Patriot to blaze a trail in US market
OFFROAD camper trailer producer Patriot Campers is ramping up production at its Molendinar base as it seeks to penetrate the massive US market.
The company, founded by Justin and Sarah Montesalvo, has received a huge boost to its profile from the Patriot Games television show on Nine.
It follows the Montesalvo family on its off-road adventures in the US and Australia.
Patriot has gone through a huge expansion in the past two years, growing from just 20 to 100 staff, and increasing production by 500 per cent.
Patriot was launched in 2013 after Mr and Mrs Montesalvo bought a top-of-therange off-road camper and discovered the weight and features didn’t work for them.
Using the skills honed through their Logan-based sheet-metal business, they were able to shed the features they didn’t like and add those they wanted to cater for a family with three children. The result was the Patriot Campers X1 (which with the X2 has won camper of the year five years in a row at the Camper Trailer Australia awards), which has a laser-cut interlocked chassis riveted to an aluminium body.
The modular design makes it easy to set up, with features including a shower, gas bottle, stainless-steel kitchen as well as a tent for shelter.
Mr Montesalvo said the company was going through a rapid growth phase, with the US market, which currently makes up 20 per cent of sales, firmly in its sights.
The company launched into the US market in April last year and is looking to expand its dealer network, currently comprised of Exploration Outfitters Truck & Offroad in Oklahoma.
“Our products have been received very well,” he said.
“We are in the process of setting up more dealers so we are gearing up in Australia to handle the volumes.
“It is an up-and-coming market. They are looking to what we are doing in Australia with our expertise and experience.”
Mr Montesalvo said to service the US market, the company was looking to double production by the end of the year. He said the Australian market, which made up 80 per cent of sales, continued to go from strength to strength.
“It is definitely still growing. The patriotism in Australia has come of age. When I was young Australians wanted to head overseas but now they want to go to the NT or WA,” Mr Montesalvo said.