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3 weeks ago | 
rv-pro.com | John McCurry
The desire for simplification is a chief motivator in the park model business. Just ask Matt Kraeuter, CEO of Great Outdoor Cottages — a Delaware-based park model builder launched in 2021, in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. “I think a lot of people are looking to simplify,” Kraeuter says. “It is more simplifying than downsizing.
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1 month ago | 
rv-pro.com | John McCurry
Mark Lawson, director of product development for Jayco’s Jay Feather line, takes a calculated approach in planning new models for the lightweight travel trailer, focusing on achieving the right combination of design and construction. “My guiding principle when it comes to product development is made up of four key things: towability, affordability, durability and functionality,” Lawson says.
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2 months ago | 
farmprogress.com | John McCurry
Sometimes a name becomes synonymous with an industry. A valid case can be made for J. Nicholas “Nick” Hahn, whose tenure as CEO of Cotton Incorporated from the early 1970s to the late 1990s saw cotton regain dominance in U.S. apparel. Hahn spent 25 years with the organization in executive roles, including 19 years as CEO. Hahn stepped down as CEO in 1997 to form a consultancy, Hahn International. He has also been an author and audio book narrator.
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2 months ago | 
farmprogress.com | John McCurry
Over the past few decades, I have been fortunate to meet some legendary figures in the industries I have covered. I began reporting on the textile industry in the early 1990s, just prior to enactment of NAFTA, which in retrospect sent the industry careening. During the 1990s, some of the all-time impactful textile leaders were still guiding their companies from their respective C-suites.
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2 months ago | 
rv-pro.com | John McCurry
Newmar’s Grand Star Class Super C, which has drawn rave reviews since its premiere last fall, fills a void in the Nappanee, Indiana, manufacturer’s lineup. For Newmar, it was a matter of breaking new ground in coach construction. Ellinger describes Grand Star as affordable luxury at 34 feet. The new model’s MSRP starts at $364,230. “We realized we could capitalize on those people trading up into a new market, but we had never built on it before, so that was the idea.
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2 months ago | 
farmprogress.com | John McCurry
I have never lived on a farm, but my parents always produced a large garden. When they built the house where I grew up in North Carolina, they purchased the adjacent lot. That’s where our garden grew for many decades. It was likely one of the largest “backyard” gardens in my small hometown. Gardening was a skill handed down by both sets of my grandparents, who had small farms. From an early age, I learned to help in the garden.
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Mar 13, 2025 | 
rv-pro.com | John McCurry
If an RV’s owners bestow it with a nickname, it’s probably a good sign. That’s true with Oliver Travel Trailers, whose growing fan base affectionately refers to the sturdy fiberglass luxury campers as “Ollies.”A relatively young, family-owned company, Oliver Travel Trailers (OTT) is based in Hohenwald, Tennessee, about 80 miles southwest of Nashville. The distinctive-looking trailers featuring curved corners and sleek sides are designed to boost towing efficiencies.
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Mar 11, 2025 | 
farmprogress.com | John McCurry
With the 2025 Major League Baseball season cranking up, it’s an opportune time to look at some of the former players who have turned to ag in their retirements. While there aren’t as many ex-big leaguers in agriculture compared to football players, there are some notable names who have shifted to assorted forms of farming and ranching. Like their counterparts in football and basketball, these retired stars of the diamond had the wherewithal to invest in farmland.
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Feb 18, 2025 | 
farmprogress.com | John McCurry
I’m a coffee snob. That came about gradually. I didn’t start drinking coffee until I became a newspaperman right out of college. It fit with the movie image I had of a newspaper reporter, along with alcohol imbibing and colorful language. Coffee is the habit that endured, and I am very, very particular about it. I don’t mind paying extra for coffee. However, I eschew visits to the major national coffee shop chain. I don’t think it’s very good, plus I prefer to seek out a locally owned shop.
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Feb 13, 2025 | 
rv-pro.com | John McCurry
From the moment the public got its first glimpse of the ROOST43, it has drawn a series of “wows.” The massive new fifth wheel from Forest River’s Wildwood Heritage Glen and Salem Hemisphere and was a big hit at the Hershey RV Show in September 2024. At 530 square feet of living space, it may just be the biggest, baddest fifth wheel on the market. “There was a lot of wowing among customers at Hershey,” says Nick Rost, Forest River regional sales representative.
