Caravans International
By 1963, Alper had founded Caravans International, which had purchased the Eccles and Bluebird Caravans brands, and distributed these and the Sprite brand to Europe, South Africa, Canada and the United States. In 1966 Caravans International won the Queen's Awards for Enterprise and Alper was made OBE for his services to exports.
Soon there were several models in different sizes. The Sprite 400 was designed to be towed by smaller family cars such as the Volkswagen Beetle. Originally launched in 1960 it went through several incarnations until being withdrawn in 1976 but made a brief reappearance in 1985.
In 1970 Caravans International decided to cater for the small car owner and introduced the Sprite Cadet, just 8' 6" long and with a door located unusually at the rear. It had a small wardrobe, basic kitchen and compact small dinette at the front. Designed to sell at £227 the model was first launched with a large plastic roof vent which soon earned it the name of the bubble-top. After one season the model was withdrawn and launched again for the 1971 season with a new sleeker shell.
Alper served as Treasurer and then Chairman of the National Caravan Council, the industry body, for many years. He was also among those who set up the European Caravan Federation and served as president for almost a decade. Recognising the up and down nature of the caravan industry and its seasonal character Alper spread his interests further, developing the first successful table football game, Soccerette, he built yachts for a time and was also responsible for the first popular brand of roadside diner in Britain.
The recession of the 1980s took a heavy toll on the British caravan industry, and in 1982 Caravans International went into liquidation. The rights to the various brands were sold to Hull based Cosalt, who kept the CI brand but renamed the division Cosalt International. Cosalt today still manufacture static caravans under the CI brand, but sold the touring caravan business to Swift Leisure.
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