It was a great day not only for Scania Southern Africa but also for its customers, for South Africa as a whole as well as for sustainability when the company celebrated its 30th anniversary in South Africa with the opening of its new Regional Product Centre (RPC) incorporating the company’s newly completed production assembly plant. This new facility stands as a solid testament to Scania’s on-going commitment to our region writes Patrick O’Leary.
If you’ve ever been on a tour of a truck assembly plant such as Scania’s, you will come to realise the scale of investment required by such a company to plant its roots deeper into South African soil. While no figures were revealed at the opening of this new plant, the pictures accompanying this article are enough to convince anyone that the spend is massive. As such, all accolades should be thrown Scania’s way for committing to such an investment.
A statement issued by the company says: “This facility stands as a beacon of Scania’s dedication to providing sustainable, reliable and high performing vehicles tailored for the Southern African market.” Yes, that’s certainly true but there’s more to it than that.
For the past 30 years – from 1995 to 2025 – Scania has been systematically building its presence in the market not only via the number of trucks on the road but in so many other positive ways.
An indication of Scania’s growth is given via the fact that in 1995, a grand total of five trucks were assembled. That rose to 151 in 1996 and in July 1997, the first CKD bus chassis was assembled at the Elandsfontein plant.
Last year a total of 3 317 bus chassis and trucks were produced bringing the total number of units to have been produced over the past three decades to 41 505 units. This new plant now provides Scania with the capability to ramp up production even further to ensure it remains responsive to the needs of its customers across the region.
But one cannot only look at production figures to gauge the company’s overall contribution. Speaking at the opening ceremony, Erik Bergvall, managing director of Scania Southern Africa, said it is more than just a facility upgrade.
“Scania’s presence in South Africa is about more than just business. It’s about partnerships, investments and trust. The opening of this new assignment is a reflection of our confidence in South Africa’s potential and also our ambitions to support economic growth, job creation and sustainable development. We are here to create lasting value and logistics solutions and contribute meaningfully to the economy and to local communities.”
The added beauty of having a global giant like Scania in South Africa is that not only does the company bring advanced manufacturing techniques and innovation to the region thereby up-skilling the local workforce, but in terms of environmental sustainability, South Africa is benefiting from the advanced developments being carried out on its trucks by Scania in Europe.
“We’re building a future where transport is smarter, cleaner and more efficient – a future where Scania leads the way in creating solutions that are better for business, for communities and for the planet,” said Bergvall.
On this point, FleetWatch was heartened to see environmental slogans bannered at strategic positions in the plant to remind all that we have to work towards protecting the planet for future generations.
One of the banners caught my eye. It said “Green Today; Greener Tomorrow” while another blared out that Scania leads the way with smart, “fossil free transport solutions”. All I can say on this is thank goodness we have Scania in South Africa and not USA President Donald Trump chanting his mantra of ‘Drill, baby, Drill.”
FleetWatch extends its congratulations to Scania on this magnificent development. South Africa can be proud to have you on our shores.
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