Scania, the Swedish manufacturer of trucks and buses, expects sales of over 100 units of trucks in Malaysia next year, particularly to logistics and cargo firms based in Bintulu, tells the online media, btimes.com.my.
Scania (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd business and operations executive, Awang Zarudin Awang Rosli, said the company planned to capitalise on the economic activities generated by the plantation industry, which used trucks to transport oil palm to the Bintulu and Samajaya ports.
“At present, Scania trucks, which are mainly centralised in Bintulu, are popular with cargo owners in the state because of their reliability, low fuel consumption and cost-effectiveness in terms of repair,” he said in Kuching.
Over 150 trucks in Bintulu, Miri, Sibu, Sarikei and Limbang are now serviced at Scania Bintulu main service centre, which started operations since March 2007, he said.
He said the company was also eyeing to sell 30 buses for 2012, especially with the launch of its first mobile workshop for trucks and buses here yesterday.
Given that fuel consumption was a main point of customers’ needs, he said, Scania was confident of expanding its market share by targeting bus companies that were centralised in Kuching plying the routes throughout Sarawak as well as to Pontianak in West Kalimantan, Indonesia.
Awang Zarudin said currently, there were over 200 Scania buses throughout the state, including 30 units in the southern region from Kuching to Betong.
Meanwhile, Scania general manager, Idros Puteh, said the new mobile workshop, costing RM450,000 and said to be one of the first such workshop-on-wheels in Sarawak, offered a full spectrum of truck and bus maintenance service on the go.
He said it comprised a modular Scania service container which was specifically custom-design and placed on top of a Scania P 270 truck to function very much like a full-fledged workshop with special tools, working bench, air-compressor, waste oil disposal, a full tool-box and various hoists and lifting equipment.
“Once a customer schedules an appointment, the Scania mobile workshop will be deployed to the customer’s location to perform servicing and minor repairs,” he said, adding that a team of two skilled mechanics worked in each mobile workshop to provide a full range of services.
Idros said the mobile workshop also underlined the importance Scania placed on the Sarawak market and how it was using innovative practices in ensuring top quality service and support for its customers even in the most remote and challenging locations.
