Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/284466
28 COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | APRIL 2014 M ack Trucks held a roundtable meeting in Allentown, Pa., where incoming sales and marketing president Stephen Roy laid out plans for the com- pany's immediate future, which included a high-profile "rebranding" effort at the ConExpo construction show in Las Vegas last month and plans to increase sales and market share in longhaul and over-the-road trucking applications. Roy said Mack also will continue to develop new technologically advanced products, including enhancements to its Guard Dog telematics system, thanks to new relationships with Telogis and PeopleNet. Roy said Mack has been invest- ing continually in its dealer network, pouring in more than $300 million in investments since 2010 and driving a 50 percent increase in its dealers' technician force. "That investment has included an educational boost," he said. "One in every four Mack technicians on the job today is certified as a Master Technician." Roy said that in terms of overall perfor- mance, there was "no reason" Mack can't be above 10 percent in North American Class 8 market share this year, adding that the company's eventual target number is "much higher." A key part of that push will be an increased emphasis on boosting sales to both fleets and the on-highway/ over-the-road markets. To that end, Mack used the Las Vegas event to roll out its new tagline, "Born Ready," and a refreshed logo that brings together the compa- ny's iconic bulldog and the block Mack typeface. "The timing is good for a major push into the highway segment of the business," Roy said. "We need for the entire Mack network to understand that we have the products today that will allow us to com- pete there. We have certain dealers in areas of the country that enjoy great success in the on-highway market, and we'll be working hard with our other dealers to help them enter those markets effectively." Roy said that Mack's relationship with Volvo – which acquired Mack from Renault in 2000 – is vital in terms of research and development and economies of scale, but that its customers also expect a unique product and that Volvo under- stands the importance of that expectation. "We have unique differences between our brands today," he said. "There will be very distinct differences from the Volvo brand at Mack in the future." As for the next round of fuel-ef- ficiency and emissions regulations proposed by the White House in February, Roy said Mack already is ahead of schedule on meeting pending greenhouse gas regulations and doesn't expect the new regulations to add any increased pressure on the company's current technological efforts. "We are already focusing on proper vehicle spec'ing to make sure that our customers see the best mpg gains possible with the GHG regulations," he said. "We need to make certain that if we have to pass technological and development costs along to our customers that they're getting concrete benefits in return." – Jack Roberts Mack announces 'rebranding,' renewed on-highway initiative A key part of Mack's push in 2014 will be an increased emphasis on boosting sales to both fleets and the on-highway/over-the-road markets.