july2017

142 143 Founded by a man with an outstanding work ethic, the company Stromberg Carlson Products, Inc. is in its third generation in the RV aftermarket business. David Stromberg was a man who would roll up his sleeves and do any job that needed to be done. He did whatever it took to find a solution, and believes no one was above honest, hard work. Bob Brammer Sr. traveled through a young industry, cementing relationships and meeting the needs of the company’s customers. He believed a person’s word was their bond and he focused on the relationship with the customer, knowing they were the most important part of the business. Now Charlie and Bob Brammer Jr. are the third generation and the lessons from the first two gener- ations are hammered home. The hard work and dedication to clients helps them serve needs in such a way where success is the only option. Until they understand what lies ahead for their customers we can not orchestrate our business, leading to a service and dedication unlike most others. Stromberg Carlson Products, Inc. has served the RV aftermarket for more than 54 years. We are lo- cated in Traverse City, Michigan, but our products are available at RV dealers. www.strombergcarlson.com VALUE THAT IS STROMBERG STRONG GENERAL RV CENTER much as possible. “The only other thing I would add is that we continue to reinvest in our facilities. Three fourths of our facilities are dedicated to service after the sale.When we came out of the Reces- sion, we recognized that we needed to grow our service capacity even though we were probably one of the leaders in the industry as far as service capacity based off of sales. So we’ve more than doubled our service capacity at every single store over the last five years.And there are some deal- erships out there that don’t spend a lot of time and energy and focus on that. So those are defi- nitely some significant differentiations.” Regarding General RV Center’s consumers, Baidas takes issue with the notion that all RV owners are Baby Boomers and retirees. “I think that’s part of the misunderstanding of the RV industry,” he avers, “that it’s 55 to 75 year-old people buying these RVs and that’s all it is. And it’s not.We’re seeing newer buyers come into the marketplace. I look at the increase that we’re seeing in the industry over the last year or two, and the significant part is from a young- er crowd. It’s first-time buyers; it’s families and people getting away for the weekend or a week here and there; it’s people that haven’t owned an RV before and they want to try the RV life- style. Maybe they did it as a kid with their par- ents or grandparents and they want to provide that for their own kids.” Baidas adds that a big reason he believes that