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COVER STORY
18
MODERN MINING
September 2016
P
roviding an update on Scania’s
penetration into mining globally,
Smith says it has been highly suc-
cessful. “Scania’s move into min-
ing has taken place during a period
which has seen the resources sector around the
world being impacted by falling commodity
prices,” she says. “Despite this, it has managed
to establish a significant mining ‘footprint’ in a
number of key markets. In India, for example,
Scania’s thrust into mining
Scania South Africa high-
lighted its mining range at
the recent Electra Mining
2016 show.
Celebrating its 125th anniversary this year, Scania – the
global manufacturer of trucks, buses and engines founded
in Sweden in 1891 – took the decision several years ago
to target the world’s major mining markets. In response
to this new strategy, Scania South Africa, which serves the
key Southern African mining region, has been working
hard to ensure that it has the product line-up, the people
and the infrastructure in place to provide an all-encom-
passing service to the mining industry.
Modern Mining
recently spoke to Becky Smith, Scania South Africa’s Gen-
eral Manager: Mining, to learn more about the company’s
mining strategy and offering.
Scania’s trucks have made massive inroads
into coal mining while solid gains have also
been recorded in Sweden, Russia, Brazil and
Australia, which are all countries with large
mining sectors.”
She notes that progress has been slightly
slower in South Africa. “Although we have
about 400 mining spec vehicles out in the field,
the implementation of our mining strategy only
moved into top gear just over a year ago,” she
says. “Since then, we’ve made rapid progress
and we’re now poised to reap the benefits. Not
only do we have a product range that is excep-
tionally strong – our marketing slogan is that
we have a Scania for every stage of mining – but
we’ve also ensured that we have the parts and
service backup, the technicians and the train-
ing facilities to support the thrust into mining.”
She adds that while the mining industry is
currently in recession, Scania’s focus is on the
long-term. “As befits a group with a 125‑year
history, Scania is not interested – either glob-
ally or here in South Africa – in a short-term
engagement with the mining industry. We
want to be partnering with mining customers
for decades to come. We’re not deterred by the
present downturn as we fully understand that