Excavating contractor Bobcat Equipment South Africa, part of industrial equipment group Goscor Group, has appointed Kimmy Wright as branch manager in Durban.
Wright began her career at Bobcat seven years ago straight out of university, progressing from administration sales assistant to administration manager for the entire branch network.
Mentored initially by Bobcat Equipment national operations manager Brian Rachman, Wright gradually assumed a larger role in the day-to-day running of the Durban branch, as well as its strategic focus, which resulted in her latest promotion.
Commenting on the major challenges faced by a woman of colour in a traditionally male-dominated environment, Wright says her engaging and inquisitive personality, and willingness to learn and get her hands dirty have helped overcome such barriers.
Additionally, with the company’s target markets being construction and civils, Wright says these sectors are showing green shoots following a tough 2019, during which the industry showed a marked downturn.
Focusing exclusively on new equipment sales, in addition to parts and service, the Durban branch is therefore a major contributor to Bobcat’s bottom line.
While anticipating modest growth this year, Wright highlights that the Durban branch is paying close attention to service and technical back-up excellence to ensure that all of its clients’ requirements are met, and that their machines are up and running at all times so as to mimimise downtime.
With Bobcat national technical manager Justin Wright, also based in Durban, the branch has access to extensive experience and expertise that can be leveraged to assist its diverse customer base.
Further, Bobcat Durban recently also appointed its first female sales representative, namely Cindy Petersen. “We are excited to see what is next for this branch,” Kimmy Wright concludes.