JOHN DEERE SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
JOHN DEERE SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
Taking on New
Territories PRODUCTION: Timothy Reeder
John Deere is heavily invested in the future and prosperity of sub-Saharan Africa. With its leaping deer trademark recognised worldwide and machinery backed by over 100 years of legend and experience, John Deere sub-Saharan Africa is branching out from its industry-leading agricultural position to expand its construction equipment business into a further 18 countries across southern and western Africa. 2 / www.enterprise-africa.net
INDUSTRY FOCUS: MANUFACTURING
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John Deere’s arrival in South Africa is one of the happiest accidents in the country’s history. In 1878, two Prairie Queen walking plows from a foundered ship were recovered and sold at auction to George Knott of Botha’s Post, Victoria East, South Africa. Its equipment introduced to the country through pure serendipity, John Deere eventually established a firm outpost in Africa some 40 years later, positioning it as one of the few U.S. companies doing business in South Africa at the time. Today, it has nearly 150 employees in Africa, as well as offices in Kenya and Ghana, complementing the company’s sales branch and Regional Parts Distribution Center in South Africa. “John Deere is a world leader in providing advanced products, technology and services for customers whose work is revolutionising agriculture and construction,” the company outlines, “those who cultivate, harvest, transform, enrich and build upon the land to meet the world’s increasing need for food, fuel, shelter and infrastructure.”
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WORLD-BEATING AGRI TECH John Deere needs no introduction in the agri world, and certainly not in Africa. Its credentials have been carefully honed and forged over 180 years of innovation and progress, and its tractors have been running for more than a century. “Extraordinary global talent has helped us rank among the world’s best brands, most ethical companies, and greatest innovation leaders,” the company outlines. “Farmers and technology have always been partners. We want to elevate that,” adds Margaux Ascherl, Autonomy Program Delivery Manager. Jacques Taylor, John Deere’s Managing Director for sub-Saharan Africa sees the region as farming’s final frontier, pointing to one key statistic: the continent is home to 60% of the global total of uncultivated, arable land, meaning that of the world’s available farmland, six out of every 10 hectares sits in SSA. According to Taylor, the SSA market is split into, “small pockets of large agriculture and large pockets of small agriculture,” and key to both John Deere’s growth and overall agricultural progress is to provide technology which is adaptable
// THIS EXPANSION PROVIDES AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO INCREASE OUR GLOBAL FOOTPRINT IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY AND BUILD UPON OUR EXISTING PRESENCE IN AFRICA // to a range of situations and settings. The aim is always the same: helping people to farm bigger and better. “Our expertise is not just iron anymore,” states Jaco Beyers, Managing Director Africa Middle East, “we are delivering agronomic solutions backed by groundbreaking technology.” Last year, the world’s leading farm equipment maker kitted out its tractors with technology from start-up Hello Tractor, allowing farmers to hail the machines via an app and monitor the vehicles’ movements. It is hoped that teaming up with the so-called ‘Uber of tractors’ will boost sales of its famous green and yellow machines on a continent with the world’s highest poverty rate and the least mechanised agricultural sector. “We would like to see that every farmer has access to mechanisation,” Taylor told Reuters. “The gap that we’ve identified is, how do we connect small farmers with tractor owners?” Such opportunities exist in markets across Africa, says Hello Tractor founder Jehiel Oliver, but companies like Deere have lacked the tools to develop them. “Nigeria alone needs 750,000 (more) tractors to be on the global average,” he said. “Our technology is a market-maker for tractor manufacturers who want to sell into those markets.”
TATA International Africa - a world-class distributor now represents the John Deere brand in Zambia
Two and half years ago, Tata International signed an agreement with Afgri Ghana to buy the distribution rights for John Deere equipment. The success and growth in selling and supporting the full line of John Deere products in Ghana as well as other African countries resulted in a new strategic decision to invest in Zambia. Tata has operated successfully on the African continent for more than 40 years, having commenced operations in Zambia in 1977 when Tata Zambia was created, a business mainly involved in the import of Tata vehicles into the country, along with marketing and after-sales services. “We are very proud to have been given this opportunity to represent John Deere in Zambia, the African country where we started our journey on the continent. We are also very grateful to John Deere for showing confidence in us to represent the brand in another country in Africa,” says Len Brand, CEO of Tata International Africa. “Our initial focus will be on parts availability and swift delivery of parts to customers, as well as products fit for purpose. Our deep customer understanding and focus on delivering customer value defines the way we do business, and our resourceful team is willing to go the extra mile to deliver proficient services,” he adds.
