As PMV Middle East celebrates 100 issues it is only fitting that we pay tribute to some of the editorial and commercial partners that have staunchly supported the publication over the past decade, and who continue to lend their support, through thick and thin, as the magazine continues on its journalistic journey.
Volvo CE
Volvo CE has been active in the Middle East for several decades through a dealer network that today stretches from Turkey through to Pakistan, covering every country in the GCC with dedicated dealers.
The Volvo Group Middle East regional offices were opened in 2006 in Jebel Ali, Dubai, UAE, with a regional parts distribution centre and a regional competence development centre to train dealers and operators in optimal machine usage and productivity through the use of Volvo’s CareTrack telematics system, site simulations and Volvo simulators.
“We have come a long way from being a niche supplier with market share in the single digits to a major player in the Middle Eastern construction equipment industry,” says Shahir El Essawy, MEA business director for Volvo CE.
“Today we are well positioned in the different markets and able to support customers in almost all segments. The future is about further collaboration with our customers to help them achieve the highest levels of jobsite efficiency and profitability in an environmental friendly way.”
Projects involving Volvo CE equipment have included: the Palm Islands in Dubai; the Mecca-Medina Haramain railway and Manifa Islands in Saudi Arabia; the Saudi-Oman highway; Duqm Port and the Batinah Express Way in Oman; and the Orbital Highway, Lusail City and Doha port projects in Qatar.
SDLG
SDLG started its business in the ME region in 2010 with same dealers that Volvo has had since the mid-1960s. Since then the brand has seen steady growth in its wheeled loaders, before extending its range to include backhoe loaders, rollers and graders in 2014, leading to 60% volume growth in 2015.
“We strongly believe that we will gain market share with our robust and reliable wheeled loader range and other products, focusing even more on the small– to medium–sized companies that want the toughness they need at a price they can afford — SDLG is reliability in action,” says Magnus Rieger, communication manager for SDLG EMEA.
CASE CE
The Case brand has been present in Middle East since the 1950s. Today, Case is present across the Middle East through a distributor network, and supported by a regional representative office that was opened in 2014 in Dubai to increase the support to its partners and customers in Middle East. The coming year will in turn see a new phase for Case with the opening of regional parts warehouse.
“Case has expanded its geographical presence to all major markets in the Middle East and Africa and extended its product range to suit local requirements. Most importantly, we have strengthened the capacity of aftermarket support for machines operated by our customers,” says Dragan Krznaric, MEA manager for Case CE, CNH Industrial.
“The time and effort invested into our distributor network in the region in the past few years, alongside product launches, provide a solid base from which we look forward to continuing our growth. The near future might be challenging due to various macro-economic and political issues, but with new products ready to be launched and new tools and facilities to enhance our aftermarket support coming online, we are optimistic about the future.”
Doosan
Doosan-Bobcat has long been present in the region with a modest operation, but in 2007 it established a more significant operation in JAFZA in order to cover the whole Middle East.
Today, 15 people serve the Doosan and Bobcat dealership network across the MENA region, supported by the recently and we established parts distribution centre in Dubai.
Bobcat is a leader in the compact business with its offering of skid-steer loaders, compact track loaders, compact excavators and telescopic handlers. The brand remains a reference in the market for loaders and continues to push for similar brand recognition in its other product segments. Doosan is also confirming its reputation in heavy machinery and growing its business in many countries.
“We expect to maintain leading position in a growing market in MEA. Despite some turbulences due to oil prices and politic instability, we believe things will be back to normal and this region will keep growing in the future,” says Gaby Rhayem, regional director for MENA, Doosan Infracore CE.
“By hiring the right people, appointing the right dealers and developed the right products, Doosan-Bobcat has developed a firm presence in the region, and today has factories dedicated to producing machines designed in response to regional requests and specifically configured for the MEA region.”
GENAVCO
GENAVCO was founded in 1967 by Juma Al Majid, following the establishment of the Juma Al Majid Group in 1950, and today is a leading UAE companies in the supply of commercial vehicles and equipment for construction, material handling, generation and lubricants.
