out statement, and should have read that whilst in general terms it is good to know of possible faults with vans, specific complaints should be taken up with the dealer first and then the manufacturer, it is not acceptable to make broad unstubstantiated complaints about a whole build group of vans, based on purely personal perspective, such as was voiced.

Swift Group have resolved several problems owners have had, which they have had no joy directly with the dealer and as such deserve to be treated with a bit of respect for taking the initiative in forum participation.

 

[JasonR_374341560]

If a manufacturer deserves respect do I not deserve resect from a Moderator.

May I quote from Bailey caravans

"Sixty Years of Innovation

Founded in 1948 Bailey Caravans is the longest established UK independent manufacturer with sixty years experience in caravan design and production. During this period it has grown to become not only the UK's number one caravan brand, accounting for approximately one in three new caravan sales, but also now one of the largest in Europe"

That is what my post was based on and my experience as the owner of sebveral caravn brands including Swift Group.

There was nothing at all "childish" about my post and I have had good reason to question caravan manufacturers.

I strongly resent Damian's post, he is wrong and should withdraw his post or edit it!

In the "Buyers Guide; Caravans" section there is a thread entitled Bessacarr Cameo near the top of the pile. May be Damian and Swift Group could explain how that thread sits within this scenario!

 

[Chrissylizzie]

I too, would be interested to know if the June factory visit is fully booked. With thanks, Chris

 

[SwiftGroup_374327846]

I will post on Monday to let you know if there are any places left on the June visit

Regards

Kath

 

[Netti_374307085]

Could I ask where the Swift factory is please?

 

[Parksy]

The Swift factory is at Dunswell Road, Cottingham which is not too far from Hull

 

[Themass31]

it's a shame we can't talk about the problems we have with quality control on caravans leaving the production line

 

[Damian]

Craig, you can talk about quality control,,,,to the DEALER to whom you are parting company with your cash to!

If that fails, contact the Manufacturer direct.

It is rather pointless bringing up those issues on a forum where no one can do anything about it, unless it is just for general information, and after you have exhausted the correct complaints procedure.

 

[Dale_5084880]

I'd be interested in details of a Swift factory visit too - dates, prices, etc - can't find any details on Swifts website.

Dale

 

[ShadySadie]

Damian we have a manufacturers representative posting here so surely this is an ideal place to bring up questions, as we can ask someone with inside know how.

If quality control issues are not discussed in public how can we ever get to know if build quality has improved.

Regualr caravan site chat is about reliabilty and quality of tow cars and caravans so why should the questions and concerns not be raised here.

If a dealer tells me a problem is a one off when forum interaction shows that is not the case, how does preventing quality control discussions help me or any other caravanner here or the manufacturers even.

 

[Parksy]

I'll attempt to explain the position as far as I can because Damian and Ken are having some well deserved time away from the keyboard.

There are a few manufacturers representatives who post on here including Swift who as we all know manufacture caravans amongst other things.

If the owner of one of their products has had a specific problem with their caravan they should go to their caravan dealer, which is who they have the contract with under the sale of goods act where they should expect the fault to be rectified.

Swift Group as well as other caravan manufacturers have a dedicated website which deals with problems and queries and so that is another avenue.

Now we come to the Practical Caravan Magazine Forum.

Members of this forum may care to look through some of the threads posted on this forum where they will see that many problems, questions and general points of view are regularly aired, some of which are highly critical of various caravan manufacturers. These posts and threads are still there now and go way back into the archives.They are there because they have been allowed to remain on the forum and provide valid and valuable information about caravans, sites, accessories - you name it. Please bear this point in mind for a moment.

Now we come to the points regarding caravan manufacturers who post on this forum.

Caravan manufacturers such as Bailey and Swift post on here and if by their doing so a forum member decides to buy one of their products - fine, your own decision so in a narrow sense it can be argued that manufacturers are 'promoting their wares'

Swift, Bailey and Al Ko post on other forums beside this one by the way.

The caravan manufacturers who post are happy to receive feedback about their products, again, I've seen this on other forums and it's a two way street.

Caravan manufacturers get valuable info in real time rather than waiting for months for the dealerships to filter complaints back and us, the caravan buying public (sometimes!) get valuable information in return and not always about their brand new caravans but sometimes older models for which the manufacturers have archive specifications and information.

Still with me? Good, not much more to go now :0)

Our, ahem, misunderstandings come about when a poster decides to hijack a thread and start to insult another forum member, in this particular case Swift Group.

The post was removed, the poster then apologised and that should have been that.

Another thread has been opened which has attacked the level of Moderation on this forum and implied that because a caravan manufacturer was involved we are guilty of giving special treatment to caravan manufacturers who post on here.

A few sweeping generalisations have been made here and on the other thread and I have to inform every forum member here and now that this sort of generalisation has no place on this forum.

In other words members do not have the right to post on here that they think a particular make of caravan is rubbish because they 'know' somebody who had some unspecified trouble or to speculate that any particular manufacturer is somehow trying to decieve caravan buyers by showing them round their factories and issuing instructions to their workforce to build good quality caravans on that particular day and not on other days.

Many members have posted on here with questions about quality control but while caravan manufacturers are members of this forum they will be shown at least the level of courtesy and good manners afforded to all forum members.

Thank You

 

[JasonR_374341560]

Talking respect, no doubt Mr mod you will give me the right to reply when I return in a few days.

Your interpretation of my post and the slant you have applied to it in the above thread is not correct.

 

[Parksy]

Talking respect, no doubt Mr mod you will give me the right to reply when I return in a few days.

Your interpretation of my post and the slant you have applied to it in the above thread is not correct.

We shall see