With a glimmer of hope, workers return to RV maker Country Coach

JUNCTION CITY, Ore. (AP) - More than 60 workers returned to the Country Coach factory Monday after four months of being out of work.

While the company's future remains uncertain, hope abounded.

"It feels good," employee Mark Werder said as he attached a hose to a windshield wiper assembly. "It feels like a new beginning. It's good to see the company back going again," said Jon Grubb as he assembled a window blind.

The privately held company reopened after a bankruptcy judge granted preliminary approval last week to a new financing deal between Country Coach and Wells Fargo.

Judge Albert Radcliffe authorized Country Coach to spend up to $2 million through the week of April 13, when a final hearing on the deal is scheduled.

Wells Fargo released funds to the company on Thursday, the Register Guard newspaper of Eugene reported.

Country Coach is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy to gain breathing room from creditors while they reorganize their finances.

Country Coach talked to suppliers, many of whom are owed money they may never see, to find out if they would be willing to do business with the reconstituted company, CEO Jay Howard said.

More than 90 percent were interested, he said.

The company has offered to pay up front for materials, he said.

"They don't have to demand it," he said. "We want to make sure everyone on both sides of the table is comfortable doing business."

The new Country Coach doesn't much resemble the earlier company, which employed about 1,800 people at its peak in 2006, and about 500 before it closed late last year.

Plans are to increase employees to about 100 in coming weeks.

The national dealer network is gone, replaced by a factory-direct sales plan. And the days of cranking out motor coaches on speculation are over.

The company plans to build no more than one coach per week unless a strong backlog merits broader production.

Finding a market in this economy for RVs that sell for upwards of $400,000 is the key to the company's survival. The company has three retail sales people on staff now, two of whom left Monday to make calls at RV resorts in the California desert, Howard said.

"It's looking very positive," he said.

On Monday, about a dozen workers put finishing touches on a vehicle that will roll off the line by the end of the week. The coach, a Veranda 300, featuring a retractable balcony, was near completion when the factory closed last November.

Julio Patino, who was polishing the exterior, said it was a good feeling to come back to work, especially given the tough job market.

"I was preparing to go to school or find a job in Portland, or relocate," he said.

Workers were called back based on experience. Many worked as supervisors and leaders of production crews previously, but now everybody is doing everything.

"The message is, we got to do what it takes to make this company successful," said Wade Morrill, a plant supervisor.

When he noticed the headquarters lawn looking shaggy, he found a mower and mowed it.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)