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ElDorado (bus manufacturer)

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ElDorado
Formerly
  • ElDorado National–Kansas
  • ElDorado Motor Corporation
  • ElDorado R.V.
  • Ward Manufacturing, Honorbuilt Division
  • Honorbuilt Manufacturing
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryAutomotive
Headquarters
Salina, Kansas
,
United States
ProductsCutaway buses
ParentForest River
Websiteeldorado-bus.com

ElDorado (formerly ElDorado National–Kansas) is an American manufacturer of cutaway buses, owned by Forest River, with its headquarters and main factory in Salina, Kansas.

The company was founded in 1960 as Honorbuilt Manufacturing, was acquired by Ohio-based Ward Manufacturing in 1965, was renamed El Dorado R.V. in 1978 and started building cutaway buses by 1980. The company combined with National Coach Corporation, a California-based builder of transit buses in 1991 to become El Dorado National–Kansas and El Dorado National–California. The combined El Dorado National became one of the light-duty and mid-size buses for the airport/hotel/rental car shuttle bus markets and local transit operators with smaller fleets.

ElDorado National was sold to Allied Specialty Vehicles (later renamed REV Group) in 2013. In 2020, the Kansas-based cutaway bus manufacturing business was spun off as ElDorado and sold to Forest River. El Dorado National–California was renamed ENC and remains owned by REV Group. Plans to shut down ENC were announced in early 2024.[1]

History

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1975 ElDorado recreational vehicle (photographed in 2013)

Honorbuilt Manufacturing was founded in 1960 by Bob Stewart to manufacture recreational campers under license in Minneapolis, Kansas.[2][3] By 1964, the Honorbuilt Trailer Manufacturing Co. was producing the most popular pickup truck camper bed insert in the United States, branded as the "El Dorado coach".[4] Honorbuilt was acquired by Ohio-based Ward Manufacturing in November 1965 and continued operations as the Honorbuilt Division,[5][6] adding "Nimrod" trucks and coaches to its product lineup shortly after acquisition, which required an expansion to the Minneapolis plant.[7] Stewart bought out the last of his partners in 1978 and incorporated as El Dorado R.V., Inc.;[2][8] the company subsequently entered the commercial bus market in 1979 or 1980, offering cutaway minibuses under the "Falcon" brand.[2][9]

ElDorado Aerotech cutaway for Pierce Transit

In 1983, the company was renamed as the ElDorado Motor Corporation to reflect its diversified offerings, and made an initial public offering in January 1984.[2] ElDorado Motors lost $5 million in 1988 due to decreased demand for recreational vehicles and sold its commercial bus operations to Thor Industries in 1988 to stave off bankruptcy.[10] Thor took the ElDorado bus division, which was based in Salina, Kansas, and went on to combine it with National Coach, acquired in 1991;[11][12] the two began operating as ElDorado National–Kansas and ElDorado National–California, respectively.[13]

The sale of the commercial bus division was not sufficient and ElDorado Motors filed for bankruptcy in March 1989.[14][15] The recreational vehicle portion of ElDorado Motors continued in Minneapolis and was reorganized as Honorbuilt Industries, Inc. in 1990.[16] With the help of a consortium of private investors and a federal loan,[17][18] Honorbuilt resumed production of ElDorado-branded recreational vehicles in October 1990 at its Minneapolis factory;[19] production lasted until 1996, when Honorbuilt was acquired by SMC Corporation and the plant was closed.[20][21] The RV firm, renamed to SMC Midwest as a wholly owned subsidiary, ceased operations in 1997, although it still existed as a legal entity.[22]

Thor sold ElDorado National to Allied Specialty Vehicles (ASV) when it divested its bus business in August 2013.[23][24] Other brands included in the sale were Champion Bus, General Coach America, and Goshen Coach.[25] Allied Specialty Vehicles changed its name to REV Group in November 2015.[26] In March 2016, both ElDorado National–California and ElDorado National–Kansas unveiled new logos to distinguish their operations; the Kansas-based manufacturer of light- and medium-duty cutaways was rebranded to ElDorado, while the California-based transit bus manufacturer was rebranded to ENC.[27][28]

