Born Free being sold!

[bfadmin]

Below is a copy of a letter from Brandon Dodgen requesting that I post it on our Leap'n Lions forum.

Dear Leap’n Lions,

I am writing today to let you know that we are selling Born Free.

For many months, we have been seeking out investors to help provide the necessary capital to ramp up our production and sales efforts and take Born Free to the next level. During this process, we began talking with HBF Investments, LLC of Des Moines, Iowa, an investment group who saw the potential of our products and had a strong desire to be involved in the RV industry.

Our talks with HBF naturally progressed from investing capital, to purchasing shares of Born Free, to purchasing a majority of Born Free, to purchasing all of Born Free.
Jeff Butler will be our new President. He has 30 years of experience in the RV industry, most recently as Director of Engineering for Dynamax. Jeff is looking forward to helping Born Free grow and taking us to the next level. Jeff believes in the potential of Born Free – our history of quality and safety and the tight knit community of owners. He’s told me that he can’t wait to meet all our customers at our Factory Rally in June.

I, along with the rest of the Born Free crew here in Humboldt, will be staying on with the new ownership and we are thrilled to be a part of this transition and look forward to seeing you all soon.

Thank you for all your support and loyalty. Good things are in store for Born Free and we are excited to continue to produce and service the best made motorcoaches in the country for you, our Born Free Family.

Sincerely,
Brandon Dodgen

NOTE: Above letter was posted on this forum by Website Administrator bfadmin-2.

[Dallas Baillio]

Time will tell. Born Free's strength has been quality of product, great, knowledgeable employees and customer satisfaction and loyalty. If any one of these falter they will be lost in the sea of RV manufacturers. No longer distinguishable from any other.

[Ray]

Dallas, Agree with you 100%

I have always looked at Born Free as a very large family that included, company owners, employees, coach owners, etc. As I read the announcement I felt a heart felt loss. I hope the future of Born Free includes maintaining and nurturing the relationships and integrity in the same manner that the Dodgen family has over the years.

I think its going to be tough for anyone to follow the Dodgen legacy.

[Ray]

Hey Sam - You never answered my question.

Are you going to the factory Rally?

Pls let me know - I think it would be a hoot if we could park next to each other

[jeffcarp]

I think that Born Free is in the right place in the RV industry to have a chance to be successful with new, outside ownership. They are in the high-end luxury market, presumably with modest margins. I'd be more concerned if they were in the low end of the industry trying to mass produce coaches with low margins. It seems like there is a very reasonable chance of investment ROI.

Roadtrek seems to have improved since their situation since their buyout. Let's hope that happens with Born Free as well. I wonder if, given the aging and health concerns in the family, if this wasn't determined to be necessary just from a business continuity perspective as well?

[Ray]

Sam

You should have bought Born Free, by the sounds of it you could have done wonderful things with all your management, manufacturing, and RV expertise. And you have already listed many of your precieved problems with the company so you could get all those fixed.

BTW - I would expect all of the current Born Free employment to stay in place - They are to good and valuable to be let go. I would cover a wager on that if you so chose Sam.

Just get a hold of me and we can work out the details.

Also, I have not heard from you - Are you going to the Factory Rally?

The email address you listed in one of your posts doesn't seem to work. There is no contact info for you listed on the site as you have never been a member of the Leap'n Lions RV Club.

Pls feel free to PM or email me.

[tomzleapin]

Here's a link to an article in the The Humboldt Independent newspaper:

http://www.humboldtnews.com/content/dod ... es-company

[Roger]

It sounds like the kiss of death. Here's how these things normally progress:

The new management will start replacing the old employees with new employees who better understand
their "vision".

The bean counters will start cutting costs (quality) to maximize profits.

The factory will be moved south to where the labor is cheaper.

When customers realize that the new "Born Free" is different than the old "Born Free" sales will tank and the
whole mess will be gobbled up by a mega RV company.

[CuJo's Pride]

I'm very glad we got an "origional" Born Free.. Do you think this will be the last rally in Humbolt?

[Ray]

Wow - To many half empty glass's around here.

As referenced in Kelly's Heros (1970)

Oddball: Why don't you knock it off with them negative waves? Why don't you dig how beautiful it is out here? Why don't you say something righteous and hopeful for a change?

I have to say I kinda agree with Sams last post - accept for:

While I agree 100% with your assessment of how it usually goes moving forward when another RV manufacturer gobbles up a smaller manufacturer

As far as I read Born Free was bought by an investment group, not a RV manufacturer - They pulled someone in that has RV past experieance, not someone that has thier "own" people to bring in - I think there is one heck of a huge difference there.

I hope people will read whats out there and not interject all the negatives - as Sam states Born Free may very well be headed to even a higher standard - Time will tell.

But I dont see any reason to throw the company under the Born Free right now - there is absolutly no indications to that effect.

I guess it all gets down to how you look at life - See attached

[CuJo's Pride]

Ray,

You are 100% right. No one knows what's going to happen until it happens. Thanks for the reminder..


Jo

[Roger]

The purpose of an investment company is not to lovingly craft high end motor homes and take pride in doing so. The purpose
of an investment company is to make money! This means the bean counters become a major force in company decisions.
When companies forget about their customers and instead think only about stockholders the end is inevitable.

[Ray]

Sam - REF: Your last post - your right! (anything is possible at this point)

And at this point, in my world, the glass is half full and I can fly.

Thanks, Ray

[jeffcarp]

Great products made with pride and making a profit are not mutually exclusive concepts.

[dowellcj]

Knowing the Dodgen family and the history of Born Free, I would think that the family deliberated long and hard about this decision. They have always been invested in looking after the brand and their responsibilities to their employees. They have met challenges in the economy over these last years, in times that were rough. Yes, an investment firm that wants to make money is taking over, but, I don't think the Dodgen's would have gone this route if they didn't think that it was best for the company. John, Sr. always was (and still is) pretty interested in selling coaches and making a profit too! Choosing a local investment company, with hopefully similar Midwest values and work ethic sounds reasonable. All companies strive to make money, and many have quality as a main value.
Change and uncertainty are always hard. The Born Free family is dealing with incredible stress in their family life as well as trying to keep the company healthy. The support of owners will help. I think a good turnout at the rally, and communication to the new owners about what is special about Born Free will go a long way to help the transistion.

Caryl Dowell