At the 2025 Arrow Distributing show, RVBusiness had an opportunity to speak with Rich Elliott, vice president of Sales and Marketing for Progress Manufacturing, a hitch and towing company based out of Provo, Utah and a subsidiary of DexKo Global Inc.
RVBusiness: The Equal-i-zer product has won Trailer Life’s Reader’s Choice Award numerous times. Why has that been important?
Elliott: Yes, so Trailer Life has evolved from that title to RV Magazine and now Wild Sam. For 13 years they have held an annual award chosen by readers where they get to pick their favorite awning, hitch or other product. We’re 13-for-13 with Equal-i-zer winning each time, which is why we claim that Equal-i-zer is America’s favorite hitch because in the court of public opinion, they have spoken, and said Equal-i-zer is our favorite.
RVB: What is it about the product and/or company that has helped lead to those wins?
Elliott: You get American-made quality, and low warranty issues for dealers and consumers. We’re primarily known for our quality, function and performance.
RVB: We are here at the 2025 Arrow Distributing show in New Orleans. Three years ago, Progress was acquired by Dexter Axle. What have been some of the challenges in the industry that the aftermarket has experienced over the last few years with pricing and, some say, dealers getting squeezed?
Elliott: It’s kind of funny, for a time, you couldn’t get anything hitches, trailers – you name it. Then, almost overnight, you went from nothing to having a year’s supply of it. I think inventory levels have been a challenge, interest rates have been a challenge, and DeMinimis (in which imported goods under a certain dollar amount are exempt from tariffs) has impacted RV parts stories as well. All these things have pinched dealer margins.
RVB: Following that thought on dealer’s getting pinched on margin and points with certain parts and accessories, inflation has been a point of stress not only in our industry but all industries across the country. Consumers have been feeling it in their pockets with their recreational dollars. What is Progress doing here at the Arrow show to help dealers?
Elliott: We were talking to a dealer not long ago about some of these challenges and how we wanted to make some price changes, and they called it a “revolution.” We loved that word and we’re calling it a “price revolution.’ We have dropped our price significantly on the Equal-i-zer and the E2hitch.
We didn’t change where we manufacture it or how we make it, it’s the same product at a new price. We are making hitching great again. The prices are going back to what they were during the first Trump administration.
We are not changing the retail price, so all that margin is going into the dealers’ pockets. This is how we are trying to help solve that problem for dealers with hitches. We’ve always delivered good margins, but now they are out of this world.
RVB: We are at the beginning of distributor show season. Dealers are flying across the country to order things they need for their retail stories. What has been the initial response here at the Arrow show?
Elliott: Outstanding. People are loving it. Inventory is the name of the game and dealers’ pockets have been understandably tight when it comes to spending. With this price change, it has opened the door for dealers to spend. Our numbers are up in comparison to other years despite the price change even down in price. The dealers who do carry our product appreciate the change and those who don’t are starting to say, I need to look at that pricing and reconsider.
RVB: Outside of this beginning season, how long will this price revolution last?
Elliott: The prices will certainly be sweetened for show season, but the prices will still be lower after show season than they were last year. But we have incentivized dealers to buy now.
The post Progress Manufacturing Brings a ‘Price Revolution’ to 2025 first appeared on RVBusiness - Breaking RV Industry News.
