Dragan Krznaric, Middle East business director for CNH Industrial’s construction equipment arm, explains what it takes to coordinate the regional activities of the Case and New Holland brands.
What does your role involve?
As CNH’s business director for the Middle East, I have full responsibility for the Case and New Holland construction equipment businesses across the region. At a local level, this involves sales, marketing, and dealer development. However, I also have to liaise with our head office to coordinate production and corporate functions.
What do you love most about your job?
My team and I represent both CNH’s regional office, which works on the front line with our local channel partners, and the company’s head office. We have to work to ensure that the products and services offered by CNH match the requirements of end users in the Middle East. This can be challenging, but it’s also what I love most about my job. I enjoy the fact that our environment is constantly developing. Everything changes so quickly. This is true for our operations, our competitors’ activities, and the market in general.
What has been your most memorable project and why?
CNH has achieved so much since I joined the company in 2013, that it’s difficult to choose just one project. On balance, I would say that the most satisfactory element of my job so far has been the development of our dealer network in the Middle East. If I were to single out a project, it would probably be the opening of CNH’s Dubai office, which took place in March of this year.
What is the most challenging thing about your job?
This landscape is always changing, not least in terms of the specific requirements of local end users. In turn, these are reflected by the requirements of our dealers. These needs must be met within the relatively firmly-established production and support framework that exists across our international facilities. The need to match the requirements of Middle Eastern customers with the practicalities of production can be quite challenging. It’s a matter of marrying international processes with local practices.
Where do you see the construction industry in five years?
I think it’s becoming increasingly clear that the crisis is behind us. All of the Middle Eastern markets in which CNH is active are continuing to improve. Over the coming five years, numerous exciting projects will take place across the region, spurred by events such as Expo 2020 in Dubai, and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. An array of infrastructure initiatives are also taking place in countries such as Saudi Arabia and Oman. It’s easy to be optimistic about the market at present.
