The relationships of Parts Sales Botswana with some of the biggest names in global construction is set to leverage a move into mining domains in the years to come.
SUPERIOR SALES, SERVICE AND SUPPORT
Under the parentage of Turbo (Pty) Ltd, Parts Sales Botswana and Forklift Sales Botswana have forged a path to success over nearly 30 years as a result of an unwavering commitment to innovation and a customer portfolio up there with the best that the construction industry can offer.
Overseeing both is Managing Director, Mike Denbury who – with the aid of Directors; David Denbury at Parts Sales Botswana, and Jaap Storm at Forklift Sales Botswana – is rightfully excited about the evolution the Company has enjoyed up to this point, and the direction it is still heading moving forward.
“Parts Sales Botswana started by selling replacement spare parts for CAT machines as well as other construction brands in the market, as well as the repair of these machines. Through this we managed to build a large customer base and saw the need to expand and improve our offering by selling new equipment to these customers, with brands which were not in the country at the time,” he recalls. “Today, we import, sell, service and support a wide range of world-renowned earthmoving construction equipment and trucks.
“The Brands for which we are authorised agents for in Botswana are; Hitachi, Dynapac (Atlas Copco), Bobcat, Terex Cranes, Hidromek, Shantui and Sinotruk. In addition we still stock a wide range of replacement parts for other heavy duty equipment manufacturers, and repair and rebuild machines and engines across almost all earthmoving brands.”
When adding the likes of Toyota Forklift, JLG Aerial Work Platforms and Moffett Lift Trucks to the portfolio from the agent operations of Forklift Sales Botswana, the resulting combination forms a potent crossover of expertise, experience and reputation becoming of a Company now looking to leverage its expertise on a wider scale.
“Our Company is privately owned by its directors who are still personally involved in all day-to-day operations and endeavour to offer the client the best service possible; and this is a massive differentiator,” Denbury explains. “With the Company being in operation for 30 years, the leadership team has significant industry experience. But more than that, we believe that our current strengths lie in the culture that has been created over those 30 years.
“We have tried to create a culture of transparency, where our staff trust us and those around them and where we value staff opinions and ideas. A large portion of our staff have been with us for long periods of time, with some more than 20 years. We believe that this is what sets us apart from other companies; we have a dedicated, happy and successful team which is reflected in the relationships they have with our customers.”
REACHING GROWTH TARGETS
Generating satisfaction from employee to customer is no mean feat, especially on a consistent basis over numerous decades; and this competitive advantage is compounded further by the levels of innovation and development that are also instilled into the Group.
“Over the past few years we have made a number of improvements to our Company, systems and processes in order to assist reaching the growth targets we have set,” Denbury notes to this end. “We have recently built and opened a new head office facility covering 9,000 square metres, with 12 double-storey full-equipped workshops, and a larger parts facility. As a result of this investment we are now able to offer our customers a much more comprehensive back-up and after-sales service.
“Not only has it allowed us to grow the business as we have envisioned, but it has also given our staff and customers increased confidence in our offering and the future of the Company, and has shown our commitment to building and investing in Botswana.”
Denbury continues: “We have also invested in an inventory management system, which has already helped our Parts department to significantly improve our ordering efficiency, accuracy and forecasting, and has shown positive signs in reducing our obsolete stock on hand numbers, positively affecting our future cashflow.”
Once again, a cohesive and efficiently trained team of professionals facilitates the success of these investments and continuous improvement strategies; the two combining to ultimately achieve improved productivity and innovation to showcase to potential new customers.
“Over the past year, we have become the agent for JLG; which manufactures ‘Aerial Work Platforms’. These machines allow companies to work safely at heights of up to 40 metres,” Denbury says. “However, as an example of innovation, in Botswana there is currently no legislation with regard to ‘working safely at heights’ which is a big concern for the safety of construction workers. Thus, we have engaged with the relative ministries within the Government of Botswana and started the discussion to try to help set, maintain and promote industry standards for working at heights; in order to develop guidelines and frameworks for skills development within the industry, and ultimately help create safer working environments in the construction industry.”
Such industry dedication has been complemented by numerous product offering unveilings in recent times as well, including HITACHI earthmoving and mining equipment and HIDROMEK backhoe loaders which subsequently ensures that Parts Sales maintains its status as a turnkey, full package provider.
THE BEST SUPPLIERS
Investments continue beyond the parameters of the products as well, via numerous facility upgrades, administrative facets and technological processes; all with the goal of product quality in mind. An investment into handheld service analysers for its Gaborone and Francistown service teams for the JLG product line is one example of this willingness to continuously evolve with the times.
“We also now utilise a newly developed cloud based CRM tool, which has helped our sales team to track leads and quotes, manage their call reporting, and keep a history of customer discussion,” Denbury details.
And, of course, one of the key ongoing investments relates back to the aforementioned personnel side of the business and the constant up-skilling of local citizens to fit within the overall growth vision of the proudly indigenous Company.
“Our goal has always been, to be one of the best suppliers of construction and material handling equipment in Botswana,” Denbury concludes. “And more recently this has included the mining sector as well, which is our key target area over the next few years.
“Our partnership with the Hitachi Africa Mining Division has provided a platform for us to gain a larger footprint in to the mining sector and we hope that in five years’ time we will have a larger team and will be heavily involved with the mines, while at the same time not losing sight of the of the key construction customers which have got us to where we are now.”
