Volvo Construction Equipment and EKN

-JOINT VISIT TO TURKEY

"EKN transaction is an actual expression in Turkey", says Lotta Danielsson, EKN's Head of Unit for Goods & Vehicles. And if you ask Volvo Construction Equipment's Greger Svanström, Director Trade Finance and Business Control, he'll tell you that's not surprising. "Our cooperation with EKN in our Turkish projects goes back many years, so EKN is well known to our customers and represents something very positive."

With around fifteen current transactions on the agenda, EKN accompanied VCE to Istanbul on a three-day visit in early November 2009. The trip was the follow-up to a previous visit in March, and a third visit is planned at the end of 2010.

Fierce competition

Victor Carstenius, one of EKN's country analysts, also went on the trip. He describes the situation in the country. "Turkey ranks among the world's top 20 economies. The country has a large mining and construction industry and is Europe's sixth largest construction equipment market. This means there is fierce completion in this area. VCE is competing with several large players with recognised quality products and strong financing offers.

Focus on financing

Greger Svanström points out that the financing solution is almost always the most important element in international transactions. “That is why VCE's finance department conducts the company's transactions – in fact it is more involved than the sales department. This in turn means EKN plays an increasingly vital role in Volvo's competitiveness, and it is particularly important for EKN to accompany us out into the field and meet the customers. When you are up against US companies with major financial institutions behind them, it is not enough to have a financially advantageous offer. It's also essential to act quickly and find the maximum number of flexible solutions.”

Zeki Ekinci is Purchasing Manager at Yildizlar SSS Holding, a potential VCE customer. According to him, EKN's quick action exceeded expectations. "I'm astounded that you came over here straight away. Your speed has surprised and impressed me – there's a real feeling that we're working with the right partner." Zeki's company is about to buy 35 new machines for a mining project.

Relationships important

The main purpose of the trip was to establish contacts, create relationships, show commitment and gain a good understanding of the actual situation of VCE and its customers.

Mahir Hocaoglu, CEO of Volvo Construction Equipment Turkey, sees it like this: "If you are far removed from the market, you don't know what is happening. If you are here, you can experience the transactions with all your senses." And it is absolutely clear that EKN's presence affects the success of Swedish exporters. Several of the problem transactions have been resolved since the previous visit.

Discussion until the very end

There were many business reasons for the visit. At the time of the trip, VCE had approximately 40 ongoing projects in Turkey. Although most of these are progressing smoothly, there have been a few cases of gravel entering the machinery. These topics were jointly discussed by EKN, VCE Turkey, the company's local lawyers and in some cases the end customer.

Legal Advisor Martin Lausson has worked at EKN for many years. During a car drive between two meetings, he pointed out the value of maintaining a good exporter and end customer relationship. He also emphasised the importance of always putting future transactions first. "I think the best aspects of the visit have been our success in resolving a number of problems and the fact that we have met customers who may be important partners of VCE in the future."

Successful trip

It was a contented EKN party that boarded the plane home with Greger Svanström. The trip to Turkey was successful in all respects. Problem transactions have been resolved, major progress has been made with potential new contracts and the cooperation between EKN, Volvo Construction Equipment and several of Volvo's Turkish customers is closer than ever.

Published: Aug 18, 2010
Last updated: Apr 05, 2012