New Opportunities From Iveco To Superstructure Manufacturers In Africa And The Middle East!

IVECO Turkey brought together the superstructure manufacturers in Turkey recently in Istanbul. The event was held with the aim of continuing the IVECO superstructure event which is held once in every two years and the last one of which was organized in November, and providing the participants with new opportunities in the African and Middle Eastern markets.

108 superstructure manufacturers participated in the event, which attracted the attention of superstructure manufacturers companies. Around 70 percent of the attendants are the experts in the light and middle classes and produce different superstructures ranging from box - type to super structures such as road cleaning and waste management. The 30 percent are heavy-duty specialists, offering superstructures such as mixers, dampers and trailers.

“Your Presence Here Today is an Expression of Your Commitment to Strengthening Your Cooperation with IVECO”

IVECO Turkey Deputy General Director Tansu Giz said that; “This event was organized to provide new opportunities to superstructure manufacturers abroad for commercial vehicle market in Turkey which has been shrunk for two consecutive years in 2018 and 2019. Your presence here today is an expression of your commitment to strengthening your cooperation with IVECO.

Mentioning about the improved performance of IVECO Turkey in the market, Giz said that; “Our company ranked third in the segment of 3.5 tons and above, and in 2019, it performed superiorly on an annual basis until now.”

Representing IVECO, Fabio Bonifacino, Medium and Heavy Segment Product Manager, Andrea Scollo, Special Fleet Customers Unit Manager and Giuseppe Cariello, Senior Builders Relationship Manager, presented the new organizational structure for Africa and the Middle East and presented the products available in these markets.

IVECO Turkey presented the website hosting the guidelines for the superstructure depending on Iveco's technical drawings and models and versions updated for the superstructure manufacturers.

SÜHA YILMAZ: WE HOPE TO OPEN DOORS TO SUPERSTRUCTURE MANUFACTURERS IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

We have met with Suha Yılmaz, IVECO Turkey Daily and Eurocargo Product Manager in IVECO 2019 Superstructure Manufacturers’ Meeting. Yılmaz gave important information about the content of the meeting and shared the details of how they cooperated with superstructure manufacturers. Yılmaz mentioned the problems experienced by customers especially in vehicle purchase processes and said that; “There are two types of approval: vehicle approval and general type approval. In our country, customers mostly prefer the type of approval per vehicle. Long-term check per vehicle when you look; difficult, time consuming and cost effective.”

The meeting you have today has a different purpose besides exchanging ideas. What do you say about the possibilities that IVECO will provide to the top makers regarding the African and Middle Eastern markets?

The meeting we have today is a bit different than the other routine meetings. Mainly, we are meeting with the superstructure manufacturers to show that we are on their side in good day and bad day. Likewise, they are always with us. We rely on the quality of our superstructure manufacturers in Turkey. We want to share the superstructure needs of IVECO in other markets with our partners in Turkey when the markets are shrunk. You know that IVECO is a global player. Today we are a company in the American, European, African and Asian markets. There are tenders in Africa, Nigeria and Ethiopia, which are normally out of market conditions, or the institutions there are making purchases. When the IVECO headquarters is interested, selling vehicles with the superstructure appears to be an advantage. Because you are selling vehicles with the superstructure. We are very confident with our business partners in Turkey and the Middle East and Africa, especially we hope to open new doors to our superstructure manufacturers so.

“Superstructure Manufacturers in Our Country Are the Companies That Have The Necessary Knowledge And Quality”

The superstructure is a very important product for vehicle manufacturers because it can give rise to factors that affect the vehicle's performance in good and bad ways. That's why vehicle manufacturers and superstructure manufacturers need to be in constant contact. How do you communicate with the superstructure manufacturers in this matter?

We sell commercial vehicles as IVECO. All commercial vehicles are used in public services, various transportation vehicles. The superstructure is a must for us. That's why we always see superstructure manufacturers as business partners. Because our vehicles are sold as unfinished vehicles. In a way, we give half a vehicle. The superstructure manufacturers are also companies that complete our vehicle. Here, the superstructures are made according to the request of the customer or institution. As IVECO, we attach great importance to cooperation with the superstructure manufacturers. We are working with them as much as we can to realize projects together. We both listen to them and give information about our own products. In this way, we want to continue the cooperation. Here we have to underline that; superstructure manufacturers in our country are the companies that have the necessary knowledge and quality.

Most Important Issue: Security

What do you expect from a superstructure manufacturer in order to ensure the full performance of your vehicle and to avoid any inconvenience? At what points is the quality of the superstructure important for you?

