Jul 28, 2014 Dave Scott trucking, fleet, UDTrucks, Repair
It’s been there for more than 20 years. UD Trucks – branded as Nissan Diesel in the eighties and nineties – conveniently occupied the prime site just off the N3 in Richmond Road in Westmead, Pinetown. And, even better, this drive-thru workshop was located next to a truck stop.
Then comes the problem. SANRAL, the lessors, decide to sell this Westmead property (sounds like a cash-flow issue) and where does a big truck dealership relocate in the Pinetown area? Developing industrial land from scratch is very expensive and maintaining a high-profile site that is accessible to UD truck operators is even more of a challenge. Remembering that UD Trucks is a major player in the extra-heavy segment where vehicle dimensions are critical to workspace and productivity.
CMH Divisional Director, Mark Conway, fortunately armed with vision at the right place and at the right time, seized the opportunity when spotting the vacancy of an old dairy processing plant in Pinetown’s North Industria. Says Conway: “The sound structure and high roof combined with a large covered area – around 1200m2 – lends itself to a truck workshop where we have also installed a gantry crane to handle major, heavy truck components. But it still needed R45 million invested to make it work for trucks and the franchise standards set by UD Trucks.”
CMH Commercial UD Trucks Dealer Principal, Ron Byng who has been a UD man for 30 years, goes on to add: “We also needed to provide for a brake roller tester and an A-grade, CoR Test station facility. Note that we are servicing trailers and thus can also accommodate 22m rigs in this new facility.”
The location choice at 14 Devon Road is just off the M19 freeway which links inside 1,5km with a brand new freeway that will be an extension of Otto Volek and Dinkelman Roads to join up with the R102 and N2 freeway. The new freeway runs almost parallel to the M19 and will provide even more access than previously on the N3, by cutting off the congestion experienced on the N2 at the Umgeni and ‘Spaghetti’ junctions.
The importance of this development for UD Trucks is emphasized by, Marlé Visagie, General Manager Retail Development at UD Trucks Southern Africa (Pty) Ltd.: “Our relationship with Combined Motor Holdings goes back over 36 years,” says Visagie, “And this is our flagship dealer for KwaZulu Natal. We have exciting new products and launches upcoming, so this move is timeous in preparation for the future.”
And finally Byng points out: ‘It’s our customers that drive the system. We would not do this without our customer base and the good news is that we have been able to extend the parts warehouse with another 200m2 – keeping the wheels rolling is our focus.”
UD Trucks is the major Japanese brand supplier in the extra-heavy vehicle market segment. This position was established when the previous model UD440 was introduced into the market and became an instant success. Success in trucking is all about parts and service and CMH Commercial is determined to ensure that UD Trucks maintain their strong market position into the future
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