Employment at Marathon Coach

Paint Design

For decades, Marathon has pushed the limits of design and craftsmanship – but what people notice first are the exterior paint designs. At Marathon Coach, every bus exterior is an unduplicated work of art – each as unique as the clients who choose them – and the World Headquarters in Coburg, Oregon, is the only facility with full-time, in-house paint designers. Pete Sutton and Sara Fideler apply their nearly 20 years of combined experience to designing quality exteriors that run the full gamut between simple grace and bold complexity. What’s more, on custom orders, our clients work directly and intensively with Pete and/or Sara to arrive at the exact paint design they desire. “Marathon creates to satisfy our individual clients’ tastes,” said Pete Sutton. “Sometimes, we run wild with adventurous, over-the-top designs. Other times, we understand less is more and use fewer lines and colors, but make strategic choices that create an expression of elegance and luxury.”

Whichever style you prefer, the intricacy of incorporating these designs into the Prevost chassis requires expert techniques of blending, shading, texturing, special effects, ghosted patterns and custom handcrafted graphics. With more than 20 skilled artisans navigating a busy production schedule in five full-service bays, Paint Manager Ryan Fox and Marathon’s experienced team of painters create singular masterpieces-on-wheels every day. Take even a short trip through the gallery on the Marathon Coach website and you’ll see why every Marathon paint design is a top design.

Upholstery

Upholstery Manager John Farley has been with Marathon 24 years, and has been in the upholstery business for nearly 50 years. John leads a talented upholstery team that works closely with our design team to create the lavish interiors you see inside every Marathon – including wall panels, sofas, and cockpit seats – and trains his staff to work to the highest standards in order to meet the expectations of every client. The stellar upholstery team at Marathon is comprised of experts in pattern-making, sewing and leather wrapping, as well as enduring techniques such as horizontal and vertical channeling, to create luxurious, timeless furniture and surface treatments for our top-of-the-line coaches. When even the inner walls of the closets and drawers are fitted with engineered leather, you can be assured of the consideration given to every detail of every Marathon. 

Sofa Building

More than 20 years ago, unsatisfied with the quality of supposed “high-end” sofas, Marathon decided to build its own in-house, and since then, we’ve been constructing our own sofas from the ground up. Step into Marathon’s “sofa palace” and immediately experience the sights, smells and feel of the highest quality raw materials, custom-ordered, measured and cut for our sofas, dinette seats, furniture upgrades and more. For our posh salon sleeper sofas, we even make the folding bed frame from scratch. We purchase our top-of-the-line recliners and cockpit seats, and immediately remove the covers and cushions and refurbish them to a higher standard with better materials and added comfort and style. On any given day, you’ll see Charles Null or Kevin Perrier measuring and cutting leather, fitting springs and foam around raw wood and creating patterns that will be passed on to the upholstery department to implement Marathon’s exceptional fit and finish.

Flooring

Arguably the surface that takes the most abuse, the flooring in a luxury coach has to be durable, beautiful, versatile and expertly installed. Marathon’s flooring department uses a variety of deluxe, durable materials such as weight-saving synthetics, natural stone tile, natural stone slabs, porcelain, hardwoods and more. In newer Marathons, strand-woven bamboo, which is harder than most woods and can adopt the look of almost anything, has brought sustainability and versatility to Marathon floors. And our installers take pride in superior, tight-fitting floors with minimal grout lines, for a deluxe feel that is elegant, clean and comfortable. Flooring Team Leader Tristan Michener supervises a team of six experts that create an essential element of the look – as well as the use – of a Marathon coach.

Composites

Two decades ago, to the naked eye, luxury buses from different converters looked largely the same. Marathon Coach was the first to really innovate and custom-design exterior composite parts to enhance the appearance and function of the Prevost bus chassis. The unique roof caps over our awnings are a great example of these telltale modifications, and the reason you know a Marathon right away when you see it. At the factory in Coburg, Oregon, we have the machinery, materials and skilled artisans to create just about any interior or exterior components in our coaches. We have two professional fabricators in the composites department, where fiberglass is molded, using a variety of methods and systems, into wheel wells, fenders, roof caps, dashboards, cockpit pieces and other components, including that handy drop door that houses Marathon’s patented Freedom Plus sewer hose system.

Quality Assurance

Suspended directly above the center of the factory floor at Marathon Coach Headquarters in Coburg, Oregon, is a large banner that reads: “Our Commitment to Quality Stands Out.” That banner serves as a constant reminder that we cut no corners, and that excellence is expected in every aspect of our operation. It should come as no surprise, then, that quality assurance inspections occur throughout Marathon’s manufacturing process – not just at the end. And when the time does arrive for the final examination of one of our coaches, there is a thorough Executive Walk where Marathon’s executives join our department leaders to pore over the coach in painstaking detail. These procedures further ensure that our clients receive the highest quality luxury coaches on the market.

• Painter
• Bodyman
• Plumber
• Mechanic

• Cabinet Door & Drawer Installer
• Electronic Systems Specialist
• Cabinet Drafter
• Cabinet Laminator

• Software Programmer
• Electrician
• Cabinet Installer
• Cabinet Builder

• RV Service Technician
• Upholsterer
• Flooring Installer
• Quality Assurance Assistant