A major Australian caravan manufacturer has entered administration after more than two decades in business, blaming growing competition from cheaper imports and copycat products.

Australian Off Road confirmed on Tuesday that administrators had been appointed to the business, bringing uncertainty over the future of the company after 26 years of operation.

The Queensland company, based in Caloundra on the Sunshine Coast, had about 100 employees before entering administration.

The company, which grew from a one-man operation into an award-winning national manufacturer, pointed to mounting pressures across the caravan industry.

General manager Russell Evans said increasingly fierce competition had made it difficult for the Australian manufacturer to continue operating as it had previously.

In a lengthy statement announcing the decision, Mr Evans blamed “intensifying product copying” and an influx of “Chinese imports” among the challenges facing the business.

He said those pressures had made it “increasingly difficult” for Australian Off Road to compete.

The administration marks a dramatic turn for the long-running manufacturer, which had built its business producing Australian-made off-road caravans and campers.

More to come