The company history of ACTION MOBIL
...this is how it all started
Looking for adventure in faraway countries has always been a dream cherished by a lot of people.
More than 40 years ago, the couple Stefanie and Otfried Reitz also shared this dream and travelled through a number of countries in northern Europe and the north of Africa. Later on, the fascination of these long-distance trips and the job held at the time were to result in the foundation of ACTION MOBIL.
In the seventies Mr. and Ms. Reitz were running a full-service advertising agency with an own industrial photo- and film studio plus stage workshops in Saalfelden. Beside customers from the furniture industry, more and more companies, engaged in the fashion business, came to take an interest in the services of the company, which at the time was called FULL ACTION TEAM.
In the production of sport fashion catalogues, Mr. and Ms. Reitz wanted to leave the beaten track and therefore chose spectacular African landscape as a backdrop for their fashion shots. The idea met with the approval of the clients, however it was less popular with the models, most of them female, since working in the often dust filled areas was a lot more strenuous than posing for shootings in and around hotels or in a studio.
Being aware of these drawbacks, the company owners came up with the idea of designing an all-wheel motor home. The vehicle was to prove its worth in the off- road terrain of the Sahara, it was to provide shower and make-up facilities for the models, and a small kitchen for making coffee was another prerequisite.
Vehicles of this type were not being offered in Europe in those days. Therefore it was decided to build a customized cabin in the stage workshops of the advertising agency and to mount it to the chassis of a Chevrolet Blazer. It was already this very first prototype that garnered quite some attention on its trips through northern Africa.
Further improved prototypes were to follow and it was not long before Africa freaks wanted to know by whom and where such vehicles were being constructed.
Construction tests with GF sandwich elements were started in co-operation with German manufacturers and this is how the first pick-up cabins on the chassis of a Land Rover originated. In Africa, the experience gained in tests was collected and gratefully taken up by the panel manufacturers in Germany. Reports first published in German caravan magazines created quite a stir. Something quite novel and unprecedented had caught people’s interest. Was this to be a market niche? So far the vehicles had been designed for use by Mr. and Ms. Reitz only.
In 1979, the couple decided to found the ACTION MOBIL Company. As early as 1984 the first ACTION MOBIL vehicle with a hydraulically operated rising roof was constructed. This was later on followed by the spectacular cabins mounted to the military chassis of the type MAN-KAT, which was presented in the print media worldwide. Only recently the apparently largest all-wheel motor home in the world was built for a customer from the Middle East.
Already in the year 1989 Stephan Wirths joined the ACTION MOBIL team. An industrial clerk by training and a specialist in the area of axles for commercial vehicles, he placed his skills and knowledge at the disposal of the company. During 10 years he studied the special field of all-wheel motor homes. In 1990 Mr. Wirths married the owner’s daughter, Daniela Reitz.The co-operation between Mr. Reitz and Stephan Wirths has been amicable and fruitful right from the start.
Otti and Steffi Reitz on retirement in Africa
In the year 2000, Mr. and Ms. Reitz decided to hand over the company to the next generation, to Ms. Reitz-Wirths and Mr. Wirths. Although retired by now, Mr. Reitz still has close ties with the company and now mainly takes care of marketing issues and of designing and maintaining also this homepage. The personal style in dealing with customers and the intense after-sales service for buyers of an ACTION MOBIL cabin has been adopted also by the new Management and will for ever be the basis of a reliable business relationship. First and foremost it is the technical competence of the Management together with a team of hand-picked specialists that will guarantee the company’s high reputation.
2010 the huge step was taken and a new modern production plant became operational.
The ACTION MOBIL Company is seen as a provider of innovative ideas and again and again comes up with technical novelties that are gladly taken up by the competitors. The ACTION MOBIL team, however, is always proud of being first. To date some 250 ACTION MOBIL vehicles have left the workshops in Saalfelden and the ACTION MOBIL Team would be happy to also welcome you as their customer.
Take-over of ACTION MOBIL by Stephan and Daniela