“In addition to this award, which means a great deal to us, we have made successful inroads in winning market share as a new player in the industry, which is extremely encouraging. Our commitment to customer support through our Uptime strategy has benefited John Deere owners in Ghana and other countries in which we operate and we are looking forward to replicating this in Zambia,” adds Brand. “Tata Africa has proven time and again that it is a leading company to be aligned to, not only as a distributor or dealer for OEMs, but also as a premium supplier and dedicated aftermarket support and service to our retail customers in Africa. We are committed to the company’s vision of building and sustaining relationships with cooperation and trust,” concludes Brand. Tata International Africa in Zambia now sells, supports and distributes Tata truck and buses, Daewoo Trucks, Jaguar Land Rover vehicles and now proudly adds John Deere Agriculture Equipment to its offering. John Deere construction equipment will be introduced in Zambia in the third quarter of 2021.
Tata’s commitment to the John Deere brand and its customers in Africa was recently recognised by John Deere Africa Middle East when Tata’s Ghana operation was awarded John Deere Africa’s prestigious 2020 Dealer of the Year Award for the category of dealers outside the SADC region.
www.tatainternational.com | jd.zambia@tatainternational.com | Tel: +27 83 701 3164
INDUSTRY FOCUS: CONSTRUCTION
MD CHANGE We learned in October 2020 of a change in Managing Director for John Deere’s Marketing & Sales branch head office in South Africa, with Jaco Beyers appointment geared largely toward supporting dealers in growing customer productivity and profitability by leveraging the John Deere Smart Industrial strategy. Smart Industrial focuses on both technology and equipment to help customers unlock profit at all levels of mechanisation. “John Deere has been doing business in Africa for over 140 years and we are committed to the region,” said Jason Brantley, Director for Region 1 A&T Sales & Marketing at John Deere. “We are excited about the
growing trends of mechanisation and technology adoption that we are seeing in Africa and the Middle East as more and more customers are experiencing the John Deere Edge in terms of value, reliability, dealer support and productivity that helps customers profitably grow their businesses.” Having joined the company in 2004 as a Trainee Territory Manager in South Africa, Beyers will lead the company forward in the implementation, integration, and expansion of the Agricultural, Construction and Forestry (C&F) Division into the Ag and Turf channel for the African continent. “It is not the strongest who survive, nor the smartest, but those most responsive to change,” Beyers
opens up. “For more than 180 years, John Deere has benefited from strong, decisive leaders who are dedicated to the company’s core values and I intend to ensure our values remain active and relevant.” “How we do business is critical to our continued success,” he concluded. AFRICA CONSTRUCTION EXPANSION John Deere announced in April its plans to conquer new territories across southern and western Africa, offering its construction line-up to 18 countries where Deere-branded products were not previously available. In welcome news for the industry, the company now looks to transfer the skills and expertise which have made
// JOHN DEERE IS A WORLD LEADER IN PROVIDING ADVANCED PRODUCTS, TECHNOLOGY AND SERVICES FOR CUSTOMERS WHOSE WORK IS REVOLUTIONISING AGRICULTURE AND CONSTRUCTION // 6 / www.enterprise-africa.net
JOHN DEERE SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
it the agricultural dominant force to construction via its range of backhoe loaders, excavators, wheel loaders, motor graders and crawler dozers, sold and supported by independent, newly appointed John Deere dealers in countries including South Africa, Botswana, Tanzania and Sudan. “This expansion provides an opportunity for us to increase our global footprint in the construction industry, as we build upon our existing presence in Africa and deliver our
product portfolio under the John Deere brand for the first time to these key markets,” explains Jaco Beyers. “As we move into these new countries, we are delivering on what customers expect from the John Deere brand, from the legendary product quality and performance to the exceptional customer support and equipment technologies that we are known for around the world.” John Deere is an increasingly prominent player in the construction
and forestry industries in many parts of Africa, and now the legendary products will be available to customers in these territories alongside the support of the brand’s worldrenowned dealer network. “We have a deep-rooted presence in Africa in the agriculture market, and we know construction customers in these markets are eager for access to the John Deere brand and its many advantages”, rounds off Griffiths Makgate, sales manager, John Deere Construction & Forestry, John Deere Africa Middle East. “By providing access to our highquality equipment, outstanding dealer network and parts availability, and productivity enhancing technology solutions, we can help operators in Africa increase productivity and boost their bottom lines on a daily basis.”
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THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR AFRICA’S INDUSTRY LEADERS
AFRICA
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July 2021
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