APPRENTICESHIP
WWW.EXPORTANDFREIGHT.COM
SCANIA’S NEW UK SUPPORT CENTRE OFFICIALLY OPENED The Ambassador of Sweden to the UK, His Excellency Torbjorn Sohlstrom, has officially opened Scania’s new UK Support Centre in Milton Keynes, Bucks, as Dan Gilkes reports for Export & Freight. Scania is calling the facility a Support Centre, rather than a UK headquarters, as the whole building has been built around providing dealers and customers with increased back-up and assistance.
is also expected to be cut by at least 25%, through more efficient sanitaryware and recycling of rainwater for the site’s landscaping. Looking ahead, the site also features a number of electric charging points, both for cars and for larger trucks and buses. Indeed, the entire site has been future-proofed, with room for the company to grow and develop in terms of technology.
The 6,200m2 building, which sits within a 3.2ha site, brings Scania’s financial services division into the same facility as truck rental, connected services, driver training and development, improving communication and reducing decision making time. Scania’s technical centre however remains in Loughborough, while Scania Assistance continues to operate from a site in Bradford. “We are in a good place, but there are challenges ahead,” said managing director Martin Hay. “We have a massive journey ahead in digitalisation.” To support that journey, Scania’s IT business, which provides systems back-up, hardware and software for the entire UK network, has also expanded within the site. The IT division supports both Scania-owned and independent dealers and it will play a much bigger role in the future. “In the future, every technician will require a laptop,” said Mark Grant, Scania (GB) aftersales director. “At Scania’s recently opened dealer outlet near Gatwick, every technician now operates
with a tablet computer and the company will continue to invest in connected services going forward.” Scania is already moving well beyond simple computer access, however. The company is currently trialling a headset for technicians that incorporates a glass screen and communication hardware. This allows the technician to work on a truck that has been telematically linked with the Loughborough technical centre. Wiring diagrams and technical assistance can be displayed on a screen attached to the headset, providing faster diagnosis and reduced downtime for customers.
Scania’s new UK Support Centre in Milton Keynes, Bucks
48
EXPORT&FREIGHT
“We have three potential solutions on test and now we need to make a choice,” said Martin Hay.“We will roll out the system to the network by the end of the year, with a set of glasses at every dealer across the UK.”
Hi-Tech The Support Centre itself is technologically advanced, with 10% of its energy use coming from renewable sources. There are 385m2 of photovoltaic panels on the roof and, together with heat source pumps, they will reduce CO2 emissions by a minimum of 10% compared to the previous building. Water use
Scania first arrived the UK in 1964, initially selling industrial engines. The company’s first trucks arrived in 1965 and the firm moved to its Milton Keynes site in 1981. Scania now employs more than 3,000 staff across the UK, capturing 22% of the heavy truck market and 8% of the bus and coach business. Industrial engines still represent an important part of the business, with record sales of 1,460 engines last year. “In addition to growing sales of our trucks, buses, coaches and engines, we have also developed a host of associated services, in truck rental, used sales, finance, connected services, driver training and development and so on,” said Martin. “All of this requires extensive dealer and customer support, which is why we are referring to our new premises as our UK Support centre, rather than our headquarters.”
