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ising star
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Klaus Maier, head of iVercedes-Benz's commercial vehicles operations in Europe and Latin America is a happy man.
Andy Salter finds out why.
11( laus Maier is a happy man. As head of Mercedes-Benz's commercial vehicle operations in Europe and Latin America he's just presided over a turnround in the company's fortunes, emerged pretty much unscathed from a company-wide "restructuring" and has now seen his latest truck launch, the new Actros, elected International Truck of the Year.Things are looking up.
But it wasn't looking quite so rosy four or five years ago.The European market was strong but the Merc's performance within that market was causing a degree of concern inside and outside the company.
The original Actros, launched in 1996, was racking up warranty claims like nobody's business; used trucks returning from shortterm contract-hire deals were piling up all over the place, particularly in the UK: and then the US pack of cards came crashing down as a combination of market collapse and what's euphemistically referred to as internal problems' at Freightliner saw debts rocket across the Atlantic.
The restructuring was long overdue, as DaimlerChtysler commercial vehicle division boss EckhardCordes,Maier's boss,explains:"We started the required restructuring programmes at the very beginning of the downward cycle. Those programmes remain precisely on schedule and are showing tangible results.For which read: we started the company shake-up at the first sign of trouble and it's working!
Maier fleshes out the restructuring from a European point of view: "We have made some very big gains in terms of efficiencies, We have had to lay off 10% of the factory workers, mostly temporary employees, and we have also saved money through the optimisation of materials, further signs of which will be seen with new Atego and Axor [due for launch next September]." In the meantime the company's main focus is on the new Actros. Launched earlier this year this revamped heavy truck range is making quite a name for itselfnot only with the International Truck of the Year jury, but also with drivers and operators.
Maier is, as you'd expect, delighted with its performance: "This year we will build close to 44.000 Actros, split roughly 50:50 between new and old. If you put that against the background of a market which is 15 to 20% down, it is an excellent achievement. Even at the height of the market back in the late '90s we were only doing in the region of 46,000 units a year.
"The old Actros finished in July and the take up of the new has been excellent. It's a measure of the success of the old range that there was virtually no distress selling of the model unlike some of our competitors," he says, unable to resist a pop at fellow German truck builder. MAN.
Straight talking
Maier believes operators have recognised that the old Actros has finally come of age... which cynics might point out means it took six years for the company to get the product right.
But far from trying to duck awkward questions about the old Actros Maier answers them head on."Previously our strategy was governed by removing cost from the truck and it was all about reducing the material cost of the vehicle, which had a huge effect in terms of warranty claims.
"The philosophy now is to consider the total cost of the vehicle throughout its whole operating life."
This change in philosophy has been in place for the final few years of the old Actros production run and the truck has become more reliable and fuel efficient as a result."It has built up a strong following with a lot of customer trust," says Maier. "It was therefore imperative that the new one didn't undermine all that effort.
"We're pleased to say there has been no downturn in reliability with the new Actros, and this has given confidence to our customers. This has all been done while retaining the build efficiencies of the truck.
"The previous philosophy was to take out cost, and this was carried out everywhere on the vehicle. Now we don't take cost out of the truck where it will be noticed and needed.The [fuel] economy -is better too, so there is a profit argu ment to running Actros, as well as driver appeal." •
`Turning scale into profit' has been the DaimlerChrysler mantra during its turnaround. Part of this is a cultural shift in the company, which sees itself as a truly global player and is behaving like one.
Now its using the best resources from around the world to benefit both the company and the end user. One of the first signs of this global product platform will be seen later this decade with the launch of a new engine family to power the heavy truck range throughout the world.
"The new in-line engine is no secret," says Maier. "The new engine will debut first with a new Freightliner which will be launched in 2007 when the new EPA 07 emissions legislation comes into force in North America. In Europe the launch will coincide with Euro-6 legislation, currently planned for 2010."