VOLVO Group is celebrating five successful years of its pioneering venture in the UAE, which saw the opening of a custom-built office and parts distribution facility for Volvo Construction Equipment (VCE) in March 2006 in Dubai.

Volvo supports its Gulf dealers and customers primarily from this VCE facility in Jebel Ali. It has a full set-up with a parts warehouse, training centre and representation office.

The team in Dubai is backed by the company’s office in Sweden, where it has specialists in finance, service, applications, etc.

Heading this team at the office in Sweden is Jonas Gardetun, vice-president Middle East, who places a great deal of importance on keeping close contact with the company’s Gulf dealers to offer the best in services to customers within the shortest possible time.

“We believe that customers are best served by strong local dealers and we are currently represented by independent dealers in all Middle East countries,” Gardetun tells Gulf Construction. “Being close to our dealers and customers is the best way to get information of what is happening in the market. We also subscribe to market intelligence from independent companies to be able to follow big projects and trends in the market.”

The VCE facility in Dubai supports Gulf customers, says Gardetun (below).

All of VCE’s distribution and customer services are carried out by independent dealers in the Gulf and the company continuously works to improve and expand the dealer network to serve the customers better, according to Gardetun.
Volvo has a clear brand strategy and it ensures that dealers comply and follow this strategy and take care of the brand.
“They are the interface to our customers and represent the brand in the eyes of our customers,” Gardetun adds.

When there is a bigger project in a remote area, its dealers will set up a mobile workshop to be able to deliver a first-class service.

The VCE facility in Dubai has meant dramatic improvements in machine availability for Volvo customers in the Gulf and wider Middle East region.

“Back in 2006, Volvo demonstrated its commitment to the Middle East region by making a significant investment in the 47,500 sq m site (in Jebel Ali), years before any of our competitors,” says Jan Magnusson, general manager Volvo Parts Dubai.

Within the 8,000-sq-m warehousing facility, a stock of more than 20,000 parts is held for VCE customers, all ready to be shipped around the region at a moment’s notice. Emergency orders to Volvo dealerships in Afghanistan, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the UAE and Yemen can be turned around in 24 hours, meaning that Volvo customers experience significant reductions in machine downtime.

“My personal experience from working in different global regions for Volvo Construction Equipment is that customers rank parts availability as one of the most important criteria when making a machine purchase decision. I’m pleased to say that in the five years we have been in Dubai, our response to customer needs has only improved,” says Per Andersson, customer support director for the Middle East.

Having the dedicated offices has meant that Volvo parts personnel have been able to gain an intimate and valuable understanding of the region’s specialist needs; and the VCE Parts Distribution Centre for the Middle East region has had five years to fine-tune its stock holding to meet the specific demands of its customers. This not only means keeping the right parts on the shelves, but also having an efficient and reliable logistics network to get the parts to the dealerships quickly.

“You cannot place a value on this kind of experience, but we know for sure that Volvo customers appreciate the efficiency that the Parts Distribution Centre offers our dealerships,” explains Andersson.

Besides its offices and the Parts Distribution Centre, the site also houses a state-of-the-art Competence Development Centre, where technicians can learn how to maintain the latest Volvo technology and where operators can be trained in how to obtain optimum production in the most time- and cost-efficient manner. The facility has the resources to train up to 100 people at a time.

Speaking of Volvo’s global sales in relation to the Middle East, Gardetun says the region is becoming increasingly important for the company, since growth here is faster than in most other parts of the world.

“Markets in the Gulf, except for Saudi Arabia, were severely hit by the global financial crises, and recovery only started last year. Today, the major markets in the Gulf are back on track and showing good growth,” he comments.

As part of its strategy to grow in the Middle East, Volvo has introduced a number of initiatives.

“The company has a range of new wheel loaders (G series) and articulated haulers (F series) which are currently being launched,” says Gardetun.

The G-Series wheel loaders set new standards in terms of fuel efficiency and reliability and offer a 20 per cent increase in lifting force and 10 per cent improvement in lifting strength, compared to the previous models. Featuring tailored engines and driveline systems that improve fuel efficiency, productivity, smoothness, serviceability and operator comfort, they offer perfectly-matched drive trains, hydraulics and attachments alongside a complete range of equipment to meet the clients’ requirements.

All models are fitted with Volvo’s 13-litre, six-cylinder turbocharged off-highway diesel engine. Producing between 220 and 274 kW (300-371 hp), depending on the model, the units provide high torque at low engine speeds.

F-Series are termed as Volvo’s most productive, comfortable, environment-friendly, fuel-efficient haulers. They are not only more powerful (up five per cent on E-Series) and more fuel-efficient (using six to eight per cent less diesel), they also feature a package of improvements in functionality, design, and maintenance.

Their articulated steering system gives operators outstanding control of the machine through both its high steering force in tough off-road conditions and also its accurate, safe operation at high hauling speeds.

Furthermore, machines for the Middle East are fitted with enhanced cooling to cope with the hot conditions and feature additional air filters for the dust.

In the coming year, VCE expects to launch new versions of existing products as well as completely new products.
The company also puts a lot of focus on its soft offers, with Care Track being one of them. Care Track is a telematic system that is offered as standard on all general purpose and production equipment (GPPE) products, including a free subscription period, to help customers keep track of their machine fleet and improve dealer’s response time to warnings or faults that might occur on the machines.

 “New Volvo technology is coming to the Middle East, such as our revolutionary pipe-layer and the CareTrack telematics system which will take after-sales support up to the next level for Volvo customers,” says Andersson.
“We are celebrating the past five years, but we are very much looking forward to an exciting future. Here’s to the next five years!” he concludes.