Volvo Trucks have crossed a new milestone in their regional expansion plans. In partnership with their local Iraqi partners, ZamZam General, the Group unveiled two new Truck Centers in Iraq, with a third on the way, marking the importance of this market within their Middle East growth strategy. Since signing with the ZamZam General Group two years ago, Volvo Group Trucks have asserted their existence in this key market, focusing on a rapid expansion of their presence, through the new Truck Centers in Baghdad and Basra, another one planned in Irbil by the end of 2013, as well as an emphasis on training and competence development, aimed at raising a new generation of national professionals. These state-of-the-art developments will be accompanied by the set-up of an assembly line in Babylon-Iskandariya, which will be one of the first Truck assembly lines in the country. Volvo Group Trucks, a key historical player in the region, have strong and ambitious plans for the near future, largely focused on training and competence development, and chiefly, expansion though network and density enlargement. The new developments within their Volvo Trucks and Mack Trucks brands play a pivotal role in their expansion, and new markets, such as Iraq, are a crucial element for Volvo Group Trucks Middle East's strategy, in achieving a target of 30 percent by 2015. In addition to the two new state-of-the-art facilities, whose completion was achieved impressively within the planned project timelines, there are now 48 Truck Centers across the Greater GCC, underlining the Group's ambitious expansion plans aiming to be close to customers within the region. Commenting on the recent launches in Baghdad and Basra, Stefan Soenchen, Business Team Director, Iraq, said: “The Iraqi market represents a hugely strategic fit and a key driver in bringing to fruition our targeted growth figures of a 30 percent increase by 2015. The market displays the highest growth potential regionally in the heavy-duty truck segment, so it has naturally featured as a major part of our Middle East strategy since 2011.” “On top of the new and planned Truck Centers, we will also be rolling out a number of value-added initiatives in the coming years, to further reinforce our investment and commitment to the region. The inclusion of the region's upcoming training center, one of the most modern in the Middle East, will increase local skill sets and aid retention of local talent. This in itself is testimony to our commitment in being part of the region's long-term development,” added Marco Bonaveglio, Marketing Director for the Middle East. Moreover, the inauguration of key initiatives across Volvo Group Trucks' other important regional markets, namely the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman are also underway and will come online in the near future as the group's vision of being at the forefront of their industry becomes reality by increasing growth figures by 30 percent in 2015 over the region. — SG
