Component supplier found the perfect fit

Infrastructure companies working in Africa open door of opportunity for spares and repairs business

As a leading component supplier for the China National Heavy Duty Truck Group (Sinotruk), Shandong Jinsen Mechanical Equipment has long been engaged in supply, repairs and maintenance in the company's over-seas markets.

To provide direct services for Sinotruk's construction machinery, in 2015 Shandong Jinshen started to consider its own overseas strategy. Before that, the company had only dispatched service people or delivered components to other countries. It started operations in Ethiopia, Tanzania, Nigeria, Senegal, Angola and Mozambique in the same year as an independent business.

In October of that year, the company decided to send a team to investigate the market and seek trading opportunities in Kenya. Mao Chengqiao was one of the members of the team, arriving on the first day of 2016.

The market investigation focused on the number of heavy-duty vehicles, the type of vehicles and Customs data along the trunk road from Mombasa, the largest port city, to Nairobi, capital of Kenya. In March 2016, the company registered Jing Sheng Machinery Equipment Kenya, a subsidiary completely owned by its headquarters company in Jinan, capital of East China's Shandong province.

The establishment of the new company marked the launch of its Kenya strategy. It shipped major components from the central warehouse of Sinotruk in July 2016 and provided component services for that company's heavy-duty products.

"We carried out a 'close-by' service strategy to satisfy the needs of clients using Sinotruk heavy-duty trucks," says Mao, who is now general manager of the company.

"With our service arm stretching into Africa, we are able to provide quality services to major Chinese funded construction companies."

The company's strategy is clear: Where there are Sinotruk heavy-duty trucks, there are Jing Sheng services. Since most heavy-duty trucks are used in infrastructure projects, Jing Sheng has become popular in the sector after a year in operation.

Today, Jing Sheng provides components for medium-and heavy-duty trucks above 7 tons from FAW, Beiben and SHCMAN, as well as Sinotruk. It has warehouses in Nairobi and Mombasa, keeping components worth 3 million yuan (45 million kenyan shillings; $436,000), including those on the way to Kenya and ready for shipping.

Statistics indicate that the number of major heavy-duty dump trucks and tractors in the country stands at about 20,000, with between 5,000 and 6,000 trucks from FAW, 4,000 and 5,000 from Beiben, 2,000 from Sinotruk and another 5,000 of other makes.

"As more and more Chinese construction companies flock into Kenya, the market will expand in the foreseeable future," says Mao.

panzhongming@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily Africa Weekly 04/28/2017 page27)