Construction World Septemer 2017

EARTHMOVING

The latest on offer from SDLG is the new F-series wheeled loader.

BUILDING A BRAND Construction World recently spoke to SDLG marketing communications manager for sales region EMEA, Magnus Rieger, and regional manager – export region, for Babcock International, Grant Sheppard – about the SDLG range of construction equipment distributed and maintained in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique by Babcock International,

from China and if they break, they die there. This is largely due to the spec variances sold to them compared to what we sell and support.” Selling across border It is interesting to note that the majority of machines that SDLG sells across the South African border, are sold to South African-based companies. “The majority of blue chip companies buy and register the machine here and export it themselves. This gives them the right to bring it back into the country again. Exporting a unit that is bought in a neighbouring country requires costly red tape.” says Sheppard. When machines are bought in South Africa and transported to a destination, SDLG has six branches throughout the southern African region (outside South Africa) to maintain and support these machines. Sheppard explains that repairs can range from a Vehicle off Road (VOR) breakdown that can be fixed on site to more serious breakdowns where the vehicle will either be repaired on site (if the job site has the facilities for this) or at the workshop of the country branch. Marketing the brand “Babcock’s ability to support SDLG goes a long way,” says Sheppard. “Customers buy the machine for maximum uptime. When a machine breaks down, it is about how quickly you can repair the product. Our back-up is our strength.”

SDLG is the number one brand of wheeled loaders in China, and SDLG products are now available on six continents and in over 38 countries with production increasing yearly and new markets opening up as technology develops. Volvo Construction Equipment acquired SLDG in 2006. Babcock, which distributes and delivers an aftermarket support capability to various OEMs (including Volvo), was awarded the dealership for SDLG in 2011, explains Sheppard. Building a new brand “Since being appointed as the regional distributor for SDLG, Babcock, who handles the sales and aftermarket support, has been building the SDLG brand in southern Africa,” says Rieger, who was in South Africa visiting customer sites where SDLG machines are being put through their paces. “All of the sites we visited have made repeat purchases which attest to SDLG’s quality and the service support by Babcock meeting customer requirements and standards. SDLG’s pay-off line, ‘Reliability

in Action’ summarises just that.” Rieger says, “We supply robust products, based on well-proven technology, with excellent

aftermarket support.” Strategic partner

“The SDLG product is a good complement to the products that are produced by Volvo. We can broaden the scope of the products we offer when it comes to different customers. In that sense it is strategic,” says Rieger. “Most premium brands (vehicles or equipment) have developed value brands to enter a market segment which they have not occupied before. The ‘strategic partnership’ is to find avenues to increase turnover in a growing market. By doing that, they strengthen their presence in the market

as a group,” Sheppard elaborates. Chinese brands in Africa

Sheppard says that African countries outside southern African are susceptible to sub-standard Chinese products. “There are contractors who use inferior equipment

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CONSTRUCTION WORLD SEPTEMBER 2017