Anticipating a tough year at the start of the pandemic, Putzmeister Middle East sent a clear message of support and commitment to its employees, business partners and end users in the region. The priority would be to create a stronger people-centric environment to support all stakeholders via every channel available.
For starters, Putzmeister initiated web-based technical, sales and service training for its local partners and machine operator training for end users. The company also launched the Putzmeister Experts mobile app which provides data sheets, company news, calculators, and guidance on machine operation, maintenance and servicing.
Paul Bruns, regional director – Middle East and Africa, Putzmeister Middle East, says: “The COVID-19 crisis has challenged us economically as well as personally, but downsizing was never an option for us. We had the advantages of an established product portfolio customised for this region and well-trained service engineers within our dealer network to offer regular inspection, operator training and ensure high level of parts availability. Together, with our employees, we doubled down on improving customer relations and learned a lot over the past few months. We have grown closer to our business partners and customers despite the distance and have been able to make enormous gains in efficiency.”
New customer-centric initiatives were led by Putzmeister’s sales and service managers. For example, Khodor Ali Taki, product management and service manager at Putzmeister Middle East, organized web-based technical training sessions for dealers and end users, offered daily troubleshooting support remotely and created a WhatsApp group for customers to seek support.
“Customers appreciate the opportunity to have direct communication with the manufacturer, and Mr. Ali Taki is a well experienced and respected member of our team amongst our business partners and customers, adding huge value to our presence in the Middle East,” says Paul.
It was equally crucial to deliver equipment and spare parts on time despite logistical restrictions so that dealers would be able to fulfil orders.
Yazan Al Zoubi, parts manager at Putzmeister Middle East worked with Putzmeister’s business partners to expedite large shipments of parts shortly after the lock-down started in Europe in order to safeguard availability of parts in the region.
“We launched campaigns in our biggest markets to promote delivery of parts directly to our customers. Putzmeister also introduced a parts management system linking our dealers with our own central warehouse for better inventory control, which has improved our lead time,” says Paul.
Optimising customer relationship management paid off sooner than expected for Putzmeister. The manufacturer has had a successful 2020 in the Middle East in terms of product and market development, and the company’s actual sales has exceeded the forecast sales for 2020.
“We were able to gain market share during 2020 as we were able to sell more machines this year than we had budgeted in the beginning of the year. That is the result of a fantastic team effort including Putzmeister, our partners, and the local authorities who have done an amazing job in re-establishing the trust in a healthy economy within such a short period of time,” says Paul.
The Putzmeister Middle East team: Front row: Ardith de Lemos, assistant to the regional director. Back row (L-R): Mohammad Sabah, regional sales manager; Paul Bruns, regional director – Middle East and Africa; Yazan Al Zoubi, parts manager; and Khodor Ali Taki, service manager.
Product categories that performed exceptionally well for Putzmeister in 2020 include truck-mounted concrete pumps and transit mixers. This year, Putzmeister launched its heavy reinforced P10 HR and P 12 HR transit mixers in the Middle East, receiving an overwhelming response that led to the sale of 170 units in the region. Also, Putzmeister’s industrial pumps division recorded its first sale in the UAE.
Putzmeister concrete pumps operating in the UAE, Oman and Saudi Arabia.
“Truck-mounted concrete pumps continue to perform well in all markets due to their reliability, long-life wear parts and additional cooling capacity, which together result in low total cost of ownership. All Putzmeister truck-mounted pumps are equipped with ergonic output control (EOC), which significantly reduces fuel consumption. We were able to sell a good number of our new BSF 51-5.16 HLS pumps this year, which is equipped with a piling application. The robust machine design and the possibility to do piling jobs up to a depth of 20 meters without the need of a crane has been very well received by our customers,” says Paul.
The MEDCO team with the Putzmeister Dealer Award. (L-R): Emad Kharabsheh, national parts manager; Rami Dawoud, operations manager; Emad Mukhalalaty, commercial manager; Mohammed Khashoggi, owner; Faysal Abdullah, owner; and Russel Brooke, general manager.
In Saudi Arabia, Middle East Development Co. (MEDCO), the dealer of Putzmeister concrete pumps, managed to increase sales and market penetration of Putzmeister in the country.
Rami A. Dawoud, operations manager, MEDCO, explains, how the company navigated the crisis by expanding its sales staff and focusing on training rather than downsizing.
“We started the year out strong, but the onset of COVID-19 and the subsequent lockdown that followed dramatically slowed down our sales. The priority for us this year has been market share and area coverage. During this period, we invested in expanding our sales team and consequently increased our coverage. This gave us the ability to participate and aggressively compete for every deal in the market which has generated very positive results for us and Putzmeister, which also supported us to a great extent during this period and worked very closely with us in order to achieve our market share and sales goals,” says Rami.
