Page 41 - Vol 33 Issue 34 2021

mining

Bus and marine and industrial engines with After several years of collaboration,
Volvo Penta. It is also the official dealer of Sandvik has now entrusted SMT Africa with
Sennebogen Green Line, Dressta tracked additional distribution of surface drills,
dozers, SDLG which is part of the Volvo spare parts and drilling tools across the
Group, Sandvik, Dongfeng, Marcopolo and West Africa territory.
Volare. Mr Haglund commented: “SMT’s invest-
In 2015, to expand its international ments are focused now in developing our
reach, SMT acquired the Kuiken Group, organisations, in competence develop-
a Netherlands dealership dating back to ment, service and maintenance, contracts,
1946 when the cooperation started with spare parts sales and availability in Africa.
Volvo CE (Bolinder Munktell at the time). “That’s the name of the game in Africa:
As a family-owned business, Kuiken to sell the machine and look after the
had a long track record in distributing client and ensure the machine is working.
and maintaining construction equipment. We always work closely with partners and
VCM, the brand name for the Volvo CE clients.” In 2021, SMT Africa also opened
dealership in Belgium and Luxembourg, a new branch in Yaoundé, Cameroon’s
became part of Kuiken Group in 1992. capital city.
It was already active in these countries
since 1984 and added the Sennebogen Striving for
dealership in 1993. In 2017, SMT acquired
the Volvo CE dealership in Great Britain. excellence
Privately owned since it was established in
1962, it was partially controlled by Volvo CE While logistics and distribution can be a
in 1989 and became 100% Volvo-owned in challenge in Africa, “we strive to maintain
1995. the best standards possible for our clients,”
asserted Mr Haglund. “Due to Covid-19,
One-stop solution container shipping costs from China have
tripled, and it is now up to five months
hub delivery time into the DRC as an example.
It appears there is a crisis in the transport
“We create added value for customers, sector, and that can be an issue for us.” He
suppliers and employees, by offering said: “We differentiate ourselves from the
excellent integrated solutions,” continued competition as we are flexible, willing to
Mr Haglund. “Each is tailored to every listen to customers and understand their
environment and country we are active needs, a foremost after-sales service and
in, and always seek to exceed customers’ the solutions we put in place.
expectations.” He added: “We have gone “We understand it’s not a one size
from a dealership in one country in Africa fits all approach. We represent Volvo
to a workforce of over 1,600 people across premium brands and have a complete
29 countries in 19 subsidiaries in a 15- range of construction and mining
year period. We have maintained pretty equipment, their trucks, transportation
awesome growth that has been both and the complementary brands. “It is a
organic and through acquisitions. key strength of ours to have a complete
“We have brands and products that product portfolio and be competitive in
cater to the budgets and needs of different segments of the market. We also
clients in Africa and Europe, so we have have stock availability for fast delivery.”
coverage across the market and under In terms of establishing client relations,
one umbrella. We look like Volvo and SMT is a company with people on the
feel like Volvo, and have other partners ground in various countries to affect their
complementing this offering, so that we crucial policy. He concluded: “Our values –
can be a one-stop shop for our customers.” ‘caring, daring and sharing’ – encompasses
One of the significant milestones of recent all our business interests. We pursue
times is SMT extending its partnership innovation, strive for excellence, celebrate
with Sandvik across West Africa. SMT was success and embrace diversity. This is the
initially an official distributor for Sandvik very essence of SMT and paints a complete
in Algeria since 2016 for underground and picture of what we stand for in each and
surface drilling machines, crushing and every nation we operate in.”
screening equipment, and all tools and
parts associated with these products.

AFRICAN POWER Mining & Oil Review Vol33 Issue 34 2021 | 41