GENAVCO also caters to needs across construction, industry and oil and gas, but a particular highlight in the growth and development of the company has been the establishment of the Wirtgen Group as the top brand in the road construction equipment segment in the UAE.
The company’s products have recently been used at Dubai Airport, Al Maktoum Airport and major highway projects in Abu Dhabi.
“While GENAVCO has operated in the UAE for more than 48 years, the company is still young in its willingness to take on new opportunities and expand,” says GM Asif Khan.
“There are various construction projects linked to 2020 EXPO and we foresee an increase in the demand for construction equipment in the coming years. We are also seeing see a continuous and promising increase in material handling equipment requirements.”
JCB
JCB sold its first machines into the Middle East exactly 50 years ago, and so is also marking a substantial milestone in the region with 2016.
The machines sold back then were two backhoe loaders — the archetypal JCB product that continue to be popular in the region today thanks to the brand’s focus on innovation.
In recent years, JCB’s growth in the region has accelerated — leading to the establishment in 2007 of a regional office in Dubai.
“JCB has well established relationships with its distributors and customers across the Middle East,” says Steve Ryder, regional sales manager for the Middle East at JCB.
“The regional office and parts distribution centre provide the foundation for our success in the region, an in turn deliver support and guidance to our network of distributors, many of whom have been selling JCB equipment for more than 20 years.”
Though a market leader with its backhoe loaders and ‘Loadall’ telescopic handlers, JCB has over 300 different types of machines in its range, including tracked and wheeled excavators, skid–steer and track loaders, mini– and midi–excavators, rough–terrain forklifts, wheel loaders and articulated dump trucks.
JCB equipment has supported the delivery of sea ports, metro systems, housing and other social infrastructure across the Middle East — with its products all the while maintaining excellent residual value.
MAN Truck & Bus
Since 2006, MAN Truck & Bus Middle East has been the regional representative of MAN Truck & Bus — the largest company of the Munich, Germany-headquartered MAN Group — which itself celebrated a staggering 100 years of commercial vehicle manufacture in 2015.
MAN Truck & Bus Middle East operates through a network of dealers and importers in 14 countries across the region and the local coordination office for sales and aftersales support located in Dubai Airport Free Zone.
“MAN has a longstanding presence in the region, and together with our valued distributors we have earned a well-founded reputation as an innovative and reliable commercial vehicles manufacturer delivering high quality products to our customers in various industries,” notes Franz von Redwitz, MD for MAN Truck & Bus Middle East.
“As we look ahead to the future, we re-dedicate ourselves to maintaining this wonderful heritage by continuing to support our customers’ transportation requirements with leading industry products and services.”
While expecting a slight slowdown in the construction market where its real strength lies, MAN Truck & Bus is confident that the benefits of its long-haul product in terms of total cost of ownership, uptime and fuel consumption will continue to draw customers.
“Our successful implementation of public buses for both RTA in Dubai and DoT in Abu Dhabi have given us great credibility in this field,” continues Von Redwitz.
“In 2015, we were able to supply a series of 144 city buses for a completely new Public Transport System in Bahrain. At the same time, we have secured an order to supply 250 Low Floor City Buses for Riyadh’s new Public Transport System to be commissioned in 2017.”
JLG
JLG established regional operations in the Middle East in 2008 with three people covering the GCC and South Africa. Today, eleven sales and service staff have extended coverage into Turkey, the Caspian Region and across Africa through 3rd party distribution.
“We realise the importance of having strong partnerships with established reliable local partners that know their individual markets which can vary so greatly in a broad region like the one we cover,” says Ewan MacAngus, developing markets director at JLG Industries.
“Through strong partners and good support from the OEM, we endeavour to provide best-in-class support for all facets of the business. As an OEM, JLG cannot always provide the best solutions to the end user on every project, but with local partners — whether they be rental or distribution — we can.”
