SABI Magazine SABI Magazine June July 2017 | Page 29

Business The value of aftermarket support by Raymond Campling Some equipment stands ready for processing at the ELB Equipment pre delivery inspection (PDI) centre in Boksburg W hen calculating the profitability of operations using capital equipment, the sums are done with the assumption that each piece of equipment is operational and working at its full capacity. Which means the bottom line is directly impacted every and any time a machine is operating inefficiently, idling, waiting for repairs or parts to arrive. Although these types of breakdowns are dreaded they happen to even the best of equipment at any time. It is for that reason fleet operators need to attach a premium to the suppliers who are timeous, effective and easy to deal with. ELB Equipment represents a large number of various international brands in the earthmoving, construction and mining industries. With this comprehensive range of equipment supplied by ELB Equipment, they find themselves to be in a unique situation to being a best-of-breed supplier that continually drive their aftersales support to exceptional standards of service. Reduced downtime Syd Rees, national parts manager, and Gerhard Botha, national service manager of ELB Equipment, are responsible for driving the company’s aftermarket support and are very conscious of the costs customers incur due to downtime. With this in mind, their highly specialised team are driven to minimize downtime and ensure every interaction with ELB Equipment is done with service excellence, throughout the Sub-Saharan region. “Most importantly we have adopted an ethic to grow our customers’ businesses and focus on serving them in a way that is proactive in order to keep their fleet in the best possible condition to help them meet their goals. This is achieved by supplying OEM quality parts in conjunction with ELB Equipment’s technical product support teams and field service teams whilst our internal workshop staff will cater for rebuilds and major component repairs that is standard throughout our branch and dealer network in sub- Saharan Africa. ” that resulted in the sale of the equipment. For this reason, ELB Equipment specialises in supporting its equipment with a swift turnaround time. However, we always remain vigilant of opportunities that can benefit our customer base in order to assist them with the change in market demands and dynamics in reducing their overall operating costs.” “Our objective is to treat all customers with the same level of attention and care regardless of the scope and size of their operation.” says Syd. Service based, growing together “We strive to build long term relationships with our customers by offering competitive prices and adding more value in distribution, focusing on the things that optimise our customers’ operations.“ says Gerhard. Syd Rees of ELB Equipment He continues, “We personalize our offerings and our logistical operations allow us to offer service to customers the way they like it, when they like it, where they need it, and around the clock.” Gerhard concludes “ELB Equipment’s growth is directly proportional to the growth of its customers. Therefore, the success of our customers and ELB Equipment is intertwined and cannot be separated. The better we serve our customers, the better we excel as a company.” He explains, “After the handing over of the machine to the customer, is where the hard work for the aftermarket really begins. It becomes important to continue the standard of service set by the equipment sales t e a m ELB Equipment stores have sufficient parts and spares throughout its territory to properly maintain customers’ fleets SABI | JUNE/JULY 2017 27