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CONSTRUCTION WORLD APRIL 2016
Isuzu Truck South Africa’s, CEO, Craig Uren.
build on the base that has been set to support
the client, from body building, parts and
service, and warranties. Our results are there
but we require extending the journey further.
Extending the journey for our customers
means also extending the economic life of
their vehicles.
“For this purpose we have a component
replacement exchange programme in place
called ‘ISUZU DRIVETRAIN’ for dealers to
utilise. The product range will not undergo
any major changes, except for some minor
cosmetic adjustments, so the emphasis will
be on extending the value of the brand ‘For
the Long Run’,” concluded Craig Uren.
In 2015, Isuzu Trucks achieved another
milestone in the next phase of their Southern
Africa strategy when they moved from a
commercial OEM to an entrepreneurial-type
business entity on acquiring a 100% stake
in two Port Elizabeth-based entities, Kanu
Commercial Body Construction and Automo-
tive Chassis Technologies (ACT).
These acquisitions will enable ITSA to
initiate and build products according to client
specification, enabling them to have a more
integrated relationship with current and
future customers in the life cycle of
their trucks.
“The acquisition complements our
growth strategy as we believe that Kanu and
ACT will definitely enhance our business
structure. The move to acquire these entities
will centralise the process of buying our
trucks, where everything will be processed
from one central point of contact,” said Craig
Uren, chief operating officer of Isuzu Truck
South Africa.
“The next few years will be even better
for us as the platform we have created with
the new strategies in the pipeline, which is
one of consolidation and enhancement. We
can now focus on people skills develop-
ment and concentrate on attaining leader-
ship in aftermarket support factors for
Southern Africa. Isuzu Trucks will also
expand its footprint in the sub-Saharan
African market,” concluded Uren.
in the tipper business and dominates in the
compactor business as well,” explained Uren.
African market
“For Isuzu, Africa is a huge market opportu-
nity. Around the world Isuzu does well, but
Africa needs a lot more work to entrench
the product. We have established a good
customer base in neighbouring territories and
in 2015 we exported more vehicles there than
we had done in the last five years. Generally,
Isuzu Trucks footprint in Africa is expanding,
especially at the assembly facilities in Egypt,
Kenya and South Africa. Isuzu Motors Limited
Japan sold more than 20 000 new trucks into
Africa last year and it is anticipated that this
number will grow considerably in the next five
years,” said Uren.
The increase in market share and the
expansion of the variants in the Isuzu Trucks
range have brought a new dimension to the
support structure for the product. The parts
and service backup has been simplified with
the introduction of common components
that fit the range of vehicles. There are only
four engine derivatives and four transmis-
sion models used in the entire range. Also,
common components have been incor-
porated in the cab design, simplifying the
replacement of body parts.
Into the future
“Looking ahead, we have not changed the
game plan but require mastering the plan to