Wellhouse and iH Motorhomes drive ahead with new product launches

TWO campervan manufacturers from West Yorkshire have been celebrating record sales after launching innovative new models at a major industry show at the NEC in Birmingham.

Motorhome conversion companies Wellhouse Leisure in Huddersfield and iH Motorhomes, based in Knottingley, say that last week’s success at the Motorhome and Caravan Show means that both manufacturers can keep their factories busy through the winter and are also considering recruiting extra staff.

Wellhouse Leisure’s newest conversion, the Wellhouse Ford Terrier – the luxury people carrier version of the Ford Transit Custom – has attracted interest from Ford UK, which is considering adopting the camper as one of its main products.

David Elliott, managing director of Wellhouse Leisure, which was nominated for the Innovator Award at the Yorkshire Business Masters in 2012, said: “For Wellhouse Ford UK have expressed a serious interest in our product and we have to go to Ford UK HQ in November. If Ford adopt our camper as their product this could be enormous for us.

“We’ve worked really hard to be the first UK company to launch a campervan conversion on the new Ford, so I’m delighted with the sales of our new Ford Terrier, as well as our other successful campervan, the Hyundai i800 camper, at the show. This means we can keep the factory in full production, and may even take on an apprentice.

“We now have bookings to take us well into February, so it will be a very busy winter for us, which is just fantastic.”

Mr Elliott said the company is looking to boost turnover by 20% this year, up from the current figure of around £4.5m.

Van conversion specialist, iH Motorhomes launched a range of innovations at the NEC show and grabbed the public’s attention with a Lamborghini lime green-coloured model of its new N-Class range and its flagship N630 SL with an American-style side slide-out section to create extra living space.

Ian Hartley, managing director of iH Motorhomes, said: “Launching so many new models meant our stand was the busiest ever, and we’re delighted that this has translated into record sales at the show, and a bulging order book to keep us extra busy over the coming months.”

Both companies also found out this week that their new models have been shortlisted for The Motorhome Awards 2014 from Which Motorhome and MMM magazines and eagerly await the results which will be announced in December.