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REBUILDING BUSINESS

AND MACHINES

OVERCOMING THE COMPETITION IN NIGERIA

LafargeHolcim Group is the biggest construction and concrete
company in the world. In Nigeria, about five million metric
tonnes of their UniCem concrete brand is poured every year.
And, the operational equipment helping supply that five million
metric tonnes was coming from Cat dealer Mantrac.
®

Then, over a period of two to three years, Mantrac prove that Cat machines could still be valuable
started to see a drop in business from Lafarge assets through the Cat Certified Rebuild Program.
UniCem – a significant, 75 percent drop. As it turns
out, much of Lafarge UniCem’s Cat machines were “We arranged to visit the site and conducted
being replaced by a competitor’s machines. Tier One and Tier Three inspections as well as
Custom Track Service (CTS) inspections with
“It just goes to show you that no matter how hard our technicians and engineers,” added Ibrahim.
you try to meet a customer’s needs, there is always “We went from machine to machine so we could
someone out there trying to take business away,” said create a list of rebuild requirements and costs,
Ibrahim Abeeb, Product Support Sales Representative including parts and labor. Once we fine-tuned
(PSSR) for Cat dealer Mantrac. “In this case, our everything, we went back with a value proposition
customer’s needs hadn’t changed, they were just to get the machines back into service.”
trying to create more cost-effective operations.”
Trying to convince a customer that taking
While new competitor’s equipment was being put into used, dormant equipment is better value over
service, Cat machines (such as a 993, 988, 385, D10, new, cheaper machines from the competition
773 and 775) were just sitting on-site baking in the isn’t easy. However, Lafarge UniCem not only
sun – some for more than two years. Still having a understood the cost-effectiveness and productivity
good relationship with the customer, however, Ibrahim potential of rebuilding Cat machines to like-
decided to take on the competitor’s low pricing and new condition, they committed to rebuilding 10

8 Cat Magazine