“Another key factor was the continuous online training Putzmeister provided which greatly enhanced our product knowledge and our ability to support our customers. The end results of all the efforts are apparent in our sales figures: it looks like we will match if not exceed our sales of 2019,” he adds.
Rami expects 2021 to be a remarkably interesting for the heavy equipment industry as MEDCO enters the new year with a robust order book, on the back of several deals being closed in the last quarter of 2020.
“We see all the signs for 2021 to be a good recovery year for the heavy equipment industry, as we expect a lot of mega projects that were on the back burner in 2020 to resume next year. Projects such as NEOM, the Red Sea project and Qiddiya will shape the future market for not only concrete pumps but all heavy equipment. That said, everybody is cautious about a second wave of COVID-19 currently sweeping across Europe, and the market will bounce back as we get closer to releasing a vaccine, which we expect to be available in 2021,” says Rami.
Paul adds: “All in all, I think we have good reason to believe that the GCC markets will continue to thrive. With the Expo 2020 Dubai on track for October 2021 and progress in the Vison 2030 plans of the UAE and Saudi Arabia, there’s huge potential for growth in the sectors that we serve. The demand for concrete has stabilized, and we see good signs for recovery as projects materialize in 2021.”
Basim Elmelegy, product manager, and Alaa Akra, general manager, Zahid Industries, with the Putzmeister Dealer Award.
The appointment of Zahid Industries as the new dealer of Putzmeister transit mixers in Saudi Arabia in mid-2020 has been instrumental in the sale of over 150 units in less than six months.
Zahid Industries is a manufacturing division of the Zahid Group which produces superstructures such as concrete mixers, tippers, tankers, reefers, bulkers, and trailers, along with the assembly of electrical control panels, sound attenuated units, and niche drilling products for the oil industry.
Alaa Akra, general manager, Zahid Industries, says: “Delivering such a large quantity of mixer trucks in a few months is an achievement for us as well as an indication of the market potential. Zahid Industries and Putzmeister are reputable brands and our association has met with a favourable market response, which was more pronounced considering the COVID-19 crisis and that it was our first offering of Putzmeister transit mixers in Saudi Arabia. Our unique offering is our neutral ability to assemble and mount the mixers on any truck brand operating in the market.”
Paul says: “We introduced Putzmeister transit mixers in the Middle East in 2017, launching them in Kuwait, and now they’re available in Saudi Arabia. We approached Zahid Industries looking for a strong partner that had the experience in the localization strategy for Vision 2030 and also had a customer base in Saudi Arabia’s heavy-duty truck market. Strategically, this is a beneficial association for Putzmeister because of Zahid Group’s market leadership, dedication, and expertise. We’ve received an overwhelming response in Saudi Arabia, and we look forward to a long-term, successful partnership with Zahid Industries.”
Putzmeister transit mixers are imported from Germany into Saudi Arabia as semi knocked-down components and then assembled at Zahid Industries’ factory in Jeddah. The 150 transit mixers sold thus far are the P12 heavy reinforced (HR) models.
Basim Elmelegy, product manager, Zahid Industries, says: “The customers investing in heavy reinforced models are ready-mix companies operating in harsh construction and off-road environments, and they require drum capacities that can help optimize the delivery time from the batching plant to site.”
Putzmeister transit mixers trace their lineage to Intermix, the Germany-based concrete equipment manufacturer of concrete mixers that Putzmeister acquired in 2012. Since then, the integration between the two companies has accelerated the production of Putzmeister mixers at a rate of 5 percent, annually. The transit mixers are consistently built as standard with boron/magnesium steel. This heat-treated steel offers high wear protection and ensures a long service life. The Putzmeister P 12 HR version weighs 5,700 kg and is built for rough road conditions.
According to Harald Schmidt, sales director, Intermix, the following technical features make Putzmeister/Intermix mixers superior to their closest competitors – an optimized drum geometry, increased water volume as a safety reserve for liquid concrete, low point of gravity for safe transport, low construction of the mixing device, enlarged platform with ergonomic railing, simple and safe cleaning, grating closed at the bottom as a knee splash guard, and closed mixer frame.
“The mixer capacities supplied in the Middle East and Africa are similar to those in Europe. However, the product design of the mixers has been adapted for the conditions in the MEA region,” says Harald.
Basim says: “In addition to having German technology, Putzmeister transit mixers have features that cater to specific customer needs in Saudi Arabia, such as slump meters to help drivers monitor the concrete inside the mixers without the need for physical inspection and the facility to add water from both sides of the mixer.”
Basim shares his outlook for 2021: “Demand for trucks is certainly increasing from the construction sector, mainly housing projects. However, new orders and deliveries will depend on the COVID situation and how it affects businesses next year. Having performed exceptionally well this year in the mixer truck category, we expect considerable growth in 2021.”
