Prime Mover: You started your career in banking, so what brought you to trucks?
Glen Dyer: I wanted to be involved with something physical, and I’ve always loved cars. In the UK I got a job with London taxis which was like a different world. Potential drivers go out on a moped for two years solid to get ‘the knowledge’, learning every single street and back alley in London so they know exactly where they are going.
PM: What did you do after that?
GD: I got my passion for trucks when I joined one of Europe’s leading truck brands in the UK, and in the particular role I had everything we did was solution-based, addressing customer questions like: ‘This truck, how do I make it work for my business?’, ‘How do I make sure it’s cost effective?’, ‘All you need to do is keep me on the road. I’ll pay the bill, you just keep me on the road.’
PM: What brought about the move to Australia?
GD: I was tapped on the shoulder to come to Australia with the financial services division of that company to help set up some finance products. We launched the program and packaged up operating leases with repair and maintenance contracts. I went on to head up light commercial retail sales with the same manufacturer in Australia. When I joined, I was told all I need to worry about is not losing the number one market position. So, no pressure! I spent six years there and grew the business pretty well and also retained #1.
PM: What prompted the move to IVECO?
GD: I had a senior contact who I knew very well from my very early days in the country when he was a Dealer Principal, and when he went across to IVECO I was surprised, then six months later I followed him. There were some big decisions being made in terms of the production plant which had been discussed for a while. Although the majority of our vehicles were already produced in Europe, it was a monumental decision to sundown the plant and move remaining production to Europe.
PM: Was the transition from local manufacture to exclusively importing very challenging?
GD: We were pretty lucky, particularly with the engineers at the plant in Madrid, because they were very open to what we wanted to do in terms of product and trying to get everything done down the production line with our specific ANZ models. They were used to building for Europeans with 90 per cent 4×2 tractor prime movers and all of a sudden they’ve got what would be our standard — heavy haulage, long range fuel tanks, and heavy duty cross members.
PM: Has one of the strengths of IVECO in Australia been good local engineers who have been able to say ‘look, this spec might look silly to you, but this is what we need?’
GD: Absolutely. Steve Allen still works over in Germany. He was quite instrumental for us with ACCO. Effectively we had an Australian engineer who was deeply involved with ACCO when he was here, able to assist in getting across the requirements of the product and help us make sure we got what we needed.
PM: Have local suppliers played a role in the success of ACCO?
GD: The ACCO, even now, has still got some of the core components that have been used in the product for a long time. We still use Australian suppliers for some components of ACCO, because they know the product, and what we require.
PM: Is the S-Way model living up to its potential in the market?
GD: Good Question. We’re really pleased in terms of rigids which are going really well, whether it be ACCOs or any other of our popular rigid range. In terms of prime movers, moving from X-Way to be right up to date with S-Way, we really see this as our opportunity. What we’ve found are customers who have bought a 460, or have run some 460s, are coming back. In answer to your question, with the market decline we wish we’d sold more but the feedback on the product and the reliability means the outlook for the future is bright.
PM: IVECO unwrapped a new model of the Eurocargo at the Brisbane Truck Show. What are your hopes for the medium-duty sector?
GD: Initially our focus was on core market segments, so we’ve had really good interest and questions from our waste, municipal, and street sweeper customers who we’ve dealt with long-term. That’s given us a very good start, but we’re also looking to expand into some other areas we’ve not been in so much. We’re just finalising a tipper spec and the way that the new model has been reconfigured and redesigned inside it has a much nicer feel. We’ve got a very good opportunity to move into that medium-duty space a little bit more and with the new features it’s going to give us that extra push.
PM: What’s happening with Daily?
GD: In the van space we’ve still got some work to do to get into some of the bigger fleets and the key now is to take the product to the next level. We’re very strong in the camper market, almost the ‘go to’ vehicle.
PM: Can IVECO leverage off that?
GD: On the van side the next focus is to actually push into some segments we’ve not really been in. And with cab-chassis, the 7.2-tonne GVM chassis is the only product that anyone can get in that space. It is literally unique. It’s an area where we want to focus because we know a lot of the European cab-chassis tap out at five and a half tonnes and we know a lot of customers running them are absolutely on the limit with payload.
PM: Exciting times ahead?
GD: The past couple of years have been a bit of a whirlwind for us yet vindicated by the new model range which we are really pleased with, and it’s already been very well received. So definitely exciting times ahead.
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