Jayco

{{Infobox company

| name = Jayco Inc.

| logo =

| logo_size =

| type = Subsidiary

| foundation = 1968

| founders = Lloyd and Bertha Bontrager

| location_city = Middlebury, Indiana

| location_country = USA

| key_people =

| industry = recreation vehicles

| revenue =

| operating_income =

| net_income =

| num_employees = 3,200

| owner = Thor Industries

| homepage = [http://www.jayco.com/ www.jayco.com]

}}

File:Patent 3,495,866.png

File:Jayco fold-down camper.jpg

Jayco RV is an American manufacturer of recreational vehicles. The company is based in Middlebury, Indiana, and about three-quarters of its 3,200-person workforce is from the Amish and Mennonite communities of Indiana.{{cite web |title=UPDATE: Jayco expansion to create 360 jobs in Twin Falls |url=https://magicvalley.com/news/local/update-jayco-expansion-to-create-jobs-in-twin-falls/article_a0b22f47-bfeb-5394-aad4-9fe00bfa70cd.html |website=Magic Valley|date=3 October 2017 }}

History

The company was founded in 1968 by Lloyd and Bertha Bontrager.{{cite news |last1=Booker |first1=Ted |title=Thor acquires Jayco in $576 million deal |url=https://www.southbendtribune.com/news/business/thor-acquires-jayco-in-million-deal/article_5e680696-3f7f-11e6-a350-2b22e1d09057.html |accessdate=9 August 2019 |publisher=South Bend Tribune |date=2 July 2016}} Bontrager developed a trailer fold-down system in 1967 and started the business of making travel trailers from two chicken houses and a barn. In the first year of operations the company sold 132 trailers, and by the end of 1968 it had 15 employees. The company continued to grow and in 1970 built another plant in Harper, Kansas.{{cite web|url=http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Jayco-Inc-Company-History.html|title=Jayco, Inc. company history|author=|date=2016|website=Fundinguniverse|publisher=International Directory of Company Histories, Vol. 13. traiSt. James Press, 1996.|access-date=August 17, 2016|quote=}}{{cite web|url=http://www.factorytour.com/tours/jayco.cfm|title=Jayco Factory Tour in Middlebury, IN|author=|date=2016|website=Watch it Made in the USA|publisher=Karen Axelrod and Bruce Brumberg|access-date=August 17, 2016|quote=}}

The company was hard hit in the energy crunch of the 1970s, and several of their plants were closed temporarily. In the late 1980s and early 1990s they also suffered another slowdown due to the high price of gasoline. The company recovered to become the second largest U.S. manufacturer of towable products by 1995.

On Easter Sunday, 1985, Lloyd Bontrager was killed when his small airplane crashed in the vicinity of Muncie, Indiana. His wife, Bertha, became chairman of the board at Jayco, and later her sons Wilbur and Derald assumed leadership roles within the company.{{cite web |last1=Stephanie + Jeremy |title=RVFTA #210 Jayco's 50th Anniversary Celebration with Bertha Bontrager Rhodes |url= https://rvfta.com/podcast/jaycos-50th-anniversary|website=RVTA}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.goshennews.com/news/business/wilbur-bontrager-retiring-from-jayco-inc/article_424f71d5-bd4d-5336-859b-c96b62e60f2d.html|title=Wilbur Bontrager retiring from Jayco Inc.|first=THE GOSHEN|last=NEWS|website=Goshen News|date=14 December 2018 }}

Jayco was acquired by Thor Industries in July 2016 for $576 million.{{Cite web|url=http://www.southbendtribune.com/news/business/thor-acquires-jayco-in-million-deal/article_5e680696-3f7f-11e6-a350-2b22e1d09057.html|title=Thor acquires Jayco in $576 million deal|last=Tribune|first=South Bend|access-date=July 1, 2016}}

File:Patent 3,337,098.png|camping trailer patent
Lloyd Jay Bontrager 1965

File:Jayco pup up 2006 tent camper.jpg|Jayco camping trailer 2006
"pop-up" model

File:Jayco camper trailer floor plan.jpg|Jayco camping trailer
floor plan

File:Jayco tent camper pop-out bedroom.jpg|Jayco camping trailer
"pop-out" bedroom