Management Change Announced by Winnebago Industries
18 December 1997
Management Change Announced by Winnebago Industries
FOREST CITY, Iowa, Dec. 18 -- Winnebago Industries, Inc.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Fred G. Dohrmann announced at
the annual stockholders' meeting held Wednesday evening, December 17, 1997,
his plans for retirement in April from active employment with the Company.
The Board of Directors in the regularly scheduled board meeting today elected
Bruce D. Hertzke to the position of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer upon
Dohrmann's retirement in April.
A 23-year employee of the Company, Dohrmann has led the company through
the transition following the death of the Company's founder, John K. Hanson.
"I will continue working in my current capacity until April in order to ensure
that the Company has sufficient time to experience a smooth transition," said
Dohrmann. "Bruce Hertzke and the rest of Winnebago Industries' experienced
management team are extremely talented and I have every confidence that they
will continue the strategy we initiated in fiscal 1997 to focus on the
manufacturing of high-quality recreation vehicles. The excellent results
released yesterday for the Company's first quarter of fiscal 1998 are
certainly testimony that this strategic focus is working. Winnebago
Industries is truly a first-class RV manufacturer and I feel very fortunate to
have been part of the success of this outstanding organization. Now I'm
looking forward to spending more time with my wife and family as I turn the
reigns over to Bruce."
Hertzke started as an hourly production employee in 1971 and has worked in
various production and engineering supervisory positions since that time. He
was promoted to Vice President, Operations in 1989, Chief Operating Officer
and Senior Vice President in 1995 and to his current position of President and
Chief Operating Officer in 1996. Hertzke was elected to Winnebago Industries'
board of directors in 1997.
Hertzke is a graduate of Iowa Lakes Community College. He was elected to
the board of directors of the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association in 1997
and serves on the Waldorf College Board of Regents, Forest City, Iowa; and the
Center for Industrial Research and Service, Iowa State University.
Winnebago Industries, Inc. is a 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. These products
conform to what the Company believes to be the most rigorous testing in the
recreation vehicle 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. Winnebago Industries' press releases are available through Company
News On-Call by fax, 800-758-5804, ext. 105967, or on-line at
http://www.prnewswire.com/ Visit Winnebago Industries' Web site at
http://www.winnebagoind.com/
SOURCE Winnebago Industries, Inc.