Winnebago suspends production at Chris-Craft

Winnebago Industries has announced that it is temporarily suspending production activities at its Chris-Craft and other production facilities in the US. The steps are designed to lower the probability of coronavirus exposure to employees and adjust future production output relative to demand.

According to a statement, Winnebago and its businesses will remain open and perform essential activities for its dealers and end customers, including remote retail support for dealers, along with technical care, warranty administration, and parts fulfillment. Manufacturing suspension is anticipated to last through April 12.

“As this global situation continues to rapidly evolve, our top priority is the health and well-being of our employees, business partners, customers and communities,” says Winnebago president and CEO Michael Happe. “We are also seeing demand for our products shift dramatically as the nation takes appropriate action to curb the spread of the coronavirus. This decision is not an easy one, but we are confident it is in the best interests of all our stakeholders. During this time, we will remain flexible with operations that can provide products related to the support of mobile health care, command centres and other logistical needs that local, state and federal resources may require during this crisis.”

Winnebago Industries, which acquired Chris-Craft in June 2018, says it will continue to monitor the situation and is committed to executing contingency plans that ensure a safe work environment for employees and disciplined production strategies that benefit the company and its channel partners before resuming full operations.