It takes several days for each Airstream travel trailer and touring coach to make its way down
the production line. In our time-tested hand-built process.
While our production teams tackle the build a lot of work happened simultaneously behind the
scenes to ensure a quality manufacturing and hand built craftsmanship lives up to customer
expectations. Our quality department has evolved to include a
team of technical writers who continually create and update detailed work instructions
that help new hires and longtime associates alike understand the various task involved in
building these iconic Rvs. Kiosks stationed around the plant provides easy access
to digital instructions, which also include photos and videos that demonstrate proper
installation techniques and display the quality standards we aim for.
In this way we build quality into the process. The moment we begin work on a unit.
Today's Airstream associates, dealers, and service techs are trained more thoroughly than
ever. Thanks in large part to the training base we
built into the blueprints for this new production facility.
Quality begins on the line and new hires are educated in the history,
time tested techniques and new technology all before they first step on the production floor.
Likewise, our new travel trailer production facility was built with room enough to add a
variety of tools aimed at improving quality across the board.
When our travel trailer line moved to its new home touring coach,
production also moved into a much larger facility with more room for storage,
quality initiatives, and equipment.
While we are still dedicated to handmade craftsmanship, creating more space for the
state of the art tools helps to automate some of the more complex repeatable processes,
creating more room for associates to focus on detailed hands on tasks from the stamping
machines were using to create structural pieces for the aluminum shell to separate CNC routers
for the interior and exterior aluminum that cut and drill to tolerances within 1/1000 of an
inch. These tools enable more precision up and down
the line on the production floor. Our quality team is anchored by auditors and
inspectors who keep constant eyes on the production process auditors work alongside our
production associates and check that everything is going smooth.
They ensure that work instructions are followed, proper techniques are used and the components
and parts are installed correctly at the end of the line.
Inspectors close the quality circle with a point by point quality check that ensures every
system works and every appliance is functioning properly.
Our inspectors flip every switch and turn on the air conditioner and refrigerator.
They run the fans, the furnace and the water heater.
They even like the propane appliances process that goes beyond the industry standard of
simply pressure testing the gas lines with their when the quality team finds issues and in
a hand built process like this, there's always ways to improve,
they noted on a tablet. Those tablets continually feed data up to the
quality team in real time so they can analyze it and track issues as they arise.
Much of the software we use is built in house and provides checklists,
training videos, work instructions, photos and more.
While our manufacturing process and best practices are informed by more than 90 years of
experience, we use 21st century technology to deliver industry best quality and keep living
up to customer expectations In many ways. Our manufacturing process hasn't changed much
since the early days of the company. What has changed is the way we're tracking,
analyzing and improving that process through the use of digital tools and data driven goals.
It's our way of ensuring that every airstream travel trailer and motorized touring coach that
leaves Jackson Center will live up to the expectations of the customers waiting on the
other end.