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Past Issues

August 2005

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The answer to the headline question would be yes, judging by the visit to SA of a high profile delegation from the USA and Australia along with commitment from Volvo Southern Africa. However, talk is cheap and we've heard a lot of the talk before. What is needed now is concrete action writes Patrick O'Leary.

That Mack is an excellent truck there is no doubt. That Mack is highly successful in America and Australia there is also no doubt. That Mack is serious about its commitment to the South African market there is doubt and Mack is going to have to go a long way more than merely having a presence at bi-annual truck shows and the occasional gathering of the press corps for fancy presentations if FleetWatch is to believe them.

If the content of those presentations detailed the actions of the company in South Africa, it would be different. However, to sit and be told how strong Volvo is in the world market and how strong Mack is in Australia is hardly new stuff. We in South Africa are no longer living under sanctions. We do get around and we are aware of international markets - perhaps even more so than other countries due to our enthusiasm of being part of the global community after years of living in isolation.

I do hope the fine gentlemen who visited our country from Mack USA and Mack Australia don't take any of this as an insult for there is nothing personal in it. It's just that it would be remiss of FleetWatch if we were not to point out that the presentation given by Frank Meehan, senior vice president Mack Truck International, USA, followed by the one given by Gary Bone, senior vice president Mack Truck Australia, left me none the wiser about Mack's plans for South Africa - apart from the fact that it now falls fully under the Volvo Southern Africa stable.

And this, according to Meehan, is the big difference. Mack, which is part of the Volvo group overseas, is now being run by Volvo Southern Africa direct rather than through a distributorship agreement. Again, with due respect, that's not a huge 'hold-the-front-page' breakthrough for we have seen other makes incorporated under the banner of parent companies and fail to make impact. Renault under Nissan South Africa is just one example. 

And anyway, Volvo Southern Africa already came into the picture in 2004 when Pierre Sanson, who ran the distributorship of Mack, moved into the Volvo head-office to run operations from there. Previously Sanson ran it on its own and with due respect to Mack in America, was given little support in his aims to penetrate the regional markets. Hate to say it but this was Meehan's first visit to South Africa.

So part from the new 'corporate' arrangement, I got the distinct feeling that solid plans for the road ahead are nowhere near in place. When pressed for prices, they could not be given; when pressed for sales targets which would serve to satisfy shareholders, they could not be given. The closest the guys got to something concrete was when Meehan said that they were studying the possibility of assembling Mack trucks at Volvo's new premises in Durban. But still, that wasn't enough to really excite.

I refer these good gentlemen to an email I received from our technical correspondent Dave Scott the morning after the Renault Trucks launch - which I feel is pertinent not only in content but also strategically as Renault also falls into the Volvo stable overseas: "Great party last night. Nice video clips but that's all smoke and mirrors. The hard reality is sales people on the ground who are above average and service people that really give service with parts support that makes customer say 'wow'. The rest is all good marketing hype but meaningless when the champagne glasses have been cleared."

When the Mack and Volvo presentations were over, I left with the feeling that there is no 'wow' at the moment. But, let's give those good gentlemen the benefit of the doubt and hope their visit was a fact-finding one. The official press release stated that they were in South Africa to hold meetings with key executives in the Volvo Southern Africa organisation, to meet customers and to review progress in the local market.

We can tell them that the progress of Mack has been nil over the past few years. That should be the basis of their findings. Where do they go from here? Well, let's hope they hold another press conference down the line with better formulated plans and tell us. They certainly didn't tell us at the last one. I'm sceptical. Please prove me wrong.

TITAN: There is no doubt that the Mack Titans pictured left and on the previous page are truly awesome. Fully Australian designed, the Titan is ideal for extra heavy duty applications. Will we see them operating like this on a wide scale in South Africa? That's up to Mack USA. If we're an incremental sales arena, we won't. If we're more than that, we will. It's over to Mack. Get it right guys. It will be great to have you here.

THE good folk from Mack USA, Mack Australia and Volvo Southern Africa on a recent visit. From left: Gary Bone, Mack Truck Australia; Ted Maynard, Mack Truck Australia; Danny Abiri, Volvo Southern Africa; and Frank Meehan, Mack Truck International, USA.

ON display in SA was this beauty, the Mack Value-liner 8x4 which has two drive axles, 1 steer axle and 1 pusher lift axle. It's primarily used as a tipper.