MCD News

By Dave Townsley, Founder, and CEO of MCD Innovations

Seven years ago, my wife Carla and I formed Motor Coach Designs (now known as MCD Innovations) with three things in mind: First, we wanted to start a company from scratch in which my four children could be involved from the beginning and experience what it takes to build a successful company. All four of my children joined Carla and me as we began our quest; two sons, Travis and Darren, two daughters, Amanda and Tiffany, as well as a son-in-law, Wayne. MCD is and always has been a classic example of a family-owned, family-managed American company.

Second, coming from an automotive background, I believed that RV OEMs and their customers would recognize and appreciate the value of a line of innovative, quality RV products designed to Protect, Enhance, and Personalize new and existing units. As a result, MCD built an ever-growing range of products including our new American Duo^® Shade and supplied those products to numerous OEMs and their dealers. Many of the products were private labeled for OEMs such as Monaco, Holiday Rambler, Newell, Mandalay, Country Coach, American Coach, Newmar, and others. Our roster of OEM customers today is a veritable who’s who of the industry from Winnebago to Tiffin to Forest River to Renegade to Fleetwood to Born Free to New Horizons to Foretravel to NuWa and on and on.

Third, we believed that both of those parameters could be accomplished in the USA utilizing good, old-fashioned American ingenuity and drive, and skilled American workers. The family made a commitment to do everything we could to support our country and our economy by producing as much of our product as possible in the USA. Today, over 92% of the components we use are made in America. And, unlike far too many products today, 100% of the labor needed to design, engineer, and produce our finished products has always been performed in Texas by a dedicated, diversified American workforce.

The History

When the business was started in 2003, we set up in a 7,500 sq ft building. We had a dream that we believed in, and we were blessed. Two years later, in 2005, the company had outgrown the space and we moved to a much larger building … 25,000 sq ft. We looked at these new quarters and thought, again, “…how are we ever going to use all of this space?” We still had the same basic dream with which we started and believed in, but just now on a larger scale. Again, we were blessed and MCD continued to grow. Effective July 26, 2010, just seven years from when we first started our business, MCD will have moved to a 9.6-acre campus as we continue our quest. As we’ve gotten bigger as a company, our dream has also grown. Now we’re dreaming on a much grander scale.

To support our country, our state, our city, our friends and our neighbors, we are committing to a major, long-term investment. What started as a dream became our vision and has now become our mission: “We will design, engineer, and produce innovative, leading-edge, world-class products in the USA utilizing all american-made components, equipment, and labor.” By using American-built equipment, American-made components, and American labor, we are confident that MCD can successfully compete against other companies, anywhere in the world. MCD made a commitment early on of investing in state-of-the-art equipment, designed and made in the USA, to manufacture our products. And we will continue to do so. Our sophisticated cutting equipment is manufactured in California to our exacting specifications. Our unbeatable packaging is made in Louisiana. All of our aluminum extrusions are produced in Texas. Those are but a few examples, and they're just the beginning. We are striving toward being able, by the end of 2010, to have virtually 100% of the components that are utilized in MCD products manufactured in the USA, either by MCD directly or one of our valued suppliers. We firmly believe that American ingenuity and drive and a dedicated, skilled American workforce can successfully compete against the world.

The Future

Our new “facility for the future” will initially provide over twice the manufacturing space. Coupled with our ongoing investment in the latest equipment technology and processes, we will be able to increase our current capacity tenfold. We'll have more than twice the office and engineering space. And we will be able to provide service to more than five times as many customers who choose to bring their RVs to us for retrofitting with MCD products. But this time we aren’t wondering how we will ever use all of the space. Over the past few years, our dream has gotten bigger. Much bigger. We are already envisioning having to add more manufacturing area, additional accommodation space, perhaps a small RV rally park, and so forth as we continue to grow. And if we are blessed to the point that it becomes necessary to add an entire 2nd or 3rd facility down the road, I assure you that they will also be located in the USA.

MCD loves the RV business. Among MCD personnel you’ll find full-timers and weekenders alike. From travel trailers to Class A coaches. We understand the wants, the needs, and the lifestyle. Carla and I have personally put over 160,000 miles on Class A over the last seven years while developing, testing and proving every single product MCD has ever introduced. MCD personnel have participated in hundreds of rallies, observing and listening. As a result, we have had literally thousands of customers tell MCD personnel that our understanding of what RVers want and need shows in our products. That is very reassuring, as well as very flattering. As of this writing, MCD shade products are in some 26 different brand names from the factory as Original Equipment on Fifth Wheel, Class B, Class C, and Class A products. A growing dealer network around the country installs MCD products in the aftermarket everyday from Florida to Washington and from Connecticut to California. MCD will continue to invest in the resources necessary to develop and prove innovative, leading-edge RV products that will Protect, Enhance, and Personalize RVs for years to come. Watch as we become settled in our new campus; you will see our new product introduction rate increase rapidly.

You may also be interested in knowing that MCD develops and produces unique products for commercial and residential markets in addition to the RV market. Maybe you’ve seen some of our shade or merchandising products in one of the over 8,500 Dunkin Donuts stores or in a Dickeys BBQ or a Chili’s or a Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant. Our new facility and equipment will allow us to grow this side of our business far faster in the future. MCD has even been called on to design and produces some very unique products for the aviation and marine industries. And other industries beckon.

All of the dedicated, skilled employees at MCD and my entire family would like to extend a heartfelt “THANK YOU” for the patronage which has been extended to us in the past. Without the support of our customers, end-users, dealers, and OEMs alike, we would not be where we are today. We ask for your continued support in the future as MCD works to develop and produce an array of exciting, groundbreaking products and technologies, All Made in the USA, that can be supplied to customers around the world. Lastly, I ask that you join us in our efforts. Do what you can to keep and create jobs in our great country.

God Bless America.