Industry insight
Nigel Hutson visits Isabella International
IF CONVERSATION AMONG caravanners turns to awnings, there’s often one name that comes up – Isabella.
In my own personal experience of two full awnings, you really do get what you pay for. The first one that I had was a 1997 Ambassador, which is still going strong in the hands of our son and his wife, and looks virtually as good as new.
When we purchased larger caravans, we also bought larger awnings; but in 2012, we went back to Isabella, buying an Ambassador Moonlight.
When changing caravans, we had the awning altered by Isabella (more of that later) if necessary, so it would fit.
Like most great inventions, the Isabella company came about almost by accident. Danish retail chemist Søren Odgaard wanted a tent for his family holidays, but was unable to find any to suit his purposes, so he made one. Word quickly got around and a team of three started making tents for rental, based at Odgaard’s house.
In 1957 the company Jydsk Camping Industri was formed (later to become Isabella), from where they hired out tents, air mattresses and gas heaters.
As many customers wanted to buy the products, the rental company later transformed into production and sales.
Regal roots
The company’s first tent, the Isabella, was a huge success. The name Isabella came from the defunct German car, the Borgward Isabella, for which Odgaard had a strong affection.
The then Queen of Spain was also called Isabella, and as a mark of respect, the company’s logo incorporated a crown.
In 1961, Jydsk moved to much larger premises, which would become Isabella, based in Vejle, Denmark, manufacturing tents and awnings, and launching the Isabella Peephole window.
In 1967, Odgaard devised the caravan ‘A-measurement’ (ground to ground) adopted by many manufacturers today.
As the market grew, daughter companies were established, the first in Sweden in the
1960s. The second was in the UK in 1970; they now have premises in Germany, the Netherlands and Norway, with a new factory due in Poland in 2021, and agents in many other countries, including the US and Australia.
The UK plant was established in Thame, in Oxfordshire, just a few miles from its current home in Long Crendon, where they moved in 1999.
In 1973, Isabella stopped making tents to concentrate on the huge awnings market. In 1975, they introduced acrylic canvases and polyester-coated roof materials, which although slightly heavier, were more watertight and durable than normal canvas, and were colourfast, non-rotting and quicker to dry.
Isabella has introduced many inventions to the awning world. For example, in 1987, they produced the first bracket to attach an awning without the need to screw into the sides of caravans (this has
been developed over the years into various versions of the Fixon bracket), and the huge Penta multisided awning in the mid-1980s.
Add to that innovations such as the Hercules awning pole tensioner and the
Isafix locking clamp and you’ll see there are always new ideas appearing.
Søren Odgaard passed away in 2005, but Isabella is still very much in family hands, with sons Ivan the production director and
Peter the technical manager.
Vast stocks
I recently visited the UK firm, where I met up with MD Steve Biggs. Steve told me they supply all of the UK dealers (more than 100), and have a vast stock of
Isabella products – awnings, canopies, groundsheets, kitchens, furniture and so on.
All awnings are manufactured by Isabella. That way they can always be sure of the quality.
Steve gave me a tour of the premises. As well as the huge warehouse for storing products before they are dispatched, there’s a large room equipped with numerous industrial sewing machines and a massive central work area
(big enough to open out the largest of the awnings).
This is the Repair/alteration area. Isabella offers this service to the public, something that I used when we had our awning resized a few years ago. Having your awning altered (this does depend on the size differences required – Isabella can usually adjust by 50cm) is likely to be far more cost-effective than buying a new one.
One of the beauties of having a repair or alteration carried out by the company that actually makes your awning is that the materials used are likely to be a perfect match, as we found when we had ours done.
Add to that the fact that they remove any section of the roof that has needle holes from previous stitching and use the same sewing technique as the original, so you are ensured a high-quality job.
Frames and more
“In 1985, the IXL fibreglass frame came onto the market, which was very light but strong, especially when compared to the steel frames that were being sold at the time,” Steve said.
“That was developed into the Carbonx, which is incredibly strong. Some 95% of awnings sold in the UK have Carbonx frames. Isabella also has the only sewing machine in the world designed to sew the Peephole window,” he added.
Measuring up
Isabella’s website lists the A-measurements of hundreds of caravans, so if you’re unsure about yours, you’ll find an accurate measurement
(awning size) there.