Company Announcement - Babcock received an award for sales excellence at the recent SDLG construction equipment conference in Shanghai, China, held directly after Bauma China which is China’s largest construction equipment trade fair. SDLG is a value-added range of mechanically driven wheel loaders, graders and vibratory rollers, ideal for applications in the re-handling, construction, quarrying, agricultural and aggregate industries. These machines offer extended trouble-free operation and are extremely maintenance friendly, fitted with basic electronics and standard components.

Babcock’s General Manager SDLG, Grant Sheppard, who attended both events accompanied by his two top performing salespeople, says he was thrilled to receive the award, particularly since Babcock has only been the exclusive distributor of SDLG construction machinery in southern Africa since early 2012. “The award recognises the outstanding sales year we enjoyed in 2014,” says Sheppard.  “We were one of only two dealers to be recognised with this award and this is a milestone achievement for us.

“SDLG really came into its own in southern Africa in 2013, but 2014 truly entrenched us as a brand to be reckoned with in the market. Over the course of last year, we more than tripled our sales staff and we have now representation in all the major centres of South Africa and its neighbouring countries.  This investment into our personnel and footprint is earning significant dividends and, building on this dynamic foundation, we have very high hopes for 2015.

“Our achievement lies the fact that within a market sector that did not grow last year, we actually doubled the sales penetration of the SDLG brand. The reasons for this beyond-expectation success include the level and quality of the support we offer our customers, our philosophy of partnering to enhance customer operations and the extensive sales and support footprint available to our customers across southern Africa.  SDLG is represented in all Babcock service centres in the region, which translates to more than 20 outlets. This shrewd strategy has successfully exploited the best possible advantage out of Babcock’s existing footprint and afforded us a major competitive advantage.”

Sheppard says during 2015 Babcock will extend its SDLG product range within the wheel loader and other market segments, in response to customer requests.

The international SDLG dealer network is expanding rapidly and there is an expectation that there will be more than 100 dealers worldwide by 2016. The brand’s strategy puts customer satisfaction at the forefront, ensuring a strong aftermarket support offering. SDLG wheel loaders are one of the world’s biggest selling product lines in this sector.