Capital Equipment News January 2017

Raimo Lehtiö is the new MD of Scania South Africa.

SCANIA’S GROWTH DRIVER

Already holding a very strong share of the southern African truck market, Scania is gunning to be the number one truck and bus supplier in the region. Top of key initiatives to further grow the brand’s position in the region is the recent appointment of Raimo Lehtiö as the MD of Scania South Africa, a proven specialist in market share growth, especially in tough trading conditions. Munesu Shoko gets a lowdown of his plans to further drive Scania’s growth, as well as his outlook of the local truck market.

Scan QR code to watch the interview

Very often we talk about products, but the majority of customers rank service highly in their buying decisions. We have a very good network in the places we are present but more often, especially in construction and mining, you must be even closer to the customer. That’s why we have mobile service capabilities, container workshops to allow us to go into mines and remote construction sites where our customers are operating. Uptime is very important for our customers, especially in the current difficult trading environment. MS: You are coming in a time when the local truck market is not enjoying the best of times, but you have a track record

are positioning ourselves even closer to our customers to be able to take care of all their needs. This has been extended to in-house financing and insurance. The service package to support the customer is the major driver for the company. Service packages vary from case to case but overall we have a total offering for every customer.

Munesu Shoko (MS): You have taken the reins at Scania South Africa. What is your biggest task in your new role? Raimo Lehtiö (RL): Continued profitable growth is the major task at hand. This will be achieved through a strong focus on a number of crucial aspects of our business. Our total solutions package will be the basis of our envisaged growth. We

CAPITAL EQUIPMENT NEWS JANUARY 2017 32