Capital Equipment News March 2018

BAUMA REVIEW – CONSTRUCTION VEHICLES

“We are looking at partnering a couple of bodybuilders for our readily-made construction vehicles approach. Time is money in construction and we believe this approach will significantly help our customers with quick delivery times once the order is placed,” says Letio. Positive outlook With several key indicators pointing towards a favourable busin ess climate, including the new political developments in a number of southern African countries (South Africa, Zimbabwe and Angola), improved mining activity and renewed business confidence, Naude is optimistic that governments will make massive investments into infrastructure projects this year, and Scania is ready to offer its customers the solutions they need. “The outlook for construction looks positive in South Africa and southern Africa at large. Drought conditions have put a damper on construction projects in some regions, such as the Western Cape, but a greater focus on water infrastructure projects, such as dams, purifying plants and water reservoirs, has opened up a different leg of construction activity,” says Naude. “With an election coming up next year in South Africa, the government is also seemingly intending to spend a bit more money on infrastructure development projects. There is already talk of a new highway in Gauteng, not to mention the maintenance and upgrades to existing road infrastructure.” The Scania team recently travelled to Zimbabwe, and both Lehtiö and Naude are encouraged by the new political dispensation. The new government has identified infrastructure development as a key enabler for economic growth, and renewed efforts to kick-start the dualisation of the Beit Bridge-Harare highway is testimony to the key focus on implementing the planned construction projects. Lehtiö also reasons that due to the challenging economic conditions in the past few years, construction contractors have stalled their fleet replacement programmes, choosing to sweat existing assets. With a bit of positivity and better business confidence, buoyed by the projected steady flow of some

Scania offers a broad range of construction vehicles, including tippers, readymix concrete mixers and water tankers, as well as a wide offering of special vehicles such as brick carriers and mobile crane carriers.

Scania is looking at a complete vehicle approach, aimed at common industry specifications such as tippers and mixers.

network of bodybuilding partners, must have the flexibility and ability to invest in a standing inventory of ready vehicles,” says Lehtiö. Lehtiö argues that only OEMs with that sort of capability ought to be preferred suppliers in the construction industry. “Construction is a no-go area, especially when a company doesn’t have that sort of financial strength and resilience to build up the much-needed service structure for such an uptime- driven sector,” says Letio.

tankers, as well as a wide offering of special vehicles such as brick carriers and mobile crane carriers. Lehtiö says it is in the special applications where the OEM has embarked on creating strong partnerships with a network of established and professional body builders to be able to tailor the products to meet the specific needs of customers. Regarding its complete vehicle programme, which is still under consideration and aimed at those common specifications in the industry, such as tippers and mixers, Scania is looking at working with a network of bodybuilders eager to partner the OEM in this approach.

construction work, construction companies may be encouraged to embark on the much-needed fleet

replacement programmes this year. “The political side of things is very important for renewed business confidence, and this will likely play a major role in companies investing in new assets again,” concludes Lehtiö. b

Strong cooperation Scania offers a broad range of

construction vehicles, including tippers, readymix concrete mixers and water

CAPITAL EQUIPMENT NEWS MARCH 2018 10