What are the reasons behind the closure of the Doosan Heavy production plant in Belgium?
I joined Doosan Bobcat EMEA from the automotive industry in 2010 as vice president for regional operations, just as the construction equipment industry started to recover from the crisis in 2008/09. I became EMEA president for Doosan Bobcat in 2012.
When I arrived at the company, I helped to implement changes to update our factories — especially our plant in Frameries, where part of our excavator range was produced.
By introducing the latest technology and manufacturing methods, we successfully increased productivity, as we prepared for what we believed would be a fast recovery in the construction equipment market in EMEA.
Unfortunately the perceived industry growth did not materialise as expected and today, six years later, sales volumes in EMEA are still only 65% of what they were at the end of 2007 in the heavy construction machinery sector and 75% for the compact equipment market, respectively. So despite the success we had in lowering costs and raising output at Frameries, the lower market demand for excavators in Europe meant that it was no longer cost efficient to carry on production at this site and Frameries was closed in 2015.
In May 2016, Doosan Bobcat EMEA also announced plans to close its headquarters in Belgium. What was the reasons for this?
This important strategic decision is a logical consequence of the footprint changes described above. The consolidation of the Doosan Bobcat EMEA headquarter functions from the facility at Waterloo and the relocation of them to the site in Dobris in Czech Republic — with its R&D, training and demonstration, production and logistical activities — will provide higher effectiveness.
As I have mentioned earlier, Doosan Bobcat has high aspirations for and a strong commitment to the EMEA market, and with our drive, determination, focus and increased resource allocation, we are aiming to support our EMEA customer base even better in future.
How is Doosan Bobcat fuflfiling its commitment to the EMEA market?
To meet Doosan Bobcat’s aspirations, we have invested in new developments, infrastructure, manufacturing facilities and the growth of our people in EMEA. The investment in the Bobcat telehandler plant at Pontchâteau, France, has allowed us to significantly enlarge our telehandler product offering and improve product quality and efficiency. Pontchâteau serves our global markets as the core source of Bobcat telehandlers for construction and agricultural applications.
But the changes have been even more profound at the Doosan Bobcat campus at Dobris in the Czech Republic, where integrating every part of our operations and product development on one site — from engineering, design and manufacturing to marketing, aftermarket, distribution and training demonstrations for our EMEA dealers and customers — continues to bring enormous benefits in every part of our business.
Over the last decade, the compact equipment business in EMEA has been transformed from an importer model to a fully integrated manufacturer one, exporting more locally produced machines than we are importing from North America or Korea.
Because of these developments, 80% of the compact product sold in the EMEA region is now made in Dobris. In addition, because the Dobris plant has lower manufacturing costs, 30% of the output from the Dobris plant is exported for sale to North America and Asia.
The new Innovation Centre at the Dobris campus is a further demonstration of the long-term commitment of Doosan Bobcat to EMEA. We are developing the Dobris Innovation Centre to serve as an expert R&D centre for all Doosan engineering teams across EMEA, and it has taken responsibility for small loaders and compact excavators from one tonne to three tonnes.
The centre is connected to two more centres in Bismarck, USA, and Inchon, Korea. While each centre is focused on developing solutions for their local markets, the three coordinate on our most advanced projects.
We believe innovation is what will get us to number one in compact equipment worldwide.
How are you addressing the specific needs of your customers in the Middle East?
The new Innovation Centre, the compact equipment plant and all the other elements of the Doosan Bobcat campus in Dobris are a shared resource not only for Europe, but also the key markets of the Middle East and Africa.
As well as the developments at Dobris, we have also instituted changes in our local operations in these markets. In 2015, for example, we opened a new parts distribution centre (PDC) for Bobcat and Doosan Portable Power products in Dubai.
The new PDC is a collaboration with Agility, a leading global logistics provider, which is hosting and managing the new facility at the Jebel Ali Free Zone.
Designed to better serve our dealers and customers in MEA with better availability, shorter delivery times and lower logistical costs, the new Dubai PDC has made it possible for us to deliver parts to over 90% of the region within 24 hours. As well as enhancing our aftermarket service, the PDC demonstrates our strong commitment to the MEA market.
We are always listening to our dealers and customers in every area and in response to local demand from MEA markets, we have introduced the new Bobcat backhoe loader range in the Middle East. This has been a very successful launch which we are planning to expand to other markets in the near future.
While Middle East markets are suffering from the low oil price, the region is a very big market for us — where we enjoy market shares of 50% or more for Bobcat loaders — and we will continue supporting our partners there.
Would like to add anything about your plans for EMEA markets moving forward?
Doosan Bobcat believes in long-lasting partnerships and individual solutions for all different markets and their challenges.
We have made huge strides in the last five years with the Doosan Heavy range in terms of market share and brand loyalty in EMEA. We believe that there is no big differentiation on the product side and Doosan Bobcat is now part of the top tier of manufacturers, while Bobcat continues to defend its leadership position in EMEA in performance and quality.
The company also has a long-term commitment to simplifying its procedures and processes in EMEA to make sure it is even easier to do business with Doosan Bobcat.
Our continued focus on core businesses will enable us to be successful in the difficult market environments, and by concentrating resources on our key priorities, Doosan Bobcat will grow even faster in the EMEA market.
Martin Knötgen has been EMEA president of Doosan Bobcat for four years and four months — his first role since joining the company in June 2012.
