Modern Mining September 2016

COVER STORY

Scania’s thrust into mining

Scania’s trucks have made massive inroads into coal mining while solid gains have also been recorded in Sweden, Russia, Brazil and Australia, which are all countries with large mining sectors.” She notes that progress has been slightly slower in South Africa. “Although we have about 400 mining spec vehicles out in the field, the implementation of our mining strategy only moved into top gear just over a year ago,” she says. “Since then, we’ve made rapid progress and we’re now poised to reap the benefits. Not only do we have a product range that is excep- tionally strong – our marketing slogan is that we have a Scania for every stage of mining – but we’ve also ensured that we have the parts and service backup, the technicians and the train- ing facilities to support the thrust into mining.” She adds that while the mining industry is currently in recession, Scania’s focus is on the long-term. “As befits a group with a 125‑year history, Scania is not interested – either glob- ally or here in South Africa – in a short-term engagement with the mining industry. We want to be partnering with mining customers for decades to come. We’re not deterred by the present downturn as we fully understand that

Celebrating its 125th anniversary this year, Scania – the global manufacturer of trucks, buses and engines founded in Sweden in 1891 – took the decision several years ago to target the world’s major mining markets. In response to this new strategy, Scania South Africa, which serves the key Southern African mining region, has been working hard to ensure that it has the product line-up, the people and the infrastructure in place to provide an all-encom- passing service to the mining industry. Modern Mining recently spoke to Becky Smith, Scania South Africa’s Gen- eral Manager: Mining, to learn more about the company’s mining strategy and offering.

P roviding an update on Scania’s penetration into mining globally, Smith says it has been highly suc- cessful. “Scania’s move into min- ing has taken place during a period which has seen the resources sector around the world being impacted by falling commodity prices,” she says. “Despite this, it has managed to establish a significant mining ‘footprint’ in a number of key markets. In India, for example,

Scania South Africa high- lighted its mining range at the recent Electra Mining 2016 show.

18  MODERN MINING  September 2016