Wacker Neuson has announced the appointment of their new dealership, AFGRI Equipment, a move that sees the premium quality light and compact equipment specialist expanding its agricultural & construction footprint across the Southern African region.
Established in 1963, AFGRI Equipment is a prominent retailer of leading global agricultural, golf and turf equipment and construction brands in Africa and Australia. The organisation has branches in the provinces of Limpopo, Mpumalanga, the Northern and Western Cape, the North West, and the Free State as well as cross border in Botswana, Zimbabwe and Swaziland.
Dennis Vietze, Managing Director for Wacker Neuson Sub-Saharan Africa, explains how the new dealership agreement was cultivated: “AFGRI Equipment decided to approach us in their quest for a partner to complement their range of premium products and to have a more comprehensive customer offering. AFGRI will complement its product range with Wacker Neuson excavators, wheel loaders and telehandlers. Their strong presence and expansive footprint in the agricultural, and recently acquired John Deere Construction & Forestry space were among the numerous factors that encouraged us to enter into this dealer partnership. Moreover, their incredible service and strong customer relationships have earned them an excellent reputation in the industry. As outstanding service and long-term customer relationships have always taken prominence at Wacker Neuson, we recognised the mutual synergies prevalent between the two companies.”
“AFGRI Equipment is excited to be a part of the Wacker Neuson distributorship,” says Managing Director, Patrick Roux. “This agreement allows us to sell and support world-class products that have built a following in South Africa over the last 40 years. Wacker Neuson’s product offering also aligns very well with AFGRI Equipment’s current portfolio to specifically focus on compact construction equipment which enables us to enter this segment within the agriculture and construction industry.” Roux adds that while customers in the compact construction sector have for the longest time enjoyed many options in terms of product offerings, the popularity of the Wacker Neuson range and the versatility of applications will serve to further enhance the customer experience above that of competitor offerings.
Roux also points to Wacker Neuson’s renowned engineering design and state-of-the-art manufacturing that leads to ultra-reliable equipment for the end-user. “As can be expected from a company that has its roots in Germany and has been long been involved in the South African market, substantial investments have been made in parts distribution, technical training facilities, and most importantly, personnel development. This, combined with AFGRI Equipment’s legendary aftersales service, makes for a compelling customer proposition.”
The dealership agreement, which became official on April 1st, 2022, will see the rollout of Wacker Neuson equipment to AFGRI in two phases. “During the first phase we will be focusing on Wacker Neuson Telehandlers, Wheeled Loaders, and Excavators to meet the large need for these machines within the agricultural space,” affirms Roux.
In terms of what customers can look forward to from the three Wacker Neuson machines, which will be available from all 23 AFGRI branches, Roux notes that the Wheeled Loader, coupled with all-wheel steering, will adapt well in the market and is suitable for a wide variety of industries owing to its versatility and manoeuvrability. The Compact Excavator he says finds particular favour with plant hire and urban development businesses as it is easy to transport at lower costs and easy to manoeuvre, particularly in tight spaces. “The Telehandler is popular in all segments of the construction industry as well as in numerous agricultural applications,” notes Roux adding that the reliability and serviceability of these machines are exceptional.
AFGRI is responsible for the full service of all Wacker Neuson equipment, including after-market support. Roux confirms that AFGRI Equipment has already embarked on a full training schedule for Parts and Service professionals to service the market. According to Roux, the wide footprint of their current branch network straddling over 23 locations across South Africa, along with their 175 fully qualified technicians and 93 apprentices, will play a critical role in upholding the exceptional service that AFGRI customers have become accustomed to. “These highly skilled individuals work mostly on-site and make use of 145 fully kitted service vehicles to achieve this task. We look forward to welcoming existing Wacker Neuson customers to the AFGRI Equipment experience.”
Wacker Neuson is providing all relevant training, including sales and after-sales. “Initial training was done via our online platform as well as on-site at AFGRI Equipment,” says Vietze. “Training will also be available at our new state-of-the-art Training Academy which we are proud to announce is due for completion in June. We are currently conducting training every two weeks to make sure that the AFGRI Equipment team is confident with the Wacker Neuson brand and our sales and after-sales processes.”
Introductory, product, and technical training has been coordinated by Wacker Neuson staff members and Roux has been impressed by the company‘s overall training experience. The ability and passion of the training personnel have been amazing with some members of the team having in excess of 30 years of technical, product, and competitor experience. With further training sessions already scheduled, we are looking forward to engaging with the Wacker Neuson team.”
“Wacker Neuson is very excited about the partnership with AFGRI Equipment. We see unlimited potential in the Wacker Neuson-AFGRI relationship which will be further strengthened by our shared synergies to the benefit of both companies, ultimately adding tremendous value for customers and end-users,” concludes Vietze.
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