For us, we need superstructures that will positively affect the robustness of the vehicle and increase customer satisfaction. The superstructure has become as important as the vehicle itself. It is very important that our vehicles improve the quality. Besides quality, one of the most important issues is security. Therefore, this is the most important issue in our cooperation with the superstructure manufacturers. We act together, cooperate. We share our knowledge with all the superstructure manufacturers in our trainings. In this direction, they create superstructures that are suitable for the structure of the vehicle and will increase the quality of the vehicle with their own quality.

“We Have to Decide the Suitability of The Vehicle With Our Superstructure Manufacturers”

Cooperation between you is a very important issue. What kind of problems are faced if there is no cooperation? Which points of the vehicle affect the fact that the superstructure is not as intended?

In addition to being a complementary structure of vehicle, the superstructure is also an independent product. For example; when you build truck with refrigerated unit, it should be of high quality. These superstructures have different classifications. For example, meat transport vehicles have different cooling temperatures, milk transport vehicles have different cooling temperatures and food transport vehicles have different cooling temperatures. If there is a problem in the superstructure, the cold chain breaks. This is an indication of the independent nature of the superstructure. In addition, we have to decide the suitability of the vehicle with our superstructure manufacturers. We are talking with the superstructure manufacturers about which superstructure will be suitable for which vehicle, which horsepower, which body size, which wheelbase. In line with our decision, we provide information to our customers by making all the explanations. We deliver the information we receive from our superstructure manufacturers to our customer, and our customers go to the superstructure manufacturers after purchasing the vehicle from us and then they receive the vehicle there.

“We Determine the Most Suitable Vehicle for Our Customers' Requests by Interviewing Our Superstructure Manufacturers”

Could you elaborate on the vehicle purchase process? The customer is purchasing the vehicle from you, then going to get the superstructure. At this point, the approval process begins. Isn't this difficult for the customer?

At this point, an easy process begins. This is where quality certificates come in. There are various quality factors, such as European type approvals for both us and IVECO, European approvals or ISO for superstructure manufacturers. We work with the superstructure manufacturers with whom we cooperate as follows; we determine the most suitable vehicle for our customers' requests by interviewing our superstructure manufacturers. After negotiating with the customer and selling the vehicle, the customers continues to work with the superstructure manufacturer he knows if there is. If there is no such company, we refer to the superstructure manufacturer we work with. After all these processes, the vehicle goes for approval.

“Approval Per Vehicle; Difficult, Time-consuming and Costly”

There are two types of approval: vehicle approval and general type approval. In our country, customers mostly prefer the type of approval per vehicle. When you look for long-term, approval per vehicle is difficult, time consuming and costly. After the customer has agreed on the vehicle superstructure, we transport the vehicle. Meanwhile, the superstructure manufacturer prepares the superstructure and prepares the superstructure's project for approval. This requires extra payment. After the project is prepared, the authorized engineer approves and goes to approval by paying extra money to TSI. The money paid for the project and TSI approval - which also varies according to the class of the vehicle - corresponds to an average of 500 pounds. After all this process is finished, the vehicle is ready to go to the vehicle control center to take the license plate. In addition, plate problems arise during this transportation process. Here, as IVECO, we provide temporary plate and driver support to the superstructure manufacturers and ensure the transportation and the vehicle is registered. Of course, this process is a waste of time and costs 300-400 pounds. When we recalculate, the cost of a thousand pounds appears from the beginning to the end of the process.

“Customer Comes with Documents and Directly Goes to Register Just Like Purchasing a Normal Vehicle”

General Type approval is the second option. For example, we have a seven-ton vehicle, if our superstructure manufacturer pays 20 thousand liras only once for our seven-ton model and receives general type approval from approval agencies, the customer gets rid of the project money and AKM control. If I expand the scope of the approval of the manufacturer as a manufacturer of seven-ton vehicles, the approval needs to be renewed, which means a cost of 4-5 thousand pounds. But extending the scope is not something that is done continuously. It changes according to the brand's own expansion. If our superstructure manufacturer gets the general type approval, it starts to make a profit after twenty vehicles and during this period of twenty vehicles, it provides a great convenience for both itself and the customer. The customer comes with the documents and directly goes to the register just like purchasing a normal vehicle. When you think, there is no company that makes less than 15-20 superstructures per month, so this alternative provides satisfaction to customer and provides benefits superstructure and vehicle manufacturers like us. So everyone will be the winner.