Track Trailer Buys Trakmaster, Pioneer

Gason sells iconic RV brands Trakmaster and Pioneer to manufacturer of Tvan, Track Trailer.

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Australian offroad camper trailer manufacturer Track Trailer has snapped up Trakmaster Caravans and Pioneer Campers.
Track Trailer director Gerard Waldron and Wayne Gason, the managing director of Gason, the company that formerly owned Trakmaster and Pioneer, jointly announced the acquisition on April 2.

Track Trailer
Track Trailer director Gerard Waldron (left) with Gason MD Wayne Gason, at the handover of the Pioneer and Trakmaster brands to Track Trailer. Both men are pictured at Outback HQ.
This deal, which will see these iconic RV brands stay in Australia, has been in negotiation since early December 2019.
“As a board, we have assessed it over the past year and being a family-owned business of 75 years in October, we felt we wanted to come back to our core business in Ararat (Victoria),” Mr Gason said.
He said that Gason had recently invested over $6 million within its core businesses of manufacturing equipment for the farming/agriculture sector.
Track Trailer
Despite its obvious Tvan design cues, the Pioneer Michell will continue to be built under its new ownership, with Track Trailer recognising that this teardrop-shaped camper trailer has a customer base.
Mr Waldron said: “The Australian RV industry was already on notice 12 months ago that the federal RVSA (Road Vehicle Standards Act) legislation would bring light trailers into a similar compliance scheme to that existing for cars and trucks. The challenges of this and the slow economy were already drivers of industry consolidation. Track Trailer recognised this and was already seeking opportunities to expand its offering. The opportunity to acquire these two highly regarded brands with compatible design and production systems seemed ideal.”
Under the agreement, Track Trailer’s Outback HQ showroom and service centre in Bayswater North, Vic, will provide ongoing service and parts for both brands and warranty services on behalf of Gason for all Gason-manufactured RV products.
“Clearly, Covid-19 was not part of our plan, but in common with everybody else we are dealing with it as best we can,” Mr Waldron said. “At present, both our showroom and production facilities are open and operating, with additional hygiene and social distancing.”
Track Trailer
Track Trailers on the left, Trakmaster and Pioneer on the right, at Outback HQ.
He said that should Track be required to close in the future, it would go ‘into hibernation’, like other businesses.
“Track and Outback HQ are still at work, with a strong forward order book and we have plenty of work for now, but like most in business we are hoping for sales to continue throughout the crisis, even if at a diminished level for now.”
He said that while new Trakmaster and Pioneer models would be released in 2021, Outback HQ has stock of 2020 models available for immediate sale.
Track Trailer
The Trakmaster Pilbara is one of the brand’s best-known vans.
The expansive Outback HQ service department has been expanding to support the two new groups of customers of Trakmaster and Pioneer.
Mr Waldron said that the service department was operational. Customers who preferred to stay at home could arranged have their rig pick up and drop off again.

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