Steve Paul, Long-Time Lippert Team Member, Passes Away – RVBusiness – Breaking RV Industry News
With a heavy heart, Lippert announced today long-time friend and team member, Steve Paul, passed away at age 62. There will be a celebration of life held on Saturday, April 13, 2024 at the McGann Hay, Granger Chapel, 13260 SR 23, in Granger, Ind. The service will begin at 2 p.m. with visitation beginning at 1 p.m., according to a release.
Steve began his career in the RV Industry while he was still in high school, working at a local RV dealership in North Dakota through college. During his last two years of college, Steve was the full time General Manager and was eventually noticed by Fleetwood who asked him to join their team in California to continue his career in the RV business. Steve spent the next 13 years at Fleetwood working in several different sales and management positions until he made the move to Dutchmen Manufacturing in 1999 where he spent the next 13 years, eventually becoming the Vice President of Manufacturing.
In 2012, Steve joined the Lippert team, helping jump-start the company’s first aftermarket division. At the time, Lippert was being represented in the RV market by different sales representative firms, and Steve was tasked at bringing Lippert’s aftermarket operations in-house and developing the direct relationships with the vast network of RV dealers and distributers. Today, Lippert’s aftermarket division has grown from a handful of RV repair parts sales in 2012 to an ever-expanding product catalog spanning the RV, Marine and Automotive Industries at over $500 million in sales.
At the time of his passing, Steve was serving as a Senior Director of Product Development for the Aftermarket Division. His knowledge of the RV and Marine Industries, coupled with his positive attitude and ability to bring teams together for the common good of the company made Steve a great asset to Lippert. He will be truly missed by everyone in the Lippert organization.
“Steve was Lippert Aftermarket team member number one,” said Jason Lippert, CEO & President. He continued, “I first got to know Steve as a customer over the years when he was Vice President at Dutchmen, and when the opportunity came to bring him onto the Lippert team, I jumped at it. Steve touched so many people in his ten plus years at Lippert. His attitude was infectious and his willingness to help others is something that I will always appreciate. We lost a great man this week, and we all owe Steve a debt of gratitude for all the great things he did to make this company a better place.”
“When Steve and I first met I had just started the marketing efforts for the company, and Steve was tasked with running our upstart aftermarket division,” said Jarod Lippert, Chief Marketing Officer. “We were both faced with similar challenges and formed an immediate friendship. Steve and I quickly started meeting with all the key customers in the aftermarket, putting in many hours on the road together, literally building Lippert’s aftermarket business from the ground up. Over the next decade, I learned so much from Steve, as did so many others at Lippert. As good as Steve was at his job, he was a better person. We were lucky to have had Steve as a team member here, and he will be truly missed.”
The family asks in place of flowers to please make a donation to the Center for Hospice Care at www.cfhcare.org.
