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BIG MOVE FOR
FREIGHTLINER
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Mobile back-up workshops, parts deliveries and new truck sales are all part of the deal at Freightliner Truck Centre. Doesn't that Argosy look great. |
It's big, it's bold and it's a solid commitment by McCarthy Motor Holdings to the future of Freightliner in South Africa. We're talking about the new Freightliner Truck Centre in Zandfontein.
The opening of this centre follows close on the heels of McCarthy Motor Holdings acquiring the Freightliner truck franchise servicing Gauteng, Mpumalanga, the Northern Province, the Northwest Province, Botswana and Swaziland.
McCarthy Motor Holdings is now one of three Freightliner dealers in South Africa and the allocation of the new purpose-built centre dealership says a lot for McCarthy's serious intent.
Brand Pretorius, chairman of McCarthy Motor Holdings, is a happy man saying the new franchise shows the confidence McCarthy has in the long-term future of Freightliner in the South African market.
This confidence is reflected in the fact that the facility recently underwent a major upgrade to meet the demands of housing Freightliner and is now worth an estimated R33 million.
Frank van Heerden, McCarthy Motor Holdings heavy commercial vehicle executive is also excited saying that with 120 highly-trained staff and state-of-the-art equipment and facilities, the centre - which offers the convenience of one-stop shopping for all requirements - is set to become the benchmark in the industry.
"Everything that could be done to make life easier for the truck owner was attended to in the refurbishment of the facility," says Van Heerden. "The turning circle on the access road was widened, the ablution facilities were upgraded for customer convenience. Absolutely everything was thought of and best of all, the Zandfontein dealership is a purpose-built truck facility."
The parts division holds R4-million worth of parts and will cater for all eventualities through its delivery service and high-tech computer system. With the help of SpecPro, sales staff are capable of speccing trucks ideally for all applications.
"The ability to trade in used trucks is also a big plus point," says Van Heerden. "A strong used truck division already exists but plans are afoot to expand it."
The service centre makes use of a customer based booking system so that customers can be serviced outside of normal operating hours and a fully equipped mobile workshop can handle services, warranty work and maintenance contract work in outlying areas. Specialised finance packages are also available on the premises as are maintenance contracts.
Freightliner LLC president and CEO, Jim Hebe officially opened the Freightliner Truck Centre. Freightliner but unfortunately, went home to face a career change. (See sidebar story). That doesn't affect the future of the brand in South Africa though - an important point to make.
In our opinion, the opening of this centre is good news - both for the brand as well as for customers. Having a guy like Frank van Heerden and a company like McCarthy pushing Freightliner, can only do good.
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A full offering of services at the new Freightliner Truck Centre. |
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Hebe
is ousted