By James McNair
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Tony Wies checks the electrical system on an Airstream trailer on the production line at the company's plant in Jackson Center, Ohio. (Steven M. Herppich photo)

JACKSON CENTER, Ohio - From a sprawling, light blue factory in this plains town north of Dayton, the products assembled here go on to become some of Ohio's most-recognizable exports in the world.

Over the 67 years since their debut, Airstream trailers have traveled past the Great Pyramids, alongside the monuments of Europe, into African jungles and through the Khyber Pass. Even to those marginally familiar with the difference, there are recreational vehicles and then there are Airstreams.

"Airstream commands about 1 percent of the travel trailer market, less so in motor homes, but it has about 50 percent of the mind-share or brand-share in the industry because of who Airstream is," said Dicky Riegel, the company's chief executive since May 2002. "It's an authentic American product."

Much as the Volkswagen Beetle lived up to its name as "the people's car," the classic Airstream trailer somehow manages to evoke independence, adventure and romance in one rotund and handsome package.

More than 19,000 people belong to a society named after Airstream's late founder, the Wally Byam Caravan Club International, in search of such pursuits through 1,500 gatherings a year. At the group's annual rally in July, 1,669 Airstream owners from across the United States and Canada and from several other countries assembled for a six-day romp from Vermont to Quebec.

The silvery, cocoon-like travel trailers and motor homes stand tall in pop culture and celebrity circles as well as among road-loving retirees.

Designer Ralph Lauren owns four Airstream trailers and used one in a Polo ad. Howard Dean's presidential campaign staff operates out of a circa-1978 Airstream trailer, and stock car driver Sterling Marlin takes solace in a fairly loaded, rooftop-model motor home dressed in a Coors Light silver bullet decor. Airstreams have shown up in ads, movies and on album covers - all at no cost to the company - and are set to show up alongside some of the world's beautiful women in Sports Illustrated's swimsuit edition in January. If you're lucky, you'll catch owners Tom Hanks, Sean Penn, Denzel Washington, John Mellencamp or Pamela Anderson in candid Airstream moments.

Legendary longevity

The Airstream made its debut in 1936 in Los Angeles. As rival trailer makers failed and Airstream sought a bigger foothold in the East, Byam opened a second manufacturing plant in Jackson Center in 1952. When Thor Industries bought Airstream from Beatrice Foods in 1980, it consolidated all of its operations in the Ohio burg.

The longevity of Airstream trailers is legendary. Totally wrapped in aircraft-grade aluminum sheets riveted together into a wingless fuselage, the trailers for decades came with a lifetime warranty covering "anything that goes wrong that could possibly be our fault." Good workmanship and periodic refurbishing produced this amazing statistic: Two of every three Airstream trailers ever built, Riegel says, remain in service today.

Al Fluegeman, president of the Wally Byam Caravan Club International's Cincinnati unit, owns a 34-foot trailer made in 1989. Right now, the trailer is in the shop for a complete stripping and recoating of its acrylic lacquer exterior. His dedication to his Airstream is more than that of the usual used-vehicle owner. The facial peel will cost him upward of $3,800.

A retired Procter & Gamble manager, Fluegeman bought his first Airstream in 1990. Six years later, he hauled it to Fairbanks to join a pan-Alaska caravan. On that trip, he and his wife Jo Ann lived in the trailer for 10 weeks.

"It's easy to pull," Fluegeman said. "You don't get as much wind resistance as you get with the flat front on the other brands. It's quality-built, and you never have to worry about anything rusting out on it because it's aluminum."

Rough road

Come 2001, however, Airstream was in a slump. Product development and design work slacked off, Riegel said, and the customer base was graying. Sales stagnated. Making matters worse was the 2001 recession that put many dealers out of business.

It required the help of outsiders to turn Airstream around. Christopher Deam, a San Francisco architect and designer who loved the Airstream's exterior, brought the interior into the 21st century. The ensuing model, called the International, instantly became the company's best-selling line and now accounts for more than 40 percent of its trailer business.

The arrival of Riegel as president and former Santa Monica, Calif., architect Tim Champ as marketing director gave further impetus to Airstream's rebound. Under Riegel, who had been vice president of business development at Thor, Airstream is rebuilding its dealer base, boosting its marketing and entering into ventures with such companies as DaimlerChrysler, Nissan Motors and Ralph Lauren. For now, Riegel says he wants to maximize his brand awareness. It isn't about gunning for market share at any cost.

"I think we want to shoot for brand share, not market share, and increase the company's ability to increase its brand perception and sales," he said. "If it leads to market share, great; we'd be happy to have it. But you'd never expect Rolls-Royce or Bentley to become the market leader in sales."

Airstreams in demand

At a time when many U.S. makers of big-ticket items are running at less than full capacity, Airstream can't keep up with demand. The company has a three-month backlog of orders, Riegel said, and employment has leaped 50 percent, from 250 workers in the summer of 2002 to 375 today. In Thor's latest fiscal quarter, it posted a 23 percent increase in RV sales and a 9 percent increase in pre-tax RV income, numbers seldom heard during the current economic malaise.

Riegel gives some of the credit to macroeconomic factors beyond Airstream's control. For one, the aging of the baby boom generation gives him an additional 15,000 potential buyers daily of 50-year-old vintage. The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, persuaded people to travel more on land than by air. And low interest rates and low fuel prices have spurred RV sales.

Today's Airstreams are a far cry from the modest trailers of yore. Today, Airstreams fetch $32,000 for a 16-foot-long, single-axle "Bambi" trailer up to $85,000 for a 34-foot, three-axle Classic Limited. Airstream motor homes sell for up to $240,000, depending on the size and amenities.

What's to stop a competitor from emulating the Airstream look? Nothing, really. Then again, it wouldn't be an Airstream.

E-mail jmcnair@enquirer.com.