Construction demand to boost Man Truck’s Middle East sales

The German transportation company hopes for 15 per cent growth.

Man Truck and Bus forecasts that its Middle East operations, which date to 2006, will grow at 15 per cent a year. Above, new Man trucks sit parked outside the company’s headquarters in Munich, GuenterShow more

Germany’s Man Truck and Bus expects Middle East sales to grow by as much as 15 per cent year-on-year, helped by the demand from the construction industry.

“We are expecting a huge growth in the Middle East based on all the construction that is on the agenda right now,” said Rudolf Wiegand, vice president and head of after sales for the Middle East and Africa.

“We have a market share in the Gulf countries of about 25 per cent in 2013. When it comes to the UAE it is roughly between 10 to 15 per cent [of that],” he added.

In 2006, Man Truck started its operations in the region by offering goods and passenger transportation to importers in some 14 countries.

Mr Wiegand said that Saudi Arabia, UAE, Oman, and Qatar are the biggest markets for Man Truck in the region, thanks to the construction and transportation projects in those countries.

“This is because a lot of projects are going on, a lot of business,” said Mr Wiegand. “The biggest number of cranes in a single place is in Dubai. Wherever you look there are cranes,” he added.

He anticipated construction demand coming from the public transportation projects in Saudi Arabia, in addition to Dubai’s bid for Expo 2020 and Qatar’s 2022 Fifa World Cup.

On a global scale, the sales and market share of the region continue to grow, according to Mr Wiegand.

“If you compare all the regions globally, the top four ranks are European countries and on the fifth place is the Middle East,” he said.

Meeting the growth of demand is not the sole challenge for the Munich-based company. At Dubai’s Big 5 Expo, a Middle East building and construction convention, Man Truck launched its Man TGS WW 6x4, a heavy tractor especially tailored to the demands of the Middle East.

The company also plans to develop its maintenance and service business with as many as 15 service centres in the region over the coming two years.

“If we grow 15 per cent year-on-year you can imagine, you need to have more service staff to cope with this demand,” said Mr Wiegand.

Man is also rolling out portable container-based workshops to serve customers on site.

“We developed this concept in the Middle East, in Dubai, in order to meet the market needs. The first one will be delivered to Saudi Arabia. We also received a positive feedback from other parts of the world,” said Mr Wiegand.

The process is designed to reduce the truck’s downtime or the time the truck is off the road, which can subsequently delays projects and add costs for clients.