The GM Of Travel Trailers At Airstream Discusses Balance Of Future & Giving Customers A Glimpse Through Their Production Tour
Airstream has come to represent a form of Americana. The key becomes the aspect of balance with progress and transparency. As the new GM of Travel Trailers, Bryan Melton has to blend the aspect of this mindset. Formerly a senior management executive for premium cycle manufacturers Felt and Giant, he understands the user experience but also the necessity of ease of use as evidenced by opening Airstream’s doors at their plant in Jackson Center, Ohio to tours of their facility. Melton sits down with The Buzz to discuss understanding the craft of trailer creation, the balance of nostalgia and practicality, the evolution of the RV experience and necessity of transparency in an ever changing world.
The Buzz: How does one look at Airstream in an innovational aspect? It was space age back in the day. What becomes the balance?
Bryan Melton: When you look at Airstream, there haven’t been a lot of changes at least from the naked eye from the exterior aspect of the trailer. However, there has been a tremendous amount of change on the inside. We continually try to innovate on that style. Our founder [Wally Byam] was famously quoted as saying “We don’t make changes…only improvements” so if there wasn’t a change to be made, [the thought was] don’t do it unless it is actually an improvement. So an exterior scan of our iconic Airstream trailer really hasn’t changed too much. There have been a couple different changes in what we call “stretch-forming” and a couple different panels and treatment of the aluminum [in terms of] how we work with our different vendors in that regard. But most of the changes have really been on the inside and the construction aspect of it. Unique to Airstream is that fact that everything is built through the door meaning that the actual semi-monocoque superstructure of the aluminum is lifted onto the frame. The entire assembly is put together prior to any furniture or anything being installed inside.
The Buzz: Airstream is now offering more access through its tours of your central facility in Jackson Center, Ohio so people can actually see the process.
BM: Absolutely. So every week day at 2 o’clock, we hold a free tour. Customers can come in [and] are welcomed by one of two tour guides we have. The tour guides provide about a 10-15 minute brief history overview of the company and then [the guests] are walked over to our main production facility. When they are in that plant, they see everything. There is nothing that is hidden. Everything in our production facility is open. [Our guests] can see everything from the sheets of the aluminum to the actual process of everything being riveted together to the construction of the aluminum itself. You can also see the “stretch-forming” aspect which is pretty amazing [since we do it] with hydraulic presses. The entire assembly process, all [done] by hand by skilled artisans…are all done there. Everything is built by hand.
The Buzz: With new efforts like “stretch-forming”, how important is it for people to have a concept of the technology? How much do you want to reveal and how much do you want to keep secret?
BM: That is a good question. People want that transparency and I think that is one of the reasons I think our tour is so popular every day now. Before we would have groups but now we [simply] have a lot of people coming through. [In terms of] that transparency… people are either longing for it…or hoping for it…but they want to see it. [At Airstream] we have always been transparent…there’s nothing new here. If you want to see something…and it wasn’t part of the tour, we’ll show it to you. [The only] exception is our R&D facility because that is where we work on our future products. Because we are a publicly traded company, we can’t show those items. But outside that area…which is our playground, if you will, for our engineers… the entire rest of the facility is wide open.
The Buzz: Airstream has always had a pop culture edge. I remember when Matthew McConaughey had his Airstream parked in the front of the Four Seasons Beverly Hills promoting his movie “Sahara" or when Sean Penn lived in his Airstream years ago on his land in Malibu. Where do you think that connection comes from?
BM: It is a little bit of Americana. It has that iconic shape and look to it that is different than everything else out there. We’ve also been around since 1931 so we’re the oldest continually-built RV in business. We’ve been around longer than anyone else in the world. We’re also global. We sell all over the world…not just in North America which is where most [manufacturers] kind of focus. You see us all over the place. I think what really people are looking for…[and what we represent at] Airstream… is quality. We don’t shortcut anything. You pay more for that quality but, as you can just tell from stats, 70% of every trailer we ever made is still on the road today. [And] this [started] in the 30s.
The Buzz: These trailers were built to last. However as the new blood coming in, did you adjust anything in terms of the structure of how you managed the production?
BM: [When] we first started talking about it…[it was] the innovative aspect…the need to innovate…and continually push our boundaries…[by pushing] our comfort zones a little bit into new areas. Our engineering team, as I mentioned earlier, [uses our] R&D facility to work on new concepts and new designs. We are continuously trying to figure out, within that space… the interior aspect of the Airstream…how can we maximize the livability of it? Of that specific area? There is a constant push to continue to do this. I didn’t bring that part of it…but I think I’m trying to help organize it I guess…which is the most modest way to say it. It is [overall] an organization process. We are taking a look [at it] from both [our dealers’ and from our consumers’ perspectives]. We don’t want [either of them] upset that we did some sort of crazy running change two months after they [completed] their purchase. So [as a result], we look at it in model years, similar to the automotive industry. [That way] we can continue to innovate on an annual basis.
The Buzz: The RV industry is consistently evolving from Millennials to Women RVers to work-kampers changing what the RV lifestyle can be. Does this change the progression of how you look towards the future?
BM: Absolutely. We have had these conversations come up at different forums [like Alumapalooza] where we have these people who full time it in their Airstream. They live in their airstream. They work in their Airstream away from home. Or they work remotely. [These customers] have different requirements and they are asking for a different set of things [which] we are taking a look at [in a way] we never did before. Before, it was all about livability, comfort, features…Now it’s a little more about how do you get away…but not get away…that aspect of getting away and still being connected. [So] we’re talking a look at a lot of different aspects. We are very open with our customers. [And] because we are a little more of an exclusive brand, we should be there [for them]…we should be doing these [things like the tour]…but, also, we have the ability to do it. We are not pumping out a ton of trailers. Everything is done at a very quality level [which gives us the] ability to be really one-on-one with the customer.
Tim Wassberg
A graduate of New York University's Tisch School Of The Arts with degrees in Film/TV Production & Film Criticism, Tim has written for magazines such as Moviemaker, Moving Pictures, Conde Nast Traveler UK and Casino Player. He enjoys traveling and distinct craft beers among other things.
Make Sure To Check Out:
The Airstream Factory Tour, every Monday through Friday at 2 p.m. The tour includes a ¾ mile walk, beginning in the service lobby. Eye protection and hearing protection required. Come see how they craft every piece and rivet of the Airstream Travel Trailers.