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Coburg Maker Of High-End RVs Sees Another Year Of Climbing Profits

Brian Bull
/
KLCC

It’s been a profitable year for Marathon Coach.  The Coburg-based maker of luxury buses expects its 2016 revenue to pass the $55 million mark.  KLCC's Brian Bull reports.

It marks five consecutive years of growth and sales for Marathon.  This year, it delivered 60 coaches across the U.S. 

The high-end buses – many retailing for a couple million easily – feature elegant interiors, high-tech entertainment centers, custom paint jobs, and handcrafted furniture.

Credit Brian Bull / KLCC
/
KLCC
Marathon's CFO, Steve Irwin, alongside a luxury coach.

Steve Irwin is Marathon Coach’s Chief Financial Officer.  He says a rebounding economy has helped the company’s fortunes.

“We’ll probably hire anywhere from 50 to 60 people over the course of the next year," says Irwin. "The service centers in Florida and Texas, they may add 1 or 2 people at each location, but 95 percent of the additions are going to be here locally, and those are all family-wage jobs that are certainly going to help the local area.” 

And the company projects its 2017 revenue to top $65 million.

Since its founding in 1983, Marathon has sold over 1200 custom buses worldwide.  Its clientele includes executives, rock stars, and NASCAR drivers. 

Brian Bull is an assistant professor of journalism at the University of Oregon, and remains a contributor to the KLCC news department. He began working with KLCC in June 2016.   In his 27+ years as a public media journalist, he's worked at NPR, Twin Cities Public Television, South Dakota Public Broadcasting, Wisconsin Public Radio, and ideastream in Cleveland. His reporting has netted dozens of accolades, including four national Edward R. Murrow Awards (22 regional),  the Ohio Associated Press' Best Reporter Award, Best Radio Reporter from  the Native American Journalists Association, and the PRNDI/NEFE Award for Excellence in Consumer Finance Reporting.
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