Right from the off, Greger Jacobson is testing my journalistic capabilities. I’m faced with an immediate problem, and one that I have never before encountered. I don’t know how to introduce him.
When we met for our interview, he was the chairman and owner of HIAB Middle East. Today, he’s the chairman and owner of Thor. But Jacobson’s job remains the same as it was before. He hasn’t swapped companies; rather, company names.
I’m going to begin with a little exposition, but stick with me on this. It’s the backstory of Thor that makes the fledgling equipment brand so intriguing.
Take, for example, the history of Jacobson himself. The Thor head spent a decade on the senior management team of Swedish manufacturer, HIAB. In September 2014, Jacobson purchased one of the company’s largest subsidiaries, HIAB Middle East, on the proviso that he would continue to act as its exclusive regional distributor.
In the meantime, Jacobson and his colleagues decided that they wanted to offer third-party manufactured equipment to supplement their principal’s range. Consequently, as of this 2015, HIAB Middle East will be known as Thor. The company will continue to act as the exclusive regional distributor for HIAB whilst simultaneously supplying additional equipment lines under the Thor brand.
Confused? Well perhaps Jacobson is a test too far for my powers of explanation. This is how he explained the situation.
“It’s not necessarily a brand change; we are still the authorised, exclusive dealer for HIAB across the Middle East, Africa, and even in parts of India and Pakistan,” he told me.
“We’re not going to change the brand in that sense.
“HIAB is HIAB; it’s a strong brand and we will continue to work with the company. What we’re doing is adding a number of complementary products for customers operating in the same segments. These are products that customers have been asking for,” explained Jacobson.
Essentially, Thor exists because Jacobson and his colleagues don’t want to say no when their clients request products that HIAB doesn’t manufacture. The Swedish firm focuses exclusively on the lifting equipment sector – a decision that its former employee understands. As a dealer, however, Jacobson doesn’t want his customers shopping elsewhere.
“Our ambition is to supply high-quality equipment to supplement the HIAB range,” he explained.
“Thor products will be designed to the required specifications in Sweden, and we will source parts of the required quality from the global market. We are actually looking into conducting the final assembly here in the GCC,” he revealed.
This forms part of Jacobson’s broader strategy to retain Thor’s Swedish roots, but plant fresh ones in the Middle East. He contends that in order to establish itself in this market, his company must demonstrate its commitment to the local economy.
“If we want to prove that we’re serious about becoming a player in the Middle East, we need to show that we’re not just a trading company,” he commented.
“I don’t want to be a company that operates from a small office, booking and sending invoices but nothing more. Thor will be an active part of the GCC’s industrial sector.
“Right now, we’re considering several possibilities. We haven’t yet made the final decision, but I think that we’ll most likely set up a distribution centre in Dubai. In turn, we’re in talks with SOHAR Port and Freezone in Oman with an eye on an assembly plant,” revealed Jacobson.
The decision to establish a GCC assembly facility would certainly send a signal to the market. Thor might source the components for its machines from third parties, but this is a company committed to high-quality, local production. As Jacobson explained, it doesn’t matter where the pieces come from; it’s the design and quality assurance procedures that ensure quality.
“The Swedish mentality is about under-promising and over-delivering,” he said.
“If I say that one of my machines can lift two tonnes, as a Swedish designer, I want it to lift three. Nobody should be able to come back to me and say that my product can’t do what I said it could. As a Swede, if I promise something, you can bet your life that I’ll deliver on that promise.
“Where exactly the components are manufactured is less important to me. As long as I know that they are of sufficient quality, I’m satisfied. Motorists, for example, aren’t so interested in where their headlights are produced, so long as they know they work.
“Providing that the quality of Thor products continues to exceed people’s expectations, our customers will be happy,” added Jacobson.
The first pieces of Thor equipment – a three-tonne forklift and a truck-mounted access platform – were unveiled during HIAB Middle East’s 2014 partner conference at the end of October. Encouragingly for Jacobson, the brand’s youth doesn’t appear to be dissuading potential partners from courting its name.
