INDUSTRY NEWS
Smith Power Equipment – Builder of German brands in Africa Not only is South Africa the largest capital equipment market on the continent, it is also re-garded as the ‘bridge to Africa’ for many international companies looking to establish a foot-print on the continent. Many German OEMs seeking to establish themselves in this market have over the years turned to Smith Power Equipment for a distribution partner. Germany is one of South Africa’s most important trading partners. To provide context, in 2017, Germany was ranked as the second-largest trading partner for South Africa, behind China and ahead of the United States. Among some of the major German companies that are represented in the “gateway to Africa” are original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).
Reputable OEMs are well aware that a brand is as good as its support. Above all other factors, aftermarket service has become a key parameter in influencing customers’ buying decisions in the capital equipment space. The South African market has reached a golden age of services, and to survive and prosper, the capital equipment supply chain has transformed into a service-centric sector. It is therefore critical for OEMs to partner with strong and reputable local suppliers to ensure that their
brands meet these evolving market needs. One company that has been at the fore-front of building German brands in South Africa is Smith Power Equipment. One of the key suc-cess stories is the partnership with the KION Group. As part of its one-stop shop approach, Smith Power signed a distributorship agreement with the KION Group for the distribution of the Baoli range of materials handling equipment. Through the agreement, Smith Power added the Baoli range of diesel, electric and LPG forklifts, as well as stackers and pallet trucks to its stable. KION Baoli is a brand of forklift trucks that was founded in China in 2003 and acquired in 2009 by Germany’s KION Group, the European market leader and the world’s second largest manufacturer of warehouse technology. In 2017, the KION Group went on to establish Baoli EMEA, a new organisation which replaced and expanded the previous Baoli structure in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, currently cov-ering 26 countries, but with the ambitious aim of covering 86 markets in the region in just a few years. In South Africa, the brand has benefitted
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Lifting Africa - Mar/Apr 2022
