MAKING WAVES

In Africa, you know there's important people in a room when the welcome blurb of the Master of Ceremonies goes on for longer than the main speeches. Thus it was that, while listening to the MC welcoming the 'Honourables' at the opening of MAN Truck & Bus's new R20-million Pinetown dealership, we knew we were mingling with some 'groot meneere' writes Patrick O'Leary.

It's not often that the opening of a new truck dealership attracts the crème de la crème of both local and international society. After all, it's just another event on the calendar of the good old SA trucking industry. Hardly a Sol Kerzner type affair. This one was different though.

From the local front, the Premier of KwaZulu Natal, Lionel Mtshali (he of the 'let's go to work in a Learjet' fame) was there. With him was Sbu Ndebele, KZN Minister of Transport. And then there was Councillor Obed Mlaba, Major of Durban Unicity - and others.

From overseas there was Håkan Samuelsson, chairman of the executive board of MAN Nutzfahrzeuge along with Günther Dietz, executive board member responsible for marketing and sales. Joining them was a long-time friend of South Africa, Helmut Schöpl, director responsible for MAN export activities outside of Western Europe. The host was Mr Ferdi Rocha, MD of MAN Truck & Bus and Bruce Moffat, dealer principal of MAN Truck & Bus Pinetown.

Håkan Samuelsson... South Africa stands at the forefront of the African Renaissance.

But that's not all. Also there was - wait for it - the one and only Alf Aveling of Yellow Jacket fame. Good seeing you Alf. And then there was Jan Visser, the man who headed Autonet at one stage and is now with Saambou. There's obviously some financial deal going down cause he was sitting with Barry Wolmarans, CEO of Planet Finance and Hetta du Preez of MAN Transcon, the new division of MAN which, among other services, offers vehicle finance.

And here's a Pssst! That die-hard Mercedes-Benz fan, Ram Ramnarain of Sentinel Transport was spotted with Adolf Moosbauer, formerly a three-pointed star man to the core and now functioning in a MAN's world.. Although this is beginning to sound like a Hollywood-type society gathering, I assure you it was not a key swopping party - although I did see Moosbauer trying to get Ramnarain to take the keys of a few more MAN's into his fleet.

Undergone a revival
The opening gambit of this story positioning the event as a high profile one does have a serious intent. MAN Truck & Bus is making waves and these waves have served to attract both local and international attention. This company, under the leadership of Ferdi Rocha, has undergone a revival over the past few years and is being seen as the rising - or should that be risen - star on the local trucking scene.

MAN MD... Ferdi Rocha - pondering his next move in making MAN the most admired commercial vehicle company in SA.

It is doing all the right things for its customers, its parent company and the country as a whole. It is thus that the three local guests speakers - the Premier of KZN, the Minister of Transport and the Mayor of Durban - threw large bouquets at the company.

Perhaps the words of Mayor Obed Mlaba best sum up the general feeling. He said MAN's R20-million investment in the Pinetown facilities was warmly welcomed for a number of reasons:

"Firstly, when other investors see that an internationally reputable company - at the cutting edge of technological innovation - is putting money into South Africa, this will serve to inspire confidence in them.. In addition, Durbanites will feel confident about our city's capacity to house profitable businesses."

He added that a second reason for welcoming investment into the city lies in its job creation potential. "With this new branch opening up, new jobs may be created in the assembly plants and in the dealerships as truck sales increase."

Throwing the net wider, he complimented MAN on the fact it is the only truck manufacturer that assembles locally. "Your ability to customise trucks for African conditions is therefore a decided advantage and this especially so because production in South Africa is not only aimed at the South African market but also at the 14 other countries in Africa.

"Such a clear commitment from Germany in recognising the strategic importance of South Africa, both as assembler and manufacturer, serves to reinforce South Africa's position as the power-house economy in sub-Saharan Africa."

Interesting link
Now here's an interesting link. It was just the day before, at the opening of MAN's other R20-million dealership in Centurion, that I quizzed MAN chairman, Håkan Samuelsson, on how he sees South Africa's role in the context of the rest of sub-Saharan Africa - what with Angola at war, Zimbabwe in total decline - and so on. Here's what he said:

"What happens here is most important because South Africa will be the model for the rest of Africa. There is tremendous potential in this region - for both trucks and buses - but it must start with economic development. In this regard, South Africa must show the way because you can't achieve stability and growth without democracy - and sub-Saharan Africa without South Africa will be nothing."