“The Thor brand has been extremely well received,” he said.
“It’s getting far more attention than we were expecting. What’s interesting is that local firms are asking to rebrand their equipment under the Thor banner.
“Our Omani dealer, Hydrotec, for instance, is producing its own skip loaders. The firm now wants to repackage them under the Thor brand. Of course, before we agree to this, we must ensure that the quality of the product meets our standards. Even so, this is amazing to me; the fact that Thor is garnering this level of recognition so quickly,” observed Jacobson.
The Thor boss concedes that whilst he is perfectly comfortable sourcing components from third parties, this business structure means that he and his team must adopt extremely stringent quality assurance processes.
“We cannot adopt anything under the Thor brand unless we are absolutely certain that it’s good enough,” he warned.
“Our products have to live up to our promises. To build a brand takes years; to destroy it takes seconds. If we introduce a product under the Thor brand name and it turns out not to be of sufficient quality, we will undo all of our hard work.
“It’s really encouraging to see the strength of feeling behind this young brand, but we have to keep our guard up. I’m a firm believer that Sweden still has a strong name on the global stage. It stands for quality. When customers hear that a product is designed in Sweden, they are confident that it’s been built to last. With Thor, we are committed to upholding this reputation,” said Jacobson.
Excited though he undoubtedly was about the Thor brand, Jacobson was equally clear that the future of his young company lies with HIAB. He was candid about the fact that in his former role, he had not always agreed with the strategic decisions of the Swedish manufacturer. Indeed, he conceded that this had – in part – influenced his decision to purchase HIAB Middle East.
Even so, Jacobson was absolutely clear that he and his team remain committed to their principal, and are supremely confident in the quality of HIAB’s product range.
“Thor and HIAB stand for the same values,” he emphasised.
“There will always be issues about which you disagree, but the fundamentals – a high-quality Swedish brand that keeps its promises – are identical. We share the same core principles.
“Everything points to the fact that this is the ideal juncture for Thor to enter the Middle East market. After all, we’re not doing business between companies; we’re doing business between people. Our customers already know our people and they want to do business with us,” Jacobson concluded.
It’s no exaggeration to say that the Thor chief is one of the most interesting individuals I’ve interviewed during my tenure as PMV editor. He has come full circle – from manufacturer to distributor, and back to manufacturer.
What’s more, despite having only just launched the Thor brand, his commitment to local production could soon make him a captain of GCC industry.
There can be no denying that Thor has made quite an entrance on the GCC stage. It’s now up to Jacobson and his colleagues to hammer home their early advantage.
Jacobson and his colleagues gave Thor its regional debut at HIAB Middle East’s 2014 partner conference in Dubai, UAE [December 2014, PMV]. The team showcased a Thor-branded forklift and a truck-mounted access platform alongside HIAB’s latest GCC offerings.
Considering the fact that they are complete newcomers to the market, the Thor machines received an incredibly warm reception. Just minutes after its unveiling, for example, HIAB’s Omani dealer, Hydrotec, sold one of Thor’s three-tonne forklift trucks over the phone.
The lightning-fast deal was closed by the firm’s managing director, Clifford Sanctis. As the Hydrotec boss explained, he has high hopes for Thor in the GCC.
“I predict that the Thor concept will be very profitable,” he told PMV following the sale.
“This is competitively priced, high-quality machinery, so I expect it to be extremely popular,” he commented.
Sanctis’ client didn’t even ask to see the machine before agreeing to the sale – a reflection of both his trust in Jacobson and his customer’s trust in him.
“I am convinced of the quality of Thor equipment, but the brand is new to the market,” he explained.
“People trust Hydrotec, not the product. Whatever Hydrotec sells, they know that it’s going to be of high quality,” Sanctis added.
The Omani dealer’s enthusiasm for the Thor brand doesn’t appear to have lessened since the 2014 partner conference. Sanctis and Jacobson are now in talks to rebrand one of Hydrotec’s skip loader models under the Thor banner.
Despite its youth, it appears that the Norse name is already garnering cachet in the GCC market.
