Tom dempsey kayaks sylvans ports biography

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#product designer, #Auburn University, #RV industry, e3ntry-level RV, #company culture, #leadership

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We’re continuing to grow and add new products for more people and have more fun”

In some ways, Tom’s duties as SylvanSport’s founder and CEO dovetails from standard executive leadership responsibilities.

Founded by visionary Tom Dempsey, SylvanSport has combined innovation with a deep passion for nature, creating versatile and sustainable outdoor gear that has revolutionized the way we camp. I was Vice President at Perception Kayaks back in the nineties. Are you a kayaker?

  • What was it about adventure sports that inspired SlyvanSport?

  • Tell us about the early days of Sylvan, is your first product still in the line?

  • How do you find time to run the company and maintain the role of chief product designer?

  • Sylvan also has a great company culture, can you share some of the things you do to maintain that?

  • What is the Sylvan distribution network like, how many RV dealers are you in?

  • Mountain Bridge Wilderness

  • Are all your products sold in the US or are there any international distributors?

  • Do you have a favorite place camp?

  • How about a spot to get away for an hour or so and get some outdoor time during the week?

  • Do you have any suggestions and/or advice for folks with a product idea to get it into production?

  • What is your favorite outdoor gear purchase under $100?

    That way, we can tailor our product accordingly and, again, be way ahead of the curve.”

    Along with keeping a close watch on the future, Tom emphasizes that the most important part of his role is to set SylvanSport’s cultural tone. “I want to say a huge thank you to the Association for everything it does to make the industry better on the technical, service, and advocacy fronts.”

    Member SpotlightSylvanSportTom DempseyRV IndustryMembers

    • 20 Years of Adventure: How Tom Dempsey and SylvanSport are Revolutionizing Camping

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    For two decades, SylvanSport has been at the forefront of transforming outdoor adventures, redefining what it means to camp and explore the great outdoors.

    I want our employees to savor what’s most important, which is their family and themselves. 20% off on gear (excludes their trailers). Our company has a unique blend of the usual RV amenities but served up in a product design envelope that echoes the adventure and sports world. Embracing his industrial design education, Tom is often designing future company products.

    Out of all the material used to make SylvanSport towables, 80 percent comes from within 70 miles of the company.

    Tom Dempsey, Outdoor Industry Leadership, and SylvanSport’s Innovative Approach [EP 426]

    Welcome to Episode 426 with Tom Dempsey, founder and CEO of SylvanSport and a highly regarded national leader in the outdoor industry for several decades.

    SylvanSport designs and manufactures innovative recreation vehicles and outdoor gear.

    Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara

  • And Tom has a special offer for our listeners . Now, finally, the market has caught up with us and over the last five years it’s really been great. After recruiting Kyle Mundt and Tom Reeder, Dempsey got to work on the company. “We have a lot of fun here! “We have a lot of product demand and we’re trying to meet that demand.

    It’ll be a huge leap for the whole RV industry.”

    In addition to his duties at SylvanSport, Tom is involved with the RV Industry Association, in part through his ties to past and present company leadership. The first state to create that was Utah. “My first job out of college was with the Coleman company at their division in Somerset, PA, which made the famous Coleman pop-up camper.

    tom dempsey kayaks sylvans ports biography

    Before starting his first business, Liquidlogic Kayaks, in 2000, Dempsey designed camping gear and pop-up campers at Coleman Co. Marketing to beginner RVers, this Coleman division made 40,000 campers a year at its peak and taught Dempsey a lot about the industry and how it could be re-invented.

    Dempsey lived in Chicago, Pennsylvania and Alabama before moving to North Carolina and founding SylvanSport in 2004.

    In 2000, I started my own kayak company called Liquid Logic, which is still in business even though I’m not a part of its ownership anymore.

    “From that industry I went to the opposite extreme— adventure and sports,” he continued. The real driver behind that was a very good friend of mine and the founder of Black Diamond Equipment, Peter Metcalf.”

    The second and third states, Colorado and Washington, respectively, weren’t far behind Utah.

    “I think we were, candidly, too far ahead of the curve when SylvanSport first launched. There were three states that had an Office of Outdoor Recreation at the state government level—now there are 16.