Case Construction Equipment (CE) has announced the opening of a 33.5-hectare parts facility for the EMEA region in Dubai — a major service development — at its first Eagle Days training and customer event in the Gulf.
Over the course of a three-day programme, Case’s dealers, distributors and more than 160 customers were introduced to a new Jebel Ali, Dubai warehousing facility with 335,000m2 of storage space and the capacity to hold more than 350,000 part numbers.
The facility will improve delivery time and reduce downtime in the region and help Case customers raise their productivity. Operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week, it will handle roughly 7.8 million part orders a year.
“Thanks to this new site, delivery times will be slashed by several days,” said Marco Baffoni, EMEA director dealer parts support services, Case CE. “Now we are able to supply our customers with parts within a couple of hours. With this our network will increase customer satisfaction and loyalty.”
The Eagle Days event also brought together 50 sales professionals from 10 different countries for intensive product and commercial training, while offering customers the opportunity to see the performance of Case machines first-hand.
There was a live machinery show plus product demonstrations from expert Case operators of a wide range of equipment, including the CX210B and CX370B crawler excavators, 885B motor grader, 821F and 1021F wheel loaders, 570T and 580T backhoe loaders and SR130 and SR150 skidsteers.
The Case Commercial Training Team was also on hand with product specialists to help advise dealers and customers on the best machines for different applications.
The 160 customers that attended the event on the third day included a large number from the UAE, as well as Oman, Qatar, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Lebanon and Ethiopia.
The event, the first in the Gulf and indeed central Middle East region follows the success of two other events in the wider MENA and MEA regions, held in Tunisia and South Africa.
The warehouse joins eight other facilities already present in the EMEA region, but with it, the OEM will be able to provide a higher level of service across the entire region.
“Once again we have had a great response to our Eagle Days event,” said Franco Invernizzi, senior business director for Africa and the Middle East at Case parent company CNH Industrial Construction Equipment.
“The three-day format, including the sales training as a preliminary programme to the main show on the third day, really helped enhance the relationship between salesmen and customers from across the region.”
Customer feedback
The customer day (the third day) was attended by approximately 180 people, and kicked off with a welcome from Thani Al Shirawi, MD of Al Shirawi Enterprises, the Case dealer in Dubai, who noted: “Eagle Days reflects the true spirit of Case Construction Equipment, which is to show and share practical experience and heritage, and to focus on making the ownership experience simple and rewarding.”
“The Case operators and knowledgeable product specialists really showed how the product’s design has evolved over the years with the objective of simplifying customers’ lives. Having representatives from the factory, supply chain, dealers and customers together was a valuable experience for everybody as it enabled the exchange of ideas, as well as potential solutions for customers.”
He added that the opening of the regional parts distribution centre in Jebel Ali was long-needed and welcome step by the manufacturer that will serve to strengthen confidence in Case brand in the region.
Existing and prospective customers who attended were then given a demonstration of all the machines on display before being invited to walk around the arena and inspect the units for themselves.
Customers were especially impressed by the Case 885B motor grader that was launched during the event — a machine built with a powerful engine, rugged A-frame and mouldboard (plough element) design and flip-up rear hood for improved serviceability.
Case’s popular 821F and 1021F Series wheel loaders and skidsteer loaders were also a cause for attention during the walk-around, where product specialists were on-hand to talk about the capabilities of each machine in depth.
The response from attendees to the event was overwhelmingly positive, with many praising the opening presentation, the machine show and the subsequent walk around with the technicians.
Farhan Mahmood Rizai, equipment manager at Fujairah National Construction, labelled the event “brief yet comprehensive”.
Mustafa Abdul Jawad, project manager with Saudi Arabia’s Al Mahdood, noted: “I enjoyed the show, it was impressive. The demonstrators were so professional and in control. Case are great machines, for sure, and we are depending on them. They are so reliable, efficient and durable.”
Amir Siddigi, fleet manager for the UAE’s AIMS group, confirmed: “This event has been enjoyable and highly informative. It was very useful to see the machines in practice.”
Arshad Pual, workshop manager for Qatar’s Construction Enterprise Company, was particularly impressed by the CX370B, and highlighted the cooling module on the WL821F wheel loader as being one of the best he had seen. He found Case’s technicians informative, particularly when it came to the grade, where he found the layout well explained, and was impressed by the efficient engine and the way the machine was designed for protection — especially in the case of the gears.
M A Rahman, a plant manager from Dubai’s National Cement Co., concurred that the motor grader was a highlight, a real machine of “today”, and added: “Overall Case and Shirawi are perfect for us.”
Bassam Adi, from the UAE’s Arabian Construction Co. (ACC), a prospective rather than existing customer at the time of the event, added: “After the demonstrations performed I’m really looking forward to having Case machines in our fleet.”