In May 2020, REV Group sold its light- and medium-duty shuttle bus businesses (including ElDorado National–Kansas) to Forest River,[29][30] but retained the heavy-duty transit and school bus businesses and brands, including ElDorado National–California (ENC) and Collins Bus.[31]

References

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  1. ^ "Rev Group to close ENC by the end of 2024, sells school bus business to Forest River Bus". 29 January 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d "Motor home company continues to flourish". The Salina Journal. October 7, 1984. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  3. ^ "Our Story". ElDorado Bus. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  4. ^ "Area Company Holds Roundup in Colorado". The Salina Journal. September 6, 1964. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  5. ^ "Honorbuilt Sales Manager Named". Salina Journal. December 20, 1965. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  6. ^ "Camping Is the Talk Of the Town". The Courier-Journal. Louisville, Kentucky. November 29, 1966. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  7. ^ "Honorbuilt Expands". Salina Journal. December 19, 1965. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  8. ^ "Obituary: Bob Stewart, co-founded ElDorado, led RVI". RV Business. November 10, 2010. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  9. ^ "Corporate Information". ENC Online. Archived from the original on March 2, 2001.
  10. ^ "RV". The Salina Journal. October 27, 1990. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  11. ^ "Company Briefs". The New York Times. November 2, 1991. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  12. ^ "Form 10-K Annual Report for the fiscal year ended July 31, 1995". Thor Industries, Inc. 1995. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  13. ^ "History". Thor Industries. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  14. ^ "ElDorado to make change in name". The Salina Journal. September 16, 1989. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  15. ^ "Custom vehicles smooth tough times". The Salina Journal. June 2, 1991. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  16. ^ "El Dorado Motor Company To Reorganize As New Firm". The Belleville Telescope. September 28, 1989. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  17. ^ Fiedler Jr, Gordon D. (May 22, 1990). "Investors hope to resurrect bankrupt Minneapolis firm". The Salina Journal. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  18. ^ "Dole & Roberts announce Minneapolis firm being revitalized by federal dollars" (PDF) (Press release). Office of Senator Bob Dole. September 10, 1990. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  19. ^ "RV maker ready to crank up". The Salina Journal. October 27, 1990. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  20. ^ "Oregon company buys Honorbuilt". The Salina Journal. June 4, 1996. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  21. ^ "Town stunned by plant closing". The Salina Journal. December 28, 1996. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  22. ^ "SMC Corp 10-K Annual Report". Securities & Exchange Commission. 1999. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  23. ^ Leighty, Justin (2013-07-31). "Thor buses". Elkhart Truth. Archived from the original on 2014-07-25. Retrieved 2014-07-18.
  24. ^ "Thor Sells Bus Business" (Press release). Thor Industries. July 31, 2013. Archived from the original on 2015-01-09. Retrieved 2014-07-18 – via Insideindianabusiness.
  25. ^ "Thor announces sale of bus business for $100 million" (Press release). Thor Industries. July 31, 2013. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  26. ^ "Allied Specialty Vehicles ASV announces new name" (Press release). REV Group. December 28, 2015. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  27. ^ "ElDorado National-Kansas debuts new logo". Metro Magazine. March 15, 2016. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  28. ^ "ElDorado National-California unveil new logo, branding". Metro Magazine. March 22, 2016. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  29. ^ "Forest River acquires REV Group's shuttle bus business". Retrieved 2020-05-13.
  30. ^ "Forest River acquires REV Group shuttle bus business". Metro Magazine. May 8, 2020. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  31. ^ Schlosser, Nicole (May 11, 2020). "Collins Bus Parent REV Group Sells Shuttle Business, Boosts School Bus Focus". School Bus Fleet. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
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Media related to ElDorado National vehicles at Wikimedia Commons

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