INSIGHT
AGENTS HOLD THE
KEY TO EXPORTS GROWTH
Compiled by Tarren Bolton
South African manufacturers looking to export would do well to first develop workable
relationships with established agents before expecting revenue streams to open up.
www.plantonline.co.za
T
his advice comes from crane and
hoist manufacturer Condra, whose
managing director, Marc Kleiner,
has just returned from visiting customers
and consulting engineers in Chile, one
of several export markets in which the
company is active worldwide.
“Get an agent. Begin with this. Each
country has its own way of doing things,
and it is very difficult to enter a new
market on your own,” advises Kleiner.
“Keep an eye on customs procedures.
These are easier to navigate in some
countries than in others and, after
that, make regular visits to grow the
relationship, to follow up and make sure
that you are not forgotten,” he adds.
Kleiner should know. He heads a
company with 30 years’ experience on
the South American continent, beginning
in 1988 with the appointment of Santiago-
based agent Mantex. Initial sales were
‘somewhat slow’ until brother and
co-director Kyle took over responsibility
for the geographic portfolio late in 2005,
defining the region’s needs and then
developing the methodology and means
to service and satisfy them. Sales have
accelerated steadily since that time.
In daily contact by telephone, fax,
and email, either Kyle or Marc now
visit the continent every quarter to
close contracts and facilitate delivery
of optimum solutions to customers’
requirements by Condra’s Johannesburg-
based design engineers.
Marc explains that, in the past 10
years, Condra’s South American orders
have increasingly come from the
continent’s mines, a trend especially
true of Chile, where crane sales to
new hydroelectric power plants in the
Condra overhead crane under test before
shipping abroad.
APRIL 2019
39