Officials of Nasser Bin Khalid Automobiles and Khalid Cement Industries Complex during the signing ceremony.
Doha: Nasser Bin Khaled (NBK) Automobiles, the exclusive distributor of Mercedes-Benz branded vehicles in Qatar, announced yesterday that it has signed an agreement with Khalid Cement Industries Complex (KCIC), one of Qatar’s leading suppliers of complete concrete solutions, to supply KCIC with a range of Mercedes-Benz branded Commercial vehicles, a press release said yesterday.
According to the agreement, NBK Automobiles will supply KCIC with a total of 142 vehicles including 43 tipper trucks, 65 tractor heads, 28 Cargo trucks mounted with cranes, five Water and sewage tankers and one skip loader truck. The agreement also envisages a fleet board management system and full service contract for five years, the press release added.
It is the first major deal for construction vehicles to be equipped with Mercedes-Benz “Telligent automatic gearshift system II”. This system is being utilised on all the trucks in order to eliminate the so-called “clutch” problems and to reduce fuel consumption which will, ultimately, reduce the overall operational costs of these trucks.
This system is a first for the industry in Qatar, and Khalid