Winnebago Industries Reports Substantial Increase in Sales Order Activity Resulting In 2500 Unit Back-log

    FOREST CITY, Iowa--Jan. 16, 2002--Winnebago Industries, Inc. held its annual shareholders' meeting last evening. In addition to the re-election of board members, Winnebago Industries' Chairman, CEO and President Bruce Hertzke also announced to shareholders plans to increase production as a result of a substantial increase in wholesale orders and retail sales of the Company's motor homes.
    Hertzke stated that Winnebago Industries' sales order backlog for Class A and C motor homes was 2,365 units on January 12, 2002, a 70 percent increase over the sales order backlog of 1,390 units at the same time last year. In addition, this represents a 50 percent increase since the end of the Company's first quarter on December 1, 2001.
    The number of retail sales registrations, representing the Company's notification from dealers of motor home retail sales at their locations, has also increased. Retail sales registrations for Winnebago Industries' fiscal second quarter to date through the week of January 12, 2002, are approximately 16 percent ahead of last year.
    The Company also continues to see growth in motor home market share. According to Statistical Surveys, Inc., the recreation vehicle (RV) industry registration reporting firm, Winnebago Industries continues to lead the motor home industry with 19.05 percent of the combined Class A and C retail market nationally through the 11 months ending November 2001. This is an increase of 11.9 percent from the 17.02 percent market share achieved by Winnebago Industries for the same period last year.
    "In order to accommodate the increased demand for the Company's motor homes, we are currently hiring additional staff and scheduling overtime to increase the production volume of our motor homes," said Hertzke. "We continue to be encouraged by our strong sales activity, particularly of our newly introduced Winnebago Vista and Sightseer and Itasca Sunstar and Sunova. We also see this increase in sales activity as a positive sign of improvement in the condition of the RV industry and the economy in general. In previous economic downturns, RV sales have been viewed as a barometer for the economy, showing signs of improvement before other areas of the economy."
    Also during the annual meeting, each of the following individuals were re-elected to Winnebago Industries' board of directors for a three-year term: Gerald E. Boman, 66, retired and former Senior Vice President for the Company; Jerry N. Currie, 56, President and Chief Executive Officer of both CURRIES Company, manufacturer of steel doors and frames for nonresidential construction and GRAHAM Manufacturing, manufacturer of wood doors for nonresidential construction in Mason City, Iowa; and Frederick M. Zimmerman, 65, Professor of Manufacturing Systems Engineering at the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minnesota.

    About Winnebago Industries

    Winnebago Industries, Inc. is the leading manufacturer of motor homes, self-contained recreation vehicles used primarily in leisure travel and outdoor recreation activities. Other products manufactured by the Company consist principally of a variety of component products for other manufacturers. The Company builds quality products with state-of-the-art computer-aided design and manufacturing systems on automotive-styled assembly lines. The Company believes its products are subjected to the most rigorous quality testing in the RV industry. The Company's common stock is listed on the New York, Chicago and Pacific Stock Exchanges and traded under the symbol WGO. Options for the Company's common stock are traded on the Chicago Board Options Exchange. Visit Winnebago Industries' web site at www.winnebagoind.com. For access to Winnebago Industries investor relations material, to add your name to an automatic email list for Company news releases or for information on a dollar-based stock investment service for the Company's stock, visit, www.winnebagoind.com/investor_relations.htm.
    This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from these statements, including, but not limited to reactions to actual or threatened terrorist attacks, the availability and price of fuel, a significant increase in interest rates, a further slowdown in the economy, availability of chassis, slower than anticipated sales of new or existing products, new product introductions by competitors, order cancellations by the Company's dealers, collections of dealer receivables and other factors. Additional information concerning certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from that projected or suggested is contained in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over the last 12 months, copies of which are available from the SEC or from the Company upon request.