Geoff du Plessis, chairman at MAN South Africa, spent five years in Europe as regional head for North Europe and then as senior vice president of MAN Business Units.
RETURNING THIS YEAR to South Africa, Du Plessis is optimistic about the future, especially regarding the future growth prospects of Africa and the role trucks will play in driving the growth on the continent. Africa“We foresee growth opportunities in Africa and we want to be part of it. For us, South Africa is the gateway into Africa. We see that with our customers who are heading north, which is giving us a great opportunity to increase our footprint and maintain our pioneering spirit in the market, be it with ideas or products and services we deliver,” he says. Why MAN?
“It is related to both the hardware and the software. On the hardware side, we have a really good, capable product – it is clearly in the premium sector of the market and with the premium sector of the market you not only get the premium product, which is a good truck to drive, you also get premium support.” MAN is opening its new parts distribution centre in November. Du Plessis says: “We have invested in a big parts warehouse. It is a phenomenal warehouse that will be there to support both the South African and Southern African markets. It is our commitment to the territory and the region. This way, we can ensure that when customers need parts we have them available, so we can keep our customers on the road because that is when they earn money. “On the software side of things, we try to create an organisation that is people and customer friendly, customer oriented; we try to keep arrogance out of the business. We try to keep our feet on the ground, remembering where we get our money from and that it is our customers who pay our salaries. We hope that this culture has a resonance with our customers, so they consider us nice guys to do business with.” Broad offering
Du Plessis says that MAN has a broad offering and can focus on entrepreneurs starting out in trucking. “For this market, we are developing our used truck brand in both South Africa and Kenya. There is no doubt for me that the used truck is often an entry point for the entrepreneur into the trucking sector. We can accommodate everyone from owner drivers to the big long haul fleet operator running big fleets.”
Telematics and driver training
Du Plessis says MAN telematics, the company’s on-board computer, which fully interfaces with the vehicle, is being introduced in 2014.
“The future I think is really exciting, because we believe in Africa as the future place. Moving forward, you will see more engagement on the political side in terms of transport politics. We are already quite involved with entities like the Road Freight Association and National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa, and it is important we keep being involved and driving the metro situation forward, which will be to the benefit of transport.” Road vs rail
Du Plessis believes the road versus rail debate is one that not only rages on in Africa, but around the world. “Everyone says we should be putting more on rail, but at the end of the day, a truck’s flexibility and service gives it a huge advantage. Rail will always have its place, just as trucks will always have a role to play. “It does not make sense moving goods on road that should be moved better on rail. At the end of the day, at either side of the rail head, we are going to need the flexibility of transport. And we are quite happy to take that role.”
