Prestigious New Zealand order: Scania sells 200 trucks to dairy giant Fonterra

CablePrice, Scania’s distributor in New Zealand, has received an order for 200 trucks from Fonterra, the New Zealand dairy giant. The deal also includes a rolling repair and maintenance contract.

“This order means a great deal to our future prospects in New Zealand,” comments Per Holmström, Market Director of Scania’s business operations in the Asia-Pacific region. “The contract was won in the face of the toughest possible competition in a market populated by 20 different makes of truck. “Fonterra is a highly professional customer and this success obviously sends a clear signal to the market.” The trucks – all of which will be powered by Scania 420-hp Euro 3 engines and equipped with the automatic gearchanging system Scania Opticruise – will be part of Fonterra’s fleet replacement programme over the next three years as it refreshes its fleet of 450 tankers to collect milk from diary farmers around the country. Owned by the dairy farmers, Fonterra is the biggest company in New Zealand and has recently expanded its operations to Australia to further enhance its ability to supply its 120 international markets. CablePrice cites Scania’s well-developed New Zealand service network, with its 15 ideally located workshops, as one of the key factors in securing the order. Another was Scania Opticruise, which had already been under test by the customer for a couple of years. Fonterra will acquire the trucks at the rate of about 70 per year, taking delivery of the 200 complete vehicles over a three-year period. The trucks will be built at Scania’s plant at Zwolle in the Netherlands. Scania is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of trucks and buses for heavy transport applications, and of industrial and marine engines. A growing proportion of the company’s operations is comprised of products and services in the financial and service sectors, assuring Scania customers of cost-effective transport solutions and maximum uptime. Employing 30,000 people, Scania operates in about 100 countries. Research and development activities are concentrated in Sweden, while production plants are located in Europe and South America, with facilities for the global exchange of both components and finished vehicles. In 2004, invoiced sales totalled SEK56.7 billion and net income amounted to SEK4.1 billion. Scania press releases are available on the Internet, www.scania.com [N05060SE] Bo Östlund