New Scania facility in Vilnius regional centre for Lithuania

Scania continues expanding eastwards: New Scania facility in Vilnius regional centre for Lithuania As part of its swift expansion in Lithuania, Scania inaugurated yet another new dealership facility in Vilnius on Thursday - Vilskana UAB. The new facil- ity is also Scania's regional centre for all Lithuania. Vilskana, who is an independent dealer, has invested 1 million USD in the new facility. Anders Grundströmer, who heads Scania's operations in Scandinavia, the Baltic states and the countries of the former Soviet bloc, emphasised during the in- auguration that Scania is now better-equipped than ever to assist the increas- ingly discerning customers in Lithuania: "Scania started sales operations in Lithuania in 1992 and we were able to in- augurate the first dealership facility in Kaunas two years later. Last year saw the opening of an office in Vilnius and now, with the new facility, we have gathered together the resources needed to offer our customers comprehen- sive service throughout the entire chain from truck sales through service, maintenance and repairs to parts supply." The customers keep coming: in 1997, Scania recorded a market share of 9 per- cent, a figure which so far this year has climbed to between 14 and 15 per- cent. The total market for heavy trucks in Lithuania reached 400 trucks in 1997 and performance so far this year points to a total of 500 vehicles. The transport market in Lithuania is dominated by haulage companies operating on international routes, but there is a clear trend towards the growth of lo- cal operations in segments such as heavy timber haulage, distribution, munici- pal and refuse duties and road-maintenance operations. "What this means," says Anders Grundströmer, "is that Scania will open another facility in the near future, in Klaipeda. We have to keep a constant eye on where our customers are located". For further information, please contact Dick Hamberg, phone: +372 6 651299. Scania is one of the world's leading manufacturers of trucks and buses for heavy transport applications, and of industrial and marine engines. With 23,800 employees and production facilities in Europe and Latin America, Scania is one of the most profitable companies in its sector. In 1997, turnover totalled SEK 39,700 million and income after financial items SEK 2,800 million. Scania products are marketed in about 100 countries worldwide and approximately 95 per cent of total production is sold outside Sweden. Scania press releases are available on the Internet, www.scania.com