The year 2020 is shaping up to be a particularly good year for Newmar and its customers. The company made a foray into the Super Class C market and is moving forward with construction on an integrated Design Center at the Newmar campus in Nappanee, Indiana.
Newmar jumped into the Super Class C market last year with the Super Star model, a move prompted from dealers’ suggestions. The Super Star and the Supreme Aire are the two models that make up the Newmar Super Class C line.
The launch of this line brings Newmar’s reputation for quality and innovation to the high-end marketplace with an RV that improves power and towing capacity.
“Newmar began this endeavor at the suggestion of two of its largest dealers, both of whom have been selling other super C brands for many years,” said John Sammut, Newmar’s VP of sales and marketing. “They understood this customer and this segment of the market and felt that a super C product with Newmar’s quality, designs and innovation would be a perfect fit.”
The Super Class C is a Class C motorhome with expanded engine capacity, provided by a heavy-duty diesel engine. Similar to a Class A in terms of livable space and amenities, it offers more power than that which is found in Class C lines.
Once determining that the suggestion to create an interpretation of the Super Class C was a viable idea, Newmar proceeded to research the marketplace and competitors’ offerings. This included discussions with the dealers experienced in selling competitors’ Super Class C models to determine the features, consumer needs and wants from this type of RV.
“We also asked these two dealers which specific features in the current Super C brands they sold were desirable, and what were these Super C manufacturers not providing to this market that would be desirable to their customers and make Newmar Super C brands different then what was available now,” Sammut explained.
From information gathered on surveys and competitive brand information, Newmar took steps to determine the size of the Super C Class marketplace and what percentage of overall RV users were moving to Super Class C lines.
“Many Super C customers are RV’ers that have the need for more towing capacity than is offered by products in other segments of the RV market,” Sammut relayed.
Among these consumers were those who made use of two stacker trailers, horse trailers and other heavier items in order to enjoy their passions.
Super C Class motorhome the 2020 SuperStar from Newmar. [Photo/Newmar RV]
“The chassis is a major differentiator that separates the Super C market from the class A motor home market, he said. “These chassis have higher gross vehicle and combined vehicle weight ratings, and as a result provided higher towing and net carrying capacity as compared to the platforms used in the Class A market.”
Others were those who like the feel of an RV with a driving cab with that automotive cockpit look, like that found in a Class A, according to Sammut. The front cab area is designed to provide that unique driving experience and driver interface while piloting the RV down the road.
It is also a niche in a market that made sound business sense.
“What we discovered while looking at the Super C market early on in our product planning effort, we saw an opportunity to enter into a market that had fewer manufacturers competing for this customer, although it is a smaller (yet growing) market,” he said. “We also found that by offering Super C products, our company would attract a new type of customer and find very little crossover from our current class A customer to the Super C brands, and vice versa.” In other words, this would primarily be incremental business for Newmar.
Newmar’s Super Class C brands offer models that include full wall slides, bath and a half, rear bedroom and bunk bed models.
Sammut went on to say that these features have been shown to meet the needs of most Super C customers in the market. Plus, the consumer is getting all the other components that Newmar incorporates into its existing Class A lines.
“The interior designs and feature content are very similar to those of some of our existing Class A diesel motor homes,” Sammut continued. “In fact, the Super Star shares similar interior designs and content as the Ventana, and the Supreme Aire shares those same elements with the Newmar Mountain Aire.
“Since these two Newmar Super C brands are built on the same production line as all other Newmar Class A brands, these are held to the same quality standards as all other Newmar diesel products.”
Differentiating the Newmar Super Class C coaches from competitor lines, the company has engineered pass-through storage, a full wall slide-out, and a step-free aisleway. In addition, a sky window is featured above the cockpit to allow for natural light and comes equipped with an automated shade for privacy and comfort.
While Newmar’s Super Class C models are available in the marketplace now, Newmar has also taken steps to ensure that their products continue to develop in an environment that fosters design and ingenuity. The Newmar Design Center centralizes product development, interior design, industrial and product engineering, and research and development.
“The new Product Development Center facilitates better communication and coordination between the different disciplines which increases efficiency,” said Ron Stichter, vice president of product development and engineering. “This arrangement improves coordination on brand definition and facilitates good research into customer product preferences and enhances our ability to deliver applications that are responsive to customer feedback.”
This applies to existing product lines as well as looking at future lines and enhancements. Customer information is also a focus of the design center operations, Stichter said.
“Data from interactive sessions with customers is compiled and analyzed for possible changes that would be included in future product plans,” he explained. “This activity is conducted in the Product Development Center.”
“This facility houses dedicated spaces for designing many interior elements such as fabrics, tiles and color selection. It includes rooms for supplier component reviews, multiple conference rooms and meeting spaces,” he continued.
As reported in the Newmar newsletter, Kim Moore, Interior Design Manager, said the lighting found in the design center will enhance finish selection.
“It will allow us to dial in any particular type of light, coach lighting or daylight,” she reported. “This helps us with wood finish selections as well as fabrics.”
This translates into other design center departments as well.
“The Engineering office areas are well lit and laid out to facilitate good interaction of the functional teams. The R&D shop houses multiple bays large enough for full motorhome coach reviews and mockup work. The facility also includes a pattern shop and scale house that is used for weight distribution studies all under the same roof.”
Under its logo, Newmar uses the following phrase: “When you know the difference”. It is the Newmar difference that the company focuses on to set its line apart from competitors. That focus continues in the design center.
“Newmar strives to offer the best in product design,” Stichter concluded. “This facility provides the resources necessary to plan and develop the best in all product designs.”
Phase one of the design center facility was completed in November of 2016, creating 39,000 square feet of product mockup and design space. The second and final phase will consist of an additional 48,000 square feet, which is still underway.