Distribution agreement signed on setting up a distribution system in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania / Growing demand for modern agricultural equipment / Toyota Tsusho East Africa Limited provides experience and extensive distribution and service network
Case IH is intensifying its distribution activities in East Africa, in response to the rapidly growing demand for modern agricultural equipment from the region’s national economies, such as those of Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya. The move reflects the growing need to make cultivation systems more efficient and resource-friendly, with the ultimate aim of helping increase quantity and efficiency in food production.
As a first step, the company has signed a distribution agreement with the Japanese company Toyota Tsusho East Africa Limited. The focus of the agreement is a co-operation in these countries with regard to distribution and service concepts for Case IH agricultural machinery including tractors, combines and sugarcane harvesters.
Based in the Japanese cities of Nagoya and Tokyo, Toyota Tsusho East Africa Ltd is part of the Japanese Toyota Group and one of the leading vehicle distributors of passenger cars and commercial and special vehicles in North, East and South Africa.
Extensive know-how and a close network of distribution centres
“With regard to East Africa in particular, Toyota Tsusho is our partner of choice, having a professional automotive value chain with extensive experiences, logistics concepts, and of course a tight distribution and service network for vehicles,” says Matthew Foster, Vice President at Case IH and also responsible for the distribution of agricultural machinery in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
“Case IH has chosen Toyota Tsusho as a key partner because of its commitment to customers, parts availability and service management, areas which are key for Case IH customers who expect to get the most from their machinery investments and cannot afford equipment downtime,” emphasises Foster.
“At the same time, the Case IH product portfolio perfectly complements the Toyota Tsusho distribution system, with regionally-adapted tractor and harvest technologies as well as special implements. This is particularly true when you consider that 80 percent of the population of these countries work in the agricultural sector, contributing a major part of their respective gross national products,” explains Foster.
In Tanzania alone, Toyota Tsusho has a network of 17 distribution centres, while in Kenya, the Toyota Kenya Business Parc has recently been opened as the centre for logistics, training and service functions, to provide a strong hub for its Kenyan network of 14 outlets, with another 25 to follow to support devolution..
“In addition, the company is actively involved in the area, which matches our business philosophy in the sense of regional creation of value for sustainable development,” concludes Foster.
The first tractors under the agreement will be produced and delivered by Case IH in the course of 2014, starting from the JXT and JX straddle Series, two lines of products that perfectly match the well-known quality of the Case IH products with the robustness and the ease of maintenance that are needed by local farmers.
St. Valentin, 31 January, 2014