Bobcat Equipment South Africa (Pty) Ltd extends sales and service support to customers in Zimbabwe with the appointment in March 2014 of Harare-based SRTC (Southern Region Trading Company) as its official dealer in the region. Bobcat, part of the Goscor Group of Companies and the Imperial Group, has, for over 25 years, been a trusted partner to the local construction, mining, industrial, utility, governmental, agricultural and landscaping markets with the supply of its internationally esteemed range of Bobcat compact machines.

“Delivering superior service to customers is as important as delivering quality products,” comments Bobcat Equipment South Africa’s Managing Director, Les Lothian. “To maximise our customers’ uptime and production, our comprehensive product range is supported by a team of highly trained technicians located throughout our national well-stocked branch network.” “The appointment of SRTC expands our capabilities so that we are able to deliver our product and service offering right to the doorstep of our customers across our border,” asserts Lothian. “We recognised SRTC as the right company to take our skid steers, mini-excavators and telescopic handlers to the Zimbabwean market as the company has many years’ experience in supplying equipment to the local market which includes mining, industry and agriculture.” “We are very proud to be associated with Bobcat, a company that leads the world in compact equipment with a world-renowned brand that stands for proven dependability and rugged reliability,” says SRTC’s Jason Smith. With a staff complement of 73, the company’s headquarters which houses the administration support staff and a 24/7 national support centre, is based in Workington, Harare. The Parts and Service Centre is situated at separate premises nearby.

According to Smith, the SRTC sales team will be based at the 3000m2 Sales and Displays facility at Harare Exhibition Park which will also display the various brands represented by SRTC. “To support these brands, we have developed an in-house equipment management system which is linked to the call centre. The system enables us to monitor the hours and operations of each machine to determine when and what maintenance or repairs are required,” explains Smith. The Service and Parts Centre which comprises approximately 5000m2 covered area and some 3500m2 of warehouse space, houses a 1500m2 full service workshop complete with a dedicated engine rebuild room, hoists and electronic service tools. “With 16 trained technicians and six field service vehicles as well as a vast range and volume of spares and parts, we are able to ensure fast turnaround times to maximise uptime for our customers.”

“We supply equipment to the country’s largest mining and construction operations, Hwange Colliery and Zinara respectively,” confirms Smith. “The expansion of Hwange Power Station in Western Zimbabwe, the country’s largest coal-fired power generator and the 14th largest in the Southern African region, will undoubtedly stimulate coal requirements. Platinum mining continues to show growth with Zimbabwe and South Africa representing 95% of the platinum resources. Our chrome and gold mining also continue to remain very active.”

Smith says agriculture, and in particular dairy and chicken farming which is represented by well-established operators, are showing promising growth. “We also see great potential in cane as labour intensive estates are looking to mechanise. This will necessitate operator training on equipment which will have a number of positive outcomes including an up-skilled labour force and increased production.”

“Expert training by Bobcat on the compact machines will enable us to offer our customers the right product solution backed by specialist end-to-end service and after-sales service. At the moment we are a Bobcat sales dealership but there are plans to setup a rental facility at a later stage.”