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New RV Manufacturer's Indiana Facility Plans To Tap Into Industry's Success

Northern Indiana is adding another recreational vehicle maker to what is known as the “RV Capital of the World.” Ember Recreational Vehicles announced it will invest $4 million to build a facility in Elkhart County.

RV manufacturers in the Hoosier State make 80 percent of the RVs in the country, contributing more than $32 billion to the state’s economy annually. 

The new RV company was founded by long-time executives in the industry. Ember President and CEO Ashley Bontrager Lehman comes from a family that founded a major RV manufacturer. She said in a statement northern Indiana is the perfect location with the large industry presence already. Company officials said they believe it can be competitive with other manufacturers.

Ember was founded earlier this year and will produce lightweight travel trailers.

Construction of the new facility is expected to be complete by September. Ember has been offered up to $1 million in conditional tax credits from the Indiana Economic Development Corporation.

Contact reporter Samantha at  shorton@wfyi.org or follow her on Twitter at @SamHorton5.

Samantha Horton is the All Things Considered newscaster and a reporter at WFYI. She is a graduate from University of Evansville with a bachelor’s degree in international studies, political science and communication where she also swam all four years. Samantha has worked as a reporter at WNIN in Evansville, Side Effects Public Media, Indiana Public Broadcasting and the Kansas News Service. In 2022 she was one of two fellows with the NPR Midwest Newsroom and Missouri Independent investigating elevated blood lead levels in children.
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