By Amy Antonation & Amanda Ellis
Pueblo, Colorado is a bit of a trek from Breckenridge’s Boreas Pass, especially if you take a detour through Denver. But that’s the route founder Matt Reichel took when expanding Boreas Campers, which now designs and makes every one of its off-road, off-grid camper trailers in Pueblo. The small city of Pueblo caught Reichel’s attention not only with great business resources, but with something we talk about a lot over at Livability Media – quality of life.
Cross-Colorado Journey
Reichel, an outdoor enthusiast, left his engineering job in 2012 to travel the West. For the next three years, he hiked, biked, skied and RVed. During that time he came up with the idea of a small camper trailer with off-road capabilities.
In 2015, Reichel built his first camper in his Breckenridge home’s one-car garage; he named his new venture after the mountain pass on which his property sat.
The next year, Reichel moved to Denver’s western suburbs with the intention of growing Boreas
Campers. He sold his first unit that same year, and by 2021, spurred on by growth and the need for a larger production facility, began searching for a new space in Denver proper.
But he couldn’t find a suitable spot. The city was crowded and expensive, says Maggie Reichel, Boreas marketing director. So, Matt Reichel expanded his search to Pueblo and Colorado’s Western Slope. In April 2022, Boreas Campers relocated to Pueblo—and its owner couldn’t be happier with the move.
The Perks of Pueblo
“When we were looking for a new home for Boreas Campers, Pueblo caught us by surprise,” Matt says. “We have been impressed by this town’s community, infrastructure, access to the outdoors and warmth that everyone has greeted us with. It’s a great place to do business and a great place to live.”
More than ever, we see today’s business location decisions made not only based on quantitative data and concrete resources, but the intangibles that make a place stand out amidst competitors offering similar selling points.
While not the largest city Reichel could have chosen, Pueblo stood out for its heart, outdoor amenities and lifestyles, personal attention to businesses like Boreas, and for not only knowing what sets it apart, but telling that story far and wide.
Maggie Reichel says that for the business and personally, having access to a lower cost of living while maintaining access to the mountains was critical.
“And partnering with Pueblo Economic Development Corp. (PEDCO) was an extra boost, as their economic development program is the best that we’ve found,” she says.
Thanks to its increased purchasing power in Pueblo, Boreas was able to take over a former Coca-Cola distribution center that, at 17,000 square feet, was double the size of its Denver-area space. A bonus, says Maggie, is that the building layout makes it better suited to manufacturing than the previous factory, so Boreas is now able to turn out approximately 120 campers per year in two models.
Weekend Warriors’ Weekdays
The company quickly began creating jobs, hiring 20 employees, including purchasing manager Esparanca Vialpando. A Colorado Springs native, Vialpando attended college in Pueblo and had returned to her hometown, but buying a house there proved complicated.
“When we started looking for a home in the Springs, the market was already haywire,” she says. “We got more for our buck in Pueblo West.”
Vialpando moved to Pueblo with her family, where she was immediately attracted to Boreas Campers as a self-described “outdoors person.”
Boreas’ products are constantly improving, from their supportive home base in Pueblo. In 2018, the company eliminated wood from construction in favor of fiberglass, aluminum and composite materials; the change yielded a lighter, more durable camper and also eliminated the possibility of rot or warping.
In 2021, Boreas became the first North American camper manufacturer to import Cruisemaster independent suspensions from Australia for installation on all units. And in 2022, Boreas introduced the 20-foot EOS-12 model, a step up from its 16-foot XT model. The former is equipped with the Garmin ONE system, which brings an unprecedented level of tech into the backcountry, allowing users to level the suspension, view battery gauge and water tank levels, and more via tablet.
“Boreas Campers builds off-road, off-grid camper trailers that are designed to be the perfect adventure basecamp,” says Matt. “We have grown significantly the past few years and are proud to still say we manufacture all campers in Colorado.”
As Boreas continues to innovate and grow, so will the positive economic impact on the Pueblo area, all because its founder saw this community as not only the best place to build a business, but the best place to build a life.
