Trakka Expands into New Zealand
November 18, 2003

Trakka, Australia's leading motorhome and campervan manufacturer has announced its expansion into New Zealand with the acquisition of the second largest motorhome and campervan manufacturer in New Zealand.

The formation of the new company called TRAKKA NZ will see Trans Tasman operations expanded substantially with subsequent reorganization of the 6000 sq metre manufacturing facility in the Auckland suburb of Henderson.

Sally and David Berry, founding owners of Trakka in Australia have been joined as co-directors of TRAKKA NZ by Jenny and Doug Sheldon, the original founders of motorhome manufacturer the Coach-Kraft Group Ltd. Both companies were individually founded in 1973 and this joint venture brings together a collective experience of 60 years in the motorhome and campervan industry.

The new venture continues a strong association between both families that will result in considerable product and technology sharing as the companies expand in the future.

"We have a wide range of exciting new products to bring to the New Zealand market of particular interest to private buyers as well as for the growing hire and rental tourism sector," said Dave Berry. "We are also very keen to integrate the latest technology into rental fleet operations such as the company's highly valued association with local rental operator Apollo Motorhomes" he added.

The technology exchange will flow in both directions across the Tasman, with Trakka Australia having access to the TRAKKA NZ range of high quality larger coachbuilt motorhomes on VW, Fiat and Mercedes-Benz vehicles. These will be developed under the company branding of Trakka - Excellence and Expertise.

Trakka in Australia has long been regarded as the premier manufacturer of high quality motorhomes and campervans based on Volkswagen, Fiat and Mercedes-Benz products. The company was recently recognised for its excellence and expertise in manufacturing in Australia by the Camping & Caravan Industry Association (CCIA) & Motorhome Industry Association (MHIA) Gala Awards night, collecting three firsts in the industry associations' 2003 Excellence Awards.

Trakka received the awards for "Retailer/Manufacturer of the Year", "Most Innovative Product of the Year" for the Trakka Torino and "Business most committed to Training".

The Trakka Torino fits into the centre of an expansive range that starts with elevating roof models based on the Mercedes-Benz MB 100 and Volkswagen Transporter and continues through to the larger Mercedes-Benz Sprinter and Volkswagen LT. Other new exciting models are also in the pipeline for release in 2004.

"It is a very exciting time to welcome new employees to Trakka N.Z. and to amalgamate the strengths of both companies into the new organisation," said Dave.

"We place a very high value on the experience of the existing workforce and look forward to expanding our sales operation at Henderson. Customers are welcome to visit and to deal direct with our sales team to discuss how to provide the best specification of motorhome or campervan for their own particular needs," he added.