There’s no doubt 2022 is proving a great time to be in the truck sales industry, most manufacturers are barely keeping up with the demand.
But while the short term looks great, and manufacturers are cashing in now, medium and long-term planning is also vitally important.
And that’s the attitude that Scania has taken to its new dealership that opened recently in one of the most central areas of greater Sydney – Eastern Creek.
Built on the site of the old Australia’s Wonderland theme park, the area now is sprawling with distribution centers rather than roller coasters.
Eastern Creek is an extremely popular location for these types of operations because two of Sydney’s main motorways, the M4 and M7, are just across the road.
And now Scania has a presence there too, with a facility that looks set to meet demands for years to come.
We got a look behind the scenes this week with Truck and Bus News given a full tour of the multi-million dollar facility.
Scania hosted us, along with some of their most loyal customers, as part of an official opening ceremony.
The new Scania facility was designed to meet a number of key objectives, including the ability to maneuver in and accommodate B-Doubles.
There are two inspection pits, these can allow for up to six prime movers to be worked on at any one time.
The facility has a full-size internal wash bay and a multi-million dollar fluid delivery system that allows technicians to quickly access different oil types, coolants, compressed air, etc.
The new Scania facility can accommodate a technician workforce 25 strong, with two shifts already in operation – morning and night, as well as Saturday mornings.
While customer facilities, including a driver’s rest area and kitchen, have been designed to be more functional and attractive than perhaps Scania owners and drivers might be used to.
On hand for the official opening ceremony was the boss of Scania in Australia, Mikael Jansson, who said the new Eastern Creek outlet is a jewel in the Scania crown.
“We’re proud to host you, our customers, whether you are operating one Scania vehicle or hundreds, we’re delighted to welcome you to Scania’s new base.
“This is a significant moment for Scania in Australia, the opening of our newest company-owned branch,”
“We now have nine company-owned branches in Australia, all located in capital cities,”
“Unlike our competitors, we like to build close relationships with our customers, and our company-owned branches facilitate this successfully.” Mr. Jansson said.
“It has been around ten years since Scania opened a company-owned location, in that time our vehicle sales have doubled.
“We have introduced new services including Scania Finance, Scania Truck Rental, and we have extended and expanded our driver training and fleet monitoring activities.
“That’s why we needed to open a new workshop, to look after all your Scania vehicles.”
With the market stronger than ever, we can’t help but see this major Scania investment in Australia being anything but a smart move.
The new Scania Eastern Creek facility is located at 1/2 Blue Metal Rd. Eastern Creek.