While focusing on the ever-present need for continuous improvement in the industry, JLG also sees Iraq and Iran as interesting opportunities, and has high expectations for the performance of its range of telescopic handlers and hybrid access platforms in these markets.
Iveco
Iveco’s present day operations in the Middle East date back to a Magirus Deutz office established in Cairo in 1950 ahead of the merger to form Iveco Magirus in 1975. Today, Iveco is in Cairo and Dubai, employing 15 people across for the moment, but with plans to grow this number substantially in the next future.
Iveco has also experienced a 30% increase in its overall sales over the last three years, driven in particular by the success of the heavy-duty Astra truck brand in Oman.
Galfar Engineering & Contracting SAOG, the main contractor in Oman, owns a fleet of more than 400 Iveco units across the Trakker and Astra HD brands, and in 2015, the group sold 207 Trakkers with tippers to work on a site preparation at the Duqm Refinery in Oman.
In Saudi Arabia, several logistic companies have large fleets of Stralis long-distance freight trucks, while in Egypt, Arab Contactors Mixer have more than 60 Iveco units for use in construction projects. Iveco’s business in the region has also included the sale of 1,275 Daily crew cabs and panel vans and 385 Eurocargo ML180 trucks with cranes and lifting platforms to the Ministry of Electricity of Iraq.
“Iveco is the only truck manufacturer that provides the full range of on-road and off-road applications in the Middle East,” says Luca Sra, MEA head for Iveco and global CEO for Astra.
“Iveco is also a leader in promoting the sustainable transport, and we trust that we will be able to tackle the upcoming opportunities in the green economy with Iveco’s full range of CNG-fuelled vehicles in the next future.”
Emirates Motor Company (EMC)
Emirates Motor Company (EMC) was established as the distributor for Mercedes-Benz in Abu Dhabi in 1962 and reflects the growth and success of Al Fahim family across the region.
EMC Daimler CV has one of the largest aftersales and maintenance facilities in support of the large Mercedes-Benz CV population.
“We are the only distributor with an alignment machine for tractor-trailers in Abu Dhabi,” says Bilal Al Ribi, GM of Emirates Motor Company Daimler Commercial Vehicles.
“This is but one investment as part of our preventive maintenance offering, enabling quick check-ups and adjustments thanks to the measuring system’s speed and precision.”
Competitive cost-per-km aftersales agreements have further enhanced the level of support provided to fleet owners and operators, and EMC recently signed with Al Hilal Takaful Insurance Company warranties for Daimler light commercial vehicles of up to five years.
Al Ribi adds: “Through Eastern Motors, we also provide buses, from city buses to coaches and smaller buses, and this is a segment we are looking to expand on in the future.”
TEREX CRANES
Terex Cranes been in the Middle East for decades, historically serving customers through its American Hoist, P&H, Demag brands.
In early 2013, Terex Cranes shifted towards a market driven approach, serving its customers with local staff for sales and support to improve uptime and return of investment.
There have been many highlights over the years as one of the prime suppliers of lifting solutions, including the delivery of a Terex CC 8800–1 Twin, the largest crawler crane in the world with a lifting capacity of 3,200 tonnes to Al Jaber Heavy lift, based in Abu Dhabi, as well as the delivery of a Terex AC 1000, one of the largest roadable all-terrain cranes in the world, to Integrated Logistics of Kuwait.
DAIMLER
DaimlerChrysler Middle East was established as a cross-divisional entity in Dubai in 1998 — becoming Daimler Middle East & Levant only in 2008 following the demerger from Chrysler.
At the end of 2014, the decision was split the sales structure for commercial vehicles and passenger cars and aligning them more closely with the relevant target groups, leading to the launch earlier this year of Daimler Commercial Vehicles MENA, which now has 62 employees from 19 different countries — working across sales, aftersales and parts activities through the network of distributors.
Highlights in 2015 were the launch of the new medium–duty (FA–, FI–series) and heavy–duty truck range (FJ–, FZ–series) of Fuso, which is designed and built to enhance our customer’s profitability.
