(Radio Iowa) – Winnebago Industries celebrated a milestone today (Tuesday) that the company says makes it the first in the recreational vehicle industry to reach. Winnebago spokesperson Kelli Harms explains.  “We just produced the 500-thousandth motor home, and we were able to do a celebration with our employees and mark this significant occasion in our company’s history.” according to Harms.

The company got its start in Forest City making motorhomes and in recent years has expanded to many other products. This event was marked across all its facilities — including its North Iowa campus in Lake Mills, where the vehicle ceremoniously rolled off the production line. The record-setting motorhome is the popular Revel, a model introduced four years ago. “It’s a class B, four-by-four motorhome that really shows how Winnebago has grown and changed throughout the years — and we just thought it was a great vehicle to choose for our 500-thousandth motorhome,” she says.

Winnebago paused business across all facilities to allow every employee to join in the celebration — including the top ten-most senior employees who have been with the company for multiple decades and can remember some of the earliest vehicles. “It takes a true team to build our products. Our dealers see our products and they know that they are quality built products. It’s a great way to honor our employees for all the hard work they do every day to make these products come to life. Whether it’s engineering or ship out or stitchcraft, or in the offices — it’s truly a team that provides these products,” according to Harms.

The history on the company’s website says it began in 1958 as Modernistic Industries selling travel trailers, and then changed the name to Winnebago in 1960. The company produced its first motorhome in 1967 and went public in 1970. The company moved its corporate headquarters from Forest City to Eden Prairie, Minnesota in August of 2021.