WE passed the PIlgram plant in the Elkhart area in June. It looked busy then. The story says it is temporary closing maybe till things get better??? here is the story...


One RV company is closing its doors while another is reducing some of its work force, leaving more people in the area without a job.

A company official from Pilgrim International in Middlebury said the company is temporarily ceasing operations at all its Elkhart County plants, effective immediately.

He said the company is re-evaluating its status, but its goal is to re-open eventually. He did not know how long those plants would stay closed.

An employee told WSBT News the layoffs affect 178 people at four plants in Elkhart County.

Meanwhile, Monaco Coach confirmed Friday that it was letting go of less than 20 people at its Warsaw plant, which employed 700 all together.

It's a small percentage of the work force, but "it's still a difficult decision to make," said Craig Wanichek, spokesman for the company.

"It is a permanent reduction," he added. "It is not a temporary layoff."

The move, which was effective Thursday, was a pretty normal seasonal production adjustment as the manufacturing of travel trailers slows down, Wanichek said. The industry is coming to the end of the summer camping season, and the company felt it was an adjustment that needed to be made, Wanichek said.

"You can look around at other manufacturers in our industry," Wanichek said. "They're making the same types of changes."