Besides this, there was a significant sales increase of the automated Mercedes-Benz PowerShift transmission in the Actros range, facilitating fuel efficiency, safety and driving comfort. In Q1 2016 DCV will launch the new Vito, complementing its existing van range.
The three biggest markets in the MENA region for Daimler Commercial Vehicles are the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt — accounting for approximately two thirds of all deliveries.
Between 2011 and 2014, the unit sales of trucks, buses and vans in the region grew by an average of 23% annually to 45,900 group sales units in 2014 in the region, catering to the main industries of construction and transportation, but also the oil and gas, retail and public services segments in the region.
The Mercedes-Benz Actros continues to enjoy its reputation of power, reliability and safety of many years in the Middle East and all over the world. More than 80,000 Actros have been sold in the region and their owners continue to rely on them even after hundreds of thousands of kilometres in operation under the harshest and most challenging conditions.
Gorica Group
Gorica Trading was established in Dubai to import truck trailers into the UAE in 1990 in a move that led to the establishment of local fabrication in 1998 with Gorica Industries.
Gorica founder Ivan Fornazaric, first conducted a feasibility study for the manufacture of 30 trailers in Sharjah back in the 1980s.
Today, Gorcia makes 300 each month, and with local operations in Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, has established itself as an iconic provider of tippers and other vehicle bodies to the GCC’s heavy haulage industry.
The Gorica Group supplies a diverse range of products into separately the construction, logistics, oil and gas, municipal waste, and food processing and distribution segments.
Since 2007, it has also been producing refrigerated trailers based on the Krone reefer.
“Each of our focus sectors has its ups and downs depending on the period and specific year, but we see growth opportunities in all of the sectors due to the increased in population and new projects fuelled by governments and private investments,” says Fornazaric.
“Growth will come with regulations on the maximum gross vehicle weights and similarly on the transportation of food and perishable goods in refrigerated semi-trailers.”
Volvo Trucks
Volvo Trucks Middle East was established in 2006 and now operates in 13 different countries with an extensive importer and distributor network and more than 70 employees.
Volvo’s facility in Jebel Ali Freezone is 47,500m2 in size and encompasses the regional parts distribution centre and a regional competence development centre for Volvo Trucks, Volvo Construction Equipment and Volvo Buses.
Since 2006, aside from developing its dealer network across different parts of the Middle East, Volvo Trucks has launched I-Shift Gearbox – the first transmission of its kind which has been specifically designed for heavy long haulage and construction applications.
It offers up to 7% fuel efficiency, especially when combined with Volvo Trucks’ leading aerodynamics features and services such as Dynafleet, to ensure minimal internal energy loss while optimising fuel consumption.
Meanwhile, Volvo’s driver development programme keeps safety at its core to ensure that truck drivers of every nationality in the region, have a universal language of safety behind the wheel. Another highlight for the business was the launch of its latest trucks at Yas Marina Circuit in 2014.
Shantui
Shantui Construction Machinery was established in Dubai in 2005 with 26 staff to support 18 regional dealers on sales, spare parts and aftersales across 26 countries in the MENA and South Asia area.
As one of the top 50 manufacturers of construction equipment in the world, Shantui provided much of the muscle that helped give rise to China’s spectacular economic development in last decade.
Since then, its growing number of oversea subsidiaries and dealers around the world have been one of the most significant elements of Shantui’s more recent efforts to refocus on its distribution channels and on improving its sales and service network to fully exploit global markets.
With its extensive construction machinery product line, Shantui has met different clients’ needs from different regions by catering to the construction requirements of all different types of conditions.
In the UAE, Shantui equipment has been involved on projects including: the Dubai Global Village expansion, the Jebel Ali Port expansion, Mohammad Bin Rashid City, Dubai Eye, the Port of Fujairah expansion, the Sharjah Government Taween Project, Damac’s Akoya Project; and in Qatar, the New Hamad Seaport.