He reinforced this in his speech at the opening of the dealerships, ending with the words: "South Africa stands high and is respected among developing countries. You stand at the forefront of the African Renaissance." Yebo Gogo!

As you can see, Mayor Mlaba's statement that MAN's investment "serves to reinforce South Africa's position as the power-house economy in sub-Saharan Africa" is totally in sync with the thoughts of Samuelsson. In this regard, the two statements should be viewed as the catalyst for a break-away from past attitudes where South African politicians have seemed loath to push the image of South Africa as a regional powerhouse for fear of neighbouring countries shying away from the 'big brother' syndrome.

This approach should now be shelved for, as Samuelsson says, South Africa should show the way. And if overseas investors like the massive MAN Nutzfahrzeuge are looking to South Africa to do this, then our neighbours should welcome us playing a more prominent role in regional affairs for it will be in the interests of the region as a whole.

R64-million investments
And if anyone has any doubts as to the benefits that can accrue for the region, consider the fact that MAN Nutzfahrzeuge has invested over R64-million into its local operation in just the past two years. R24-million of this went into buying a bus and coach facility in Olifantsfontein, R20-million into the Centurion dealership and the remainding R20-million into the Pinetown dealership.

Contrast this vote of confidence in South Africa with the confidence investors are showing in Zimbabwe. In that country, foreign investment fell 61% between January and April this year compared to the same period last year. In Zimbabwe, you can't get forex for a can of Coke nowadays - thus the recent closure of Willowvale Mazda Motor Industries, the country's largest car assembly plant which can no longer operate given the shortage of forex needed for the importation of assembly kits.

While on this issue, I also found Samuelsson's statement that "you can't achieve stability and growth without democracy" interesting - not solely for it's content but more for its impact. Hey! That's a walk into the political arena, a field South African businessmen prefer to avoid. I recall one top local businessman once telling me that it is not the job of businessmen to tackle politics. "Our job is to talk the economy up," was his rationale. I asked Samuelsson what he thinks? Should businessmen enter political debate?

"Yes, it is most important that we take part in open dialogue around politics. It is also important for businessmen to openly state to politicians what is and what is not required to attract business into the region. On this point, I can state that crime in South Africa cannot continue as it has in the past. It is a risk for the region," he replied.

And that's from a man who heads an international multi-billion Rand concern. Maybe his statement will act as a catalyst for local businessmen to come out of their closets. There's too much 'silent diplomacy' in this place.

Translating into sales
That all said, is all this good stuff - the confidence of its parent, the opening of new dealers, the changing of service ethics - translating into sales and growth for MAN Truck & Bus South Africa? 

Sure it is as evidenced by the fact that the company has increased its market share from 7% in 1997 to 16,2% last year. This, according to MD Ferdi Rocha, reflects the largest growth in market share in the local commercial vehicle industry for this period.

And the growth is coming from existing as well as new customers like TransNamib Holdings which recently broke from its tradition of buying Mercedes-Benz to buying MAN - sixteen 27.464TS Intarder 6x4s models; 12 for its Johannesburg depot and seven for its Cape Town depot.

"We previously bought trucks for cash and then maintained them in our own workshops. We've now changed to acquiring trucks under the Full Maintenance Lease system. We no longer talk about buying trucks. We are buying mobility and uptime and MAN is able to supply us with that," says Norman Dentlinger, section engineer, vehicles for TransNamib.

Regional manager Paul Nashitati says what impresses him about MAN trucks is that they combine the best of both worlds - the modern and the traditional. "They're ideal for African operations," he says.

TRANSNAMIB (l-r) Dave van Graan - MAN, Warren Atkinson - MAN, Norman Dentlinger and Paul Nashitati - TransNamib Holdings and Francois Bruwer - MAN

Wow! You'd think he'd been in cahoots with Major Mlaba. Remember his words at the Pinetown dealer opening: "Your ability to customise trucks for African conditions is a decided advantage."

MAN Truck & Bus has as it's aim to be the most admired commercial vehicle company in South Africa. From all accounts it looks like they're getting there - fast.

Adolf Moosbauer and Ram Ramnarain of Sentinel TRansport at the Pinetown opening
Håkan Samuelsson and Premier of KZN Lionel Mtshali	Long time good friends of SA (top) Dr Günther Dietz and (below) Mr Helmut Schöpl.