Profile: Tom Raper RV.

Richmond? Oh, that's where Tom Raper is.

When Tom Raper set up his first business in April 1964, he rented a lot for $40 a month so he could peddle six cars and a couple of trucks. Now, the lifelong Richmond resident boasts an empire of manufactured housing and recreational vehicles that

His influence reaches even beyond the United States. Clients come from all over the world and have included a prince from Saudi Arabia as well as Europeans who bring their own interpreters. Closer to home, customers from neighboring Ohio travel to Richmond to shop, passing up native Buckeye businesses. "Dealers in Ohio can't compete," Raper says.

Douglas Peters, president and CEO of the Richmond/Wayne County Chamber of Commerce, says he attends meetings all over the country. When people find out he's from Richmond, there's one standard reply: "'Oh, that's where Tom Raper is.'" Peters credits Raper's far-reaching advertising for bringing business and tourism to the Richmond area.

Raper's business includes three divisions: Tom Raper Inc., the recreational-vehicle division; Tom Raper Homes Inc., the manufactured-housing division; and a not-for-profit organization, Tom Raper Foundation Inc., which supports religious activities. The recreational-vehicle division sells motor homes, travel trailers, fifth wheels, tent campers, truck campers, cargo trailers and truck caps. Manufactured housing includes mobile homes (14 to 16 feet wide and up to 80 feet long), modular homes (two or four parts set in place with a crane) and sectional homes.

Dispelling the myth that only retirees give in to wanderlust and buy recreational vehicles, Raper says customers in their mid-20s provide a viable market. "Different people buy different-priced units," he says. He offers used trailers for as little as $2,000 or $3,000 and motor homes for up to $250,000.

"We have some customers who sell their homes, buy a nice motor home and travel for five years," Raper says. "They make a lot of friends doing that." Vacationing families enjoy both the luxury and convenience of these vehicles' sleeping areas, refrigerators, microwaves, VCRs and especially, Raper notes, bathroom facilities. "You don't have to stop at every exit."

Raper's corner on the market is the trophy of a hard-fought and hard-won success. The Richmond High School graduate spent nearly two years at the University of Cincinnati, then returned to his hometown when he lost his co-op job at the National Automatic Tool Co. factory. Employment prospects were no better there.

"I was so embarrassed and really quite humbled that I couldn't get a job," Raper says. He took his ambition on the road, becoming a door-to-door encyclopedia salesman in Indianapolis. Although he had to owe the parking attendant and a coworker until payday, within three weeks he had become the top salesman in three states. "I was very poor and I didn't want to be that way," he says. "I worked very hard to accumulate some wealth."

After that, Raper spent five years in Indianapolis with International Harvester in the Motor Truck Division, becoming the youngest zone manager in company history. "But I wanted to come back to Richmond," Raper says.

His office at the used-car lot he established was literally a chicken coop, with wood around the top to make it more hospitable. "We didn't even have water on the lot," he says, adding that he paid a neighbor's water bill to use his spigot to wash cars. On trips back and forth from Fort Wayne, where Raper bought cars at auction, he passed a dealer who sold recreational vehicles. "One time I just decided to stop and talk to him," he says. "I felt like he was making money and I decided I wanted to be in that business."

During the transition, Raper sold used cars, new Toyotas and recreational vehicles, eventually eliminating the cars to focus on RVs. Raper sells units from 16 Indiana manufacturers, including Skyline, Gulfstream and Schult. Other suppliers hail from Pennsylvania, Oregon, California, Nebraska and Michigan.

Although he does not disclose sales figures, Tom Raper Inc. is the top-selling dealer in 21 states, according to Statistical Survey Inc., and the largest dealer for Fleetwood, the number one manufacturer in the world.

Raper brings a lot to the Richmond community just by doing business there, Peters says. "It's not only a well-recognized business, but it's also something of a tourist attraction." People driving on Interstate 70 often stop just to see the place, Peters explains, and end up spending money on food or lodging.

Raper now employs 215 people at his 60-acre compound, and looks ahead. "We're expecting some very good growth over the next 10 years," he says.

He credits his success to hard work and to his relationship with God. "I put in more hours every week than anyone else here. And I truly believe that God has blessed this business."

Raper has been active in his church and takes his faith on the road. He appears regularly as a lay speaker at churches throughout the Midwest with Suzanne, his wife of 27 years. And he established a foundation about 15 years ago which supports scholarships, missionaries, pastors and evangelists and provides Bibles to the Richmond jail.

When Raper started his first business, he was told to use his name. "People like to do business with a person, not with a place or a name," he was advised. From the look of things, an awful lot of people like doing business with Tom Raper.