Celebrating 34 Years of Just Kampers – Part of the VW community since 1989

Celebrating 34 Years of Just Kampers – Part of the VW community since 1989

Written by the JK Team
Published 31 August 2023
Just Kampers

Just Kampers was set up by Mark Reynolds on 1 September 1989, which means we’ve been part of the VW community for 34 years! 

A quick thank you from Mark Reynolds

After 34 years, Mark Reynolds is still running Just Kampers and still as enthusiastic about all things Volkswagen. We caught up with Mark this week to ask him how he felt about JK turning 34, and he told us:

“It does feel a bit surreal that I’ve been running Just Kampers for so long, and to look back at where we started versus where we are now.

“When I set up Just Kampers the Berlin Wall was still standing (just), the German T2 Bay had only been out of production for 10 years, and T25 would still be being built for another three years.

“The world’s changed a lot since 1989, and so has Just Kampers, but we’ve been consistent over the years with our focus on supplying quality parts and only stocking things we’d fit on our own vehicles.

“This morning I was with ‘Workshop Mark’ fitting a fuel pump to an Oval owned by Caz and Shaun from the JK Team, to check the fit and quality before we added it to the JK range. JK might not be a garage anymore, but we’ve still got an on-site workshop and I’m still regularly getting my hands dirty in the JK workshop or my garage at home.

“It’s still really important that we only stock top quality parts, which is why you’ll sometimes find gaps in our range – if we can’t find a part at a quality and price we’re happy with, we won’t stock them because we know our customers won’t be happy with them, either!

“I’d like to say a big thank you on behalf of me and the Just Kampers team for your support over the years, and I’m looking forward to seeing what’s next for Just Kampers.”

Mark with his first VW Beetle, back the '80s

Mark now, still running JK after 34 years

A Brief History of Just Kampers

Mark Reynolds spent his 22nd birthday setting up Just Kampers, as he couldn’t get motor trader insurance before then.

Originally a workshop focussed on repairing and restoring VW campers, the first garage Mark worked out of was too small to close the doors if he was working on a T2 Bay, so he had to drape an old tarpaulin over the doors to keep the weather out!

Over the years we moved to larger and larger workshops, and then started to stock the parts which our customers were struggling to get hold of. After finding a treasure trove of New Old Stock VW parts in a cave in Malta back in 1993, Just Kampers started to transform into a parts seller and the rest, as they say, is history!

34 years since Just Kampers was set up, we’re now a leading supplier and manufacturer of Volkswagen parts and accessories, with happy customers around the world! 

Click here to read The JK Story and learn more about the history of Just Kampers.

1989: Just Kampers first workshop1989: Just Kampers first workshop
1989: Just Kampers first workshop
2002: The JK Kemperink2002: The JK Kemperink
2002: The JK Kemperink
2013: Preservation Parts is launched2013: Preservation Parts is launched
2013: Preservation Parts is launched
1993: A cave of NOS parts in Malta1993: A cave of NOS parts in Malta
1993: A cave of NOS parts in Malta
2008: Vancake, the World's Lowest Van2008: Vancake, the World's Lowest Van
2008: Vancake, the World's Lowest Van
2017: JK races in the Mille Miglia in Italy2017: JK races in the Mille Miglia in Italy
2017: JK races in the Mille Miglia in Italy
1999: Moving to JK HQ in Odiham1999: Moving to JK HQ in Odiham
1999: Moving to JK HQ in Odiham
2010: We launch Just Kampers Australia2010: We launch Just Kampers Australia
2010: We launch Just Kampers Australia
2022: Even more how-to videos filmed2022: Even more how-to videos filmed
2022: Even more how-to videos filmed
8 months ago