ELKHART, Ind., July 15, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Thor Industries,
Inc. (NYSE: THO) announced today that as part of the Board of
Directors' strategic succession plan, Peter
Orthwein, Thor Industries' co-founder and Executive
Chairman, has informed the Board of Directors that he will step
down as Executive Chairman effective at the Company's Fiscal Year
end, July 31, 2019. As part of the
transition, the Board of Directors has named Mr. Orthwein Chairman
Emeritus effective as of the date of his transition from Executive
Chairman. Mr. Orthwein will remain an active member of the Board.
The Company will announce its new Chairman before the end of its
Fiscal Year.
"It has been a tremendous privilege to be part of Thor's growth
and to deliver results for our shareholders over the course of the
last 39 years," said Peter Orthwein,
Executive Chairman of Thor. "I am thankful to my colleagues at Thor
and to the many people I have encountered in our great industry. As
I transition into my new role as
Chairman Emeritus, I have great confidence in the future of
Thor and our industry."
Mr. Orthwein and Wade Thompson
created Thor in 1980 with the acquisition of the then struggling
and unprofitable company, Airstream. Driven by its strong record of
performance, and its founders' passionate appetite for growth, the
Company went public in 1984. Since the Company's inception, Mr.
Orthwein has acted as the primary architect of Thor's strategic
growth strategy. From its meager beginnings owning Airstream, a
company that ultimately became the iconic brand in the RV industry,
Thor and its shareholders have benefitted greatly from Mr.
Orthwein's guidance. Thor is one of a select few publicly traded
companies that has been in existence for nearly forty years and can
boast profitability in each of its years.
Mr. Orthwein has served the Company in various roles including
Chief Executive Officer and Chairman. The strategy employed by him
and co-founder Thompson revolutionized an inefficient, fragmented
industry. A true industry champion, Mr. Orthwein consistently
exhibits great respect for Thor's competitors and the industry's
leaders. A member of the industry's Hall of Fame, Mr. Orthwein's
experience provides a unique and valuable understanding of the RV
industry and its evolving market and he will continue to be an
important, strategic member of the Board.
In a unified statement, Thor's executive management team
consisting of Bob Martin (CEO),
Colleen Zuhl (Sr. VP and CFO),
Todd Woelfer (Sr. VP and GC), and
Ken Julian (Sr. VP and HR)
recognized Mr. Orthwein, "Peter has been the heart and soul and
architect of Thor's growth strategy since its inception. He was the
central figure in establishing our team in 2012 when our sales were
$3.3 billion and Net Before Tax
earnings were $180 million. Today,
Thor is a Fortune 500 company with revenue of $8.3 billion and Net Before Tax earnings of
$633 million in Fiscal 2018, its most
recently completed fiscal year. Since that fiscal year end, Thor
has acquired one of Europe's
largest RV manufacturers, the Erwin Hymer Group in another
acquisition in which Mr. Orthwein was instrumental. Today, Thor's
family of companies employs nearly 25,000 employee-partners across
the US and Europe.
Peter's skillful mentorship, notable financial experience, and
industry knowledge have been a guiding force behind Thor's
successful run, including our growth since we took over as a team
in 2012 through our last ended Fiscal Year (2018), a period during
which we have averaged 23% annual growth in both revenue and Net
Income Before Tax. As Executive Chairman, he listened to and
provided consistent invaluable guidance to our team. Importantly,
anyone who knows Peter recognizes that in addition to his business
acumen, he is an incredible person who is as modest and thoughtful
of others as he is talented. There should be no misunderstanding of
the value that Peter has driven to our Company for our Shareholders
as it has, to this date, been immense. His continued role as a
Board Member is incredibly important to us. He brings an industry
experience driven point of view to our Board that no one else can,
which will provide essential context as we move forward. We look
forward to the next chapter with Peter playing an integral part of
our continued success."
ABOUT THOR INDUSTRIES
Thor is the sole owner of
operating subsidiaries that, combined, represent the world's
largest manufacturer of RVs. For more information, please visit:
https://www.thorindustries.com/.
Forward Looking Statements
This release includes
certain statements that are "forward looking" statements within the
meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and
Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
These forward looking statements are made based on management's
current expectations and beliefs regarding future and anticipated
developments and their effects upon Thor, and inherently involve
uncertainties and risks. These forward looking statements are not a
guarantee of future performance. We cannot assure you that actual
results will not differ materially from our expectations. Factors
which could cause materially different results include, among
others, raw material and commodity price fluctuations; raw
material, commodity or chassis supply restrictions; the impact of
tariffs on material or other input costs; the level and magnitude
of warranty claims incurred; legislative, regulatory and tax law
and/or policy developments including their potential impact on our
dealers and their retail customers or on our suppliers; the costs
of compliance with governmental regulation; legal and compliance
issues including those that may arise in conjunction with recently
completed or announced transactions; lower consumer confidence and
the level of discretionary consumer spending; interest rate
fluctuations; the potential impact of interest rate fluctuations on
the general economy and specifically on our dealers and consumers;
restrictive lending practices; management changes; the success of
new and existing products and services; consumer preferences; the
ability to efficiently utilize production facilities; the pace of
acquisitions and the successful closing, integration and financial
impact thereof; the potential loss of existing customers of
acquisitions; our ability to retain key management personnel of
acquired companies; a shortage of necessary personnel for
production; the loss or reduction of sales to key dealers;
disruption of the delivery of units to dealers; increasing costs
for freight and transportation; asset impairment charges; cost
structure changes; competition; the impact of potential losses
under repurchase or financed receivable agreements; the potential
impact of the strength of the U.S. dollar on international demand
for products priced in U.S. dollars; general economic, market and
political conditions; the impact of changing emissions standards in
the various jurisdictions in which our products are sold; and
changes to investment and capital allocation strategies or other
facets of our strategic plan. Additional risks and uncertainties
surrounding the acquisition of Erwin Hymer Group SE ("EHG") include
risks regarding the potential benefits of the acquisition and the
anticipated operating synergies, the integration of the business,
the impact of exchange rate fluctuations and unknown or understated
liabilities related to the acquisition and EHG's business. These
and other risks and uncertainties are discussed more fully in Item
1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
July 31, 2018 and Part II, Item 1A of
our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q for the periods ended
January 31, 2019 and April 30, 2019.
We disclaim any obligation or undertaking to disseminate any
updates or revisions to any forward looking statements contained in
this release or to reflect any change in our expectations after the
date hereof or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on
which any statement is based, except as required by law.
Contact
Investor Relations:
Mark Trinske, Vice President of
Investor Relations
mtrinske@thorindustries.com
(574) 970-7912
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SOURCE Thor Industries, Inc.