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I’ve learned enough about Airstream to know that as a brand it connects with people. My own curiosity about Airstream seems to be compounded by the fact that its founder, Wally Byam, was far ahead of his time, and I wonder if Airstream can continue down that path of innovation. I liken Wally Byam to (as author Malcolm Gladwell would say) an Outlier, someone who had success by being at the right place at the right time, and having the sense to put it all together. Wally was a visionary foremost, and I think that the RV industry needs more visionaries and less bottom-line managers. But that's for a different discussion.
What's important now is whether or not companies like Airstream are going to bounce back big time, or revert to the status quo as Americans come out of the recession. The recent introduction of the Eddie Bauer edition Airstream gives me a hint.
Airstreams have a following because it has some of what Coca Cola has… brand recognition in a broad market. Naturally, one has to wonder if all the fizz has gone out of the bottle though.
So the other day I emailed Airstream’s Bob Wheeler and asked him a handful of questions about the environment, its future and more. Today I received a response.
I’ll share some of what he had to say here:
[RV magazine]
The environment is on everyone’s mind. What new technologies will Airstream be incorporating in their products to promote a smaller carbon footprint? Can we expect to see solar panels or some other green technology in the Airstreams of the future? Airstreams are already pre-wired for solar and promote good mileage by design, but is there more in that regard to come?
[Bob Wheeler]
Much of what we do to protect the environment we’ve been doing for 80 years. We make the most aerodynamic trailer in the market, and one that is designed to be handed down not sent to the landfill. About 80 percent of our material content is recyclable, as well. We use efficient LED lighting inside and outside of the trailers, low-flow water fixtures, and low VOC-emitting materials. And you already mentioned the solar panels, an increasingly popular option.
Looking ahead, we’re going after our manufacturing processes to reduce scrap and landfill hauls, recycle every scrap we can, source from local suppliers to reduce trucking, install high-efficiency lighting in the plants, etc..
So it’s not just the trailer that’s green, it’s how we make it as well.
[RV magazine]
Wally Byam founded Airstream decades ago, how much focus does Airstream place on its history and does this American success story shape the direction for its future? How.
[Bob Wheeler]
We’re all about celebrating our history; we couldn’t escape it if we wanted to. It’s that history that has made the Airstream a part of the American fabric. But we want to remind people that we today make the best travel trailer in the world, one that is designed to meet the needs and tastes of today’s buyers.
But all the changes we’re made over the years are guided by the words of our founder, Wally Byam, “Let’s not just make changes, only improvements”.
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