Volvo Construction Equipment's managing director in Indonesia, Mark Gabel, outlines their strategy to gain market share in the country's competitive heavy equipment sector. This includes delivering superior aftermarket support and technology through their entire product range. Gabel works closely with Volvo's two national dealers on training, sales, and providing customized solutions to meet customers' short and long-term needs. Both dealers have invested in new facilities and training to improve customer service and support Volvo's strategy.

1. Mark Gabel
Managing Director of
PT Volvo Indonesia
committed to customers

2. T
he Indonesian government’s
Master Plan for Acceleration
and Expansion of Indonesia’s
Economic Development
(better known under its Bahasa
abbreviation of MP3EI) outlines the
industries and activities that will
contribute towards reaching its goal
of becoming a developed country by
2025. The ambitious initiative projects
economic growth of more than 6
percent by end 2014 – a breath of fresh
air for many businesses especially in
the mining, construction, agriculture,
forestry and infrastructure sectors, which
are all said to play a vital role in the
country’s development.
Mark Gabel, Managing Director
of PT Volvo Indonesia, recognizes
that Volvo Construction Equipment
(Volvo CE) has a big opportunity to
tailor its products and services to the
growing Indonesian market at this time.
“We offer the right solutions for many
applications in these key sectors that
form part of the MP3EI initiative,”
explains Gabel. “And by working with
our customers to customize solutions
to suit their short- or long-term needs
– both in terms of products, services,
and financial support – we can create
a win-win scenario for both Volvo and
our customers’ businesses.”
Gabel holds a Bachelor’s degree in
Business Economics from the University
of Hanover in his native Germany, as well
as a Masters in Automotive Engineering
from the Ingolstadt Technical University,
in the German state of Bavaria. Based on
his mechanical and corporate expertise,
Gabel notes that Indonesia is an important
focus market for the global construction
equipment brand and he will be
developing a robust strategy to maintain
existing and win new customers alongside
Volvo CE’s two national dealers, PT
Indotruck Utama (ITU) and PT Intraco
Penta Prima Servis (IPPS).
“We convey our strategy to our
dealers and coordinate activities alongside
them in order to maximize customer
satisfaction and sales volumes,” says
Gabel. “During 2014, we are forecasting
an increase in market share across our
entire range of excavators, wheel loaders
and road machinery. And this strategy
can only be achieved by having good
synergy with our dealers,” adds the
36-year old executive who was acting
general manager for the Volvo Group
Trucks based in Singapore before moving
to Indonesia.
The Indonesian government’s
Biofuel Mandate that states all diesel
fuel blends must contain at least
10 percent bio products will have a
positive impact on the palm oil industry,
according to Gabel. Indonesia is already
the biggest producer – and soon to
be biggest consumer – of palm oil
products, with over 70 percent coming
from Sumatra. Oil palm plantations
and infrastructure projects nationwide
present substantial growth opportunities
for Volvo CE, Gabel adds.
PT Volvo Indonesia is not only
extending its support to customers, but
also to its two national dealers in an
attempt to deliver better sales training
and competence development throughout
its teams. With the restructuring of its
two dealer networks now complete,
PT Volvo Indonesia has been on hand
to support dealer principals in their
new roles as general managers of both
the service and sales functions of their
organizations – as well as deploying
expert business managers to dealer
sites in order to advise on growth
activities. “The dealer training has
been a huge success,” says Gabel. “Our
managers feel empowered and the entire
dealerships feel inspired to develop their
business and grow.”
INTA Group – the parent company
of IPPS – recently invested US$2 million
in a state-of-the-art training facility
to improve human resources across
its portfolio of businesses, focusing
on the heavy equipment industry. For
IPPS, this means specialist training
for its service technicians – who are
trained using Volvo machines and
Genuine Volvo Parts. “It’s great to see
our dealers investing in their people,”
says Gabel, who before joining Volvo
worked for other auto firms in various
countries including as vice president
for the industrial automotive division
at Mongolian Star Melchers from 2006
to 2011, and as a retail consultant and
In order to gain market share within Indonesia’s competitive
heavy equipment sector, Volvo Construction Equipment aims to
deliver superior aftermarket support and advanced technology
throughout its entire product range. The company’s managing
director in Indonesia, Mark Gabel, explains the strategy behind
getting closer to customers.

3. service manager at Daimler AG in the
US, Germany and South Korea.
ITU, Volvo CE’s official dealer
for Sumatra, Java, Nusa Tenggara and
Papua, recently invested $6 million in
a 1.2 hectare sales and service facility
in Palembang, South Sumatra. At the
opening ceremony in April, ITU’s
CEO, Stefan Soenchen, described
the new premises as a springboard to
enable the company to better serve
customers in this rapidly developing
region. The new Palembang branch
features a CareTrack monitoring
room where customers and service
staff can keep track of machines’
service intervals and component wear,
remotely.
“Our aim is to offer customers the
best service we can – even in remote areas
of this vast archipelago,” states Gabel,
who claims to enjoy living and working
in Indonesia and loves to taste local
delicacies as well as visiting local cultural
hotspots. “We want to build lasting and
trusting relationships with our customers
so that they keep coming back.”
The Palembang branch adds to
ITU’s existing Sumatra branches in
Medan, Pekanbaru, Jambi and Bengkulu.
Palembang will be staffed by 40 highly
qualified sales professionals and service
technicians to serve Volvo Group
customers in the mining, forestry, cement,
industrial and construction sectors.
The Volvo brand is recognized for
its quality – and Volvo construction
equipment is no different. The brand
ensures that quality is not only built
in to its range of products, but also
in its parts, components, oils and
lubricants, attachments and other tailored
customer solutions. This quality has
been recognized by the Indonesian
government, which has purchased a
number of Volvo machines to work on
government-run projects such as the
Soekarno Hatta Airport development.