Scania Tanzania celebrates 25 years

Scania Tanzania celebrates 25 years The hub of the service network for East Africa Scania's wholly-owned Tanzanian subsidiary, Scania Tanzania, is celebrating 25 successful years of operation. From its early role as an outpost for domestic truck sales, the company has grown since the early 1970s to include service and support for Scania's operations throughout East Africa. The very first order from Tanzania came from the Chinese company that was managing the giant Tazara railway project. The company purchased 200 tipper trucks from Scania. Another important milestone was the establishment of the Tamco assembly factory in the early 1980s. "Since the start of operations, we have delivered 5,000 trucks to Tanzania, most of them locally assembled," says Fredrik Morsing, MD of Scania Tanzania Branch. Scania Tanzania was able to highlight its growing commercial strength and extended service network to the couple of hundred guests and customers attending the jubilee celebrations and the accompanying press representatives. "We offer backup for parts and service together with the Scania importers in several of our neighbouring countries as well. The tough conditions under which hauliers have to work in this region owing to the poor condition of the roads - which have deteriorated even further as a result of the heavy rains of 1997 and 1998 - have brought the need for good service into even sharper focus. We therefore offer our customers service 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year," continued Fredrik Morsing. Claes Torén, Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing Overseas, says in a comment at the jubilee celebrations in Dar-es-Salaam that customers are becoming increasingly aware of the significance of the total cost of their vehicles: "A Scania may not be the cheapest vehicle to buy, but our customers examine the total operating cost. When they calculate exactly what they are paying to carry a given amount of freight over a given distance, they see clearly that Scania offers the lowest total operating cost. Their calculation takes account of vital parameters such as lower fuel consumption and lower costs for unplanned standstill and repairs. "What is more, customers also take into account the security that comes from knowing that service is always available, round the clock," concluded Claes Torén. "That is something that we often hear from our customers." For further information, please contact Bo Östlund on telephone number +46 8 553 82846, mobile number +46 70 543 8142. Scania is one of the world's leading manufacturers of trucks and buses for heavy transport applications, and of industrial and marine engines. With 23,500 employees and production facilities in Europe and Latin America, Scania is one of the most profitable companies in its sector. In 1998, turnover totalled SEK 45,300 million and income after financial items SEK 3,200 million. Scania products are marketed in about 100 countries worldwide and approximately 96 percent of total production is sold outside Sweden. Scania press releases are available on the Internet, www.scania.com ------------------------------------------------------------ Please visit http://www.bit.se for further information The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/1999/12/02/19991202BIT00350/bit0001.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/1999/12/02/19991202BIT00350/bit0002.pdf