In the big top! - MAN inmotion

Worldwide Middle East
region, of which Oman is part. The region therefore
contributed nearly half of the total revenue that MAN
generated in the whole of the Near East and Africa. David
van Graan, Head of MAN Middle East, who serves the
region from his office at Dubai Airport, says, “MAN has
achieved a market share of over 40 percent in Oman. Like
Saudi Arabia and the UAE, Oman is a key market for MAN.
We see major growth potential for the future in emerging
markets such as this.”
Showroom and service in Muscat
The Saud Bahwahn Group, MAN’s partner in Oman from
its earliest days there some 30 years ago, has made MAN
the best-selling brand in Oman. It has also contributed
significantly to MAN’s consistently strong market share in the
20
Roads into the future
inmotion
1|2012
The MAN Customer Centre in Muscat: spacious, modern
and air-conditioned.
Info Oman
Capital . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Muscat
Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309.500 km² (UK: 244.820 km²)
Population . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.534.000 (2004) (UK: 61.792.000 )
Per-capita GDP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15.584 US-$ (UK: 37.639 US-$)
Sultan Qaboos has been gradually modernising the country since taking
power in 1971. A large portion of income from oil and gas sales goes
towards infrastructure projects like road and port construction, with the goal
of developing Oman into a modern business location. Oman is part of MAN’s
Middle East sales region, where MAN’s dependable products and quality
service have helped it capture a disproportionately high market share.
class of heavy goods vehicles with a gross combined weight
of over 18 tonnes. Three years ago MAN opened an office
with a staff of highly skilled professionals in Muscat, Oman’s
capital. The customer centre is home to a showroom, sales
offices, delivery area and service desks. Behind its modern
façade is a gigantic work area with 27 maintenance bays and
shaded areas where diagnostics, minor repairs and servicing
can be performed on an additional 75 trucks. “It can reach
50°C out here in the summer and 95 percent humidity,” says
Van Graan. So the provision of shade is crucial in maintaining
MAN’s world-class service standards in this harsh
environment.
Demand for heavy-duty trucks
The heat not only makes the conditions in the workshop
more difficult, it also drives demand. “From this location,
MAN supplies vehicles that are designed specifically for this
area and can withstand the extreme weather,” says Van
Graan. The local driving conditions are harsh, and the trucks
have to keep moving forward on unpaved roads or in
the desert. Oman has
“In 30 years we
have built up
a 40-percent
market share.”
David van Graan, MAN Oman
approximately 32,800
kilometres of roads,
and more than 25,000
kilometres of them are
still unpaved. That
places extremely heavy
demands on the drivers
and their machines.
Demand is especially
high for vehicles that cope well on rugged terrain. “Our
customers rely on the dependable, robust TGM and TGS
WW series with their all-wheel-drive systems – especially in
the desert, in the mountains and in the oil fields,” says Van
Graan. “They value MAN vehicles as premium products with
a high degree of reliability.” Bahwahn Group manager
Milind Patwardhan, who oversees its MAN business,
concurs: “The 6x4 models are particularly popular in Oman
due to the poor roads and because of their high load-bearing
capacity.” The current TGS WW has become a favourite
among Omani contractors, says Patwardhan, with both the
6x4s and the all-wheel-drive models selling very well in their
respective segments.
The requirements for large-scale infrastructure projects are,
of course, on an entirely different level. In airport expansion
projects, for instance, contractors are using massive multi-axle
MAN heavy-haul trucks for really tough jobs like moving
precast concrete construction elements. These giants are the
only ones that can keep the site supplied with what it needs.
MAN is thus doing its bit to help shape a modern Oman that
is using its oil revenues to build a better future. ■