GOSHEN — When Bob Martin stepped to the microphone at the Goshen Chamber of Commerce breakfast Thursday, he gave local business professionals a chance to see and hear the new leader at Thor Industries.

On Feb. 1, Martin was promoted to RV group president at recreational vehicle giant Thor, whose subsidiaries include Keystone RV, Dutchmen Manufacturing, Airstream, Crossroads and Thor Motor Coach. He replaces longtime Thor executive Ron Fenech, who left the company as RV group president on Sept. 30.

A 1988 graduate of Elkhart Central High School, where he played football under now-retired coach Tom Kurth, Martin assured the crowd he would be staying in Elkhart County. Although Thor, a publicly traded company with more than 8,000 employees, is headquartered in Jackson Center, Ohio, and has offices in New York, a majority of its business is in Elkhart County, so Martin will keep his office in the community.

Also, he told the gathering he is not a CEO who spends his days behind a desk. He is an RV owner and regularly goes camping with his family. That helps him in business, Martin said, because he can look at towables and motorhomes as a consumer and immediately know what features are good and not so good.

Look ahead: Martin said he is “cautiously optimistic” about the industry for the next six months, expecting to see slow but steady growth.

However, into the second half of 2012, the situation could change largely because of the uncertainty stirred up by the presidential election. When change is coming or something is undecided, consumers tend to sit and wait before they spend money on a discretionary item, like an RV, Martin said.

To counter that, Thor will “be aggressive going into the fall with incredible new products,” he said.

Becoming president: Martin is an 18-year veteran of the industry and was president of Keystone RV, Thor’s largest division, before being promoted to group president. He said the lead position was never one he actively pursued but sees it as an opportunity.

“I’m 42 years old. I have many good years ahead of me and this is a great opportunity,” Martin said. “I can be with the company for many years and hopefully do great things.”

Martin noted he was lured to Keystone by Fenech. He credited Fenech with teaching him the “right way to do business” as well as being someone he could turn to for advice.

“He would never tell me what to do but he would be a sounding board that would help me make the decision,” Martin said of Fenech. “Many times, you’re in agreement and it just gives you the peace of mind you’re doing something that‘s good for the business.”

Leadership: Martin does not plan to bring major changes to Thor’s RV division. At this point, he said, he is learning about the different RV manufacturers under the Thor umbrella and meeting the executives.

Still, noting the RV business is built on relationships, he will be on the road traveling, not staying behind a desk, and is already taking phone calls from dealers he regularly visited when he was a sales representative 18 years ago.

“They’re happy for me but they’re happy for themselves,” Martin said. “They see stability as Thor. They see someone that they know, someone that they can talk to, someone they can count on, someone they can trust. So for Thor, it’s been a very positive move.”

Open houses: Once again, Thor and Forest River are organizing a dealer open house in Elkhart County. Martin said the annual event will be held in September but declined to give the specific days.

He told the chamber members the open houses boost the local economy by bringing thousands of dealers to town and filling up the hotels as well as area restaurants.

The 2011 open houses also helped the industry as evidenced by the increasing wholesale shipments in the fall, he said. Shipments were up 5.1 percent in November, which Martin attributed to the industry-wide dealer event. In addition, the open houses give the manufacturers enough time to fill the orders and supply dealers with the newest and freshest product for the early January retail shows.

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