Hiab’s 12-month UK and Ireland strategy

Hiab, a leading provider of loader cranes and other on-road load handling equipment, has announced plans to change its route to market and business structure, alongside increased investment in vital services, to further improve its service operating model in the UK and Ireland.

The company said that developing the strategy over the next 12 months will see it: optimise its distribution setup in sales and services; invest in its organisation and people; and pursue growth in key product, segment and geographical areas.

With the introduction of its new managing director for the UK and Ireland, Rogier van der Linde, in July 2016, Hiab said its focus for 2017 is to become a more customer-focused, competitive organisation. “Our aim is to become number one in load handling, inspiring and shaping the industry,” commented van der Linde.  “One of the key reasons for the development of my position is to bring leadership through clear focus while continuing to support our customers in the best way possible. This means being actively focused on vital areas within the business that will be developed.”

Hiab said this includes development opportunities in service documentation and the continuous improvement of its product offerings with recently launched products, for example, the X-HiPro 145 DL – one of Hiab’s midrange cranes that the company said has an advanced remote control system that lets operators work from a safe distance – and the company’s ‘heavy range’ of loader cranes.

“I believe that after-sales support is absolutely critical for our customers, so our future plans will focus on driving improvements in our footprint as well ensuring increasing co-operation with our service partners,” concluded van der Linde. In addition to this, Hiab said it would streamline its sales organisation to focus more on direct sales, key account sales and dealer sales.