Brinkley RV Celebrates Startup’s First Model Z Production Unit

With the ceremonial red ribbon on the entry door behind them, Micah Staley of Brinkley RV gets set to hand over the OEM’s first Model Z production unit to Nathan Hart of Walnut Ridge RV. To Hart’s left is Ron Fenech, who also offered words of praise to the Brinkley RV employees gathered for the occasion. (Photos: Rick Kessler/RVBusiness)

The culmination of months of R&D, prototyping and perfecting, management and workers from startup OEM Brinkley RV celebrated Thursday (Dec. 15) the first production unit of the Model Z, its luxury mid-profile fifth-wheel.

With the company’s 65 workers gathered in the Goshen, Ind.-based facility, co-owners Ron Fenech and Micah Staley – Brinkley’s three other owners include Bill Fenech, Nate Goldenberg and Ryan Thwait – offered accolades on the accomplishment and spoke about the startup’s intention to disrupt the market with superior quality.

Ron Fenech addresses Brinkley RV workers.

“The last six months has been really focused on trying to do things differently to get to the end result that we want, which is to be the best at everything we do within Brinkley – and that’s more than just words,” Ron Fenech told RVBusiness. “We’ve built four prototypes, which in my experience in the industry – and we’ve built a lot of plants over the years – we’ve never prototyped like we did here.

“It does a couple things,” he continued. “One is it gives Micah Staley, who designed the Model Z, time to tweak the product. And it’s loaded with these really creative features that customers are loving.”

The second thing it does, Fenech added, is it puts Brinkley in a position in which its workers are joining them at an opportune time. Employees are being indoctrinated into Brinkley’s unwavering commitment to quality, he said.

“We’re just starting the line,” he said. “We’ve got 65 direct workers, and they’ve all been here for several weeks already, just slowly learning the process. And the quality of our first units is tremendous and I think our dealers are going to be thrilled, our customers are going to be thrilled. So, what have we been doing over the last six months? It’s locking in on what we’re doing right now.”

The first production unit is a 34-foot, 11-inch 3400 model with three slideouts including opposing slides in the rear living/kitchen as well as an east-west bed slide in the front bedroom.

Brinkley RV’s Micah Staley, left, and Nathan Hart of Walnut Ridge RV. (Brinkley RV photo)

For his part, Staley – who was the chief designer for the Model Z, said the development process was focused on making sure the unit had the features customers wanted, while making the sure the length and weight were within towable expectations.

“And that’s where we landed,” he said of the unit that will retail for about $100,000. “We feel like we have it priced very competitively and we’re giving the customers more value and features than anything else out there.”

On hand to receive the first Model Z production unit was Nathan Hart of Walnut Ridge RV in New Castle, Ind., who took the opportunity to tell the gathered Brinkley employees that dealers have been clamoring for product quality exhibited by the Model Z.

“This type of company vision is music to our ears and it’s something we’re excited to be a part of,” Hart told the Brinkley workers. “The vision that this company has is amazing. And the key for you to maintain the success is every day you’ve got to do the little mundane, monotonous stuff that you think doesn’t matter. That’s how success is created. It’s not created by one big movement. It’s every single day doing the little bitty things, the small things that you think don’t matter.”

Picking up on that sentiment, Fenech said the Brinkley business model has caught the attention of the nation’s most respected dealers, including Hart at Walnut Ridge RV.

“They see the direction where we’re heading, they’re really excited about that,” he said. “Secondly, what we bring to the table in this market is something different. What Micah has designed, both inside and outside, is pretty cutting edge. And, fortunately, we’re getting really good feedback from consumers – they’re loving it. So, even though dealers have a lot of inventory, they still need to sell product and get customers excited, and this product will do that.”

As far as what’s next for Brinkley, a toy hauler prototype is in the works and construction continues on three 175,000-square-foot facilities at the company’s 250-acre campus on the southeast side of Goshen. Fenech said Model Z production will move into the first facility, which will be completed in March. The second is slated for lamination once construction is completed sometime this summer, and the afore-mentioned toy hauler – the Model G – is destined for a recently leased plant in the interim until the third building is finished, Fenech said,.

“Obviously, supply has become a lot more readily available, materials and employees seem anxious to tie into us. I think we’ve worked with a lot of these guys over the last 30 years and they know us, and they trust us. So, yeah, we’re really excited. Now it’s time to get out and perform,” he said, adding that they have just given approval on a fourth building for a “soon to be announced product.”

Source: https://rvbusiness.com/brinkley-rv-celebrates-startups-first-model-z-production-unit/