Caravan maker enjoys a record 12 months

The post-war rebuilding programme helped to develop the skills base that turned Hull into the caravan capital of Britain.

This industry, which suffered during the lean years following the financial crash, is bouncing back as house prices rise and consumer sentiment improves.

Hull-based Coachman Caravans, which employs almost 170 people, revealed that it had enjoyed a record year, which has prompted it to carry out a major investment programme.

Jim Hibbs, Coachman’s founder, who has worked in the industry for 40 years, said the company was reaping the benefits of keeping its skilled workforce together during the recession.

Mr Hibbs said: “The caravan industry is known to be cyclical, the recession hit the industry pretty hard and started to rebound in late 2013.

“Everybody is very busy indeed.”

The investment in its production facilities has been announced after the company secured £10m of sales at the recent Birmingham NEC, Motorhome & Caravan Show.

The investment projects include the expansion of storage and production space at the company’s factory on Hull’s Sutton Fields Industrial Estate, as well as the introduction of new machinery to increase production.

Mr Hibbs said that many caravans were aimed at people who were retired or approaching retirement, and the sector had been boosted by the pick-up in consumer confidence.

He added: “When house prices rise it lifts the whole sector.”

He said the company was now on full output and working overtime to keep up with demand. Turnover is expected to rise this year from £28m to around £30m.

He added: “We took a conscious decision to keep the workforce together (during the recession). It’s the best thing we ever did.”

The new production and storage area is under construction and will be ready for equipment installation by Christmas.

Alan Roberts, Coachman’s production director, said the new machining centre would help to increase productivity.

Mr Hibbs formed Coachman Caravans in Hull in 1986, with George Kemp, a fellow former director of Hull’s ABI caravans.

They sold the business to the Explorer Group in 1997, and in 2001 Mr Hibbs and the management team bought it back, returning it to local, independent control.

The c ompany, which remains largely family run, operates from its factory and offices on Hull’s Sutton Fields Industrial Estate.

In 2013 Coachman began to export to New Zealand and Australia, to tap into a growing demand for caravans, and produced modified versions of its popular models.

Coachman recently took the top prize in four out of seven categories at the Caravan Club’s annual Caravan Design Awards.