A FIRM manufacturing camper vans has embarked on plans to increase production and the number of retail sales outlets.

Shepley-based Wellhouse Leisure has authorised three new sites around the UK to manufacture and sell its conversions which are based on Toyotas and Hondas imported from Japan.

Managing director David Elliott said the move had been made because the firm’s sites at Shepley and Lepton were already working at capacity.

“We get customers coming from all over the UK, but many people don't always want to travel the long distances involved,’’ he said.

“So, after the success of the Scottish branch that we’d already established – Highland Campervans at Inverness – we decided to look at other areas.

The new outlets will be at Scarborough, Westward Ho! in Devon and Ystradgynlais near Swansea in Wales and will be branded under the Wellhouse name.

Mr Elliott added: “All the staff at these places are fully trained and all campervans will be identical to those built at our main factory in West Yorkshire.”

The expansion plan comes as Wellhouse Leisure prepares to unveil its latest vehicle at a leading industry show.

Wellhouse Leisure will debut its new conversion of a top model Hyundai i800 MPV next month at the Boat And Caravan Show in Birmingham.

The firm is confident that the i-camper, priced at £34,000, will find favour with holidaymakers choosing to stay in the UK this summer.

The conversion work includes a new heating system from Doncaster-based Webasto, a long-standing supplier to Wellhouse.

Mr Elliott said: “Because we’ve based the i-camper on a car rather than a van it already comes with a huge list of luxury kit such as air conditioning, six-speaker radio, reverse sensors and so on.

“However, by developing our own interior and water heating system with Webasto’s assistance, we’ve lifted the i800 into another league on a par or better than many equivalent spec Euro vans yet at a far cheaper cost.”

The latest developments follow a job-creating deal announced last autumn to build camper vans for Korean-based Hyundai. The agreement is expected to lift Wellhouse’s turnover by about £3m over the next two years.

Wellhouse Leisure is billed as the UK’s leading compact camper van converter. It already specialises in importing a wide range of Japanese vehicles for conversion into quality campers.

The company, which has about 30 employees, is also an official UK agent for leading German component supplier Reimo.

Mr Elliott said the latest developments put the company at the forefront of compact camper van manufacturing in the UK, adding: “2011 is already developing into a really exciting year for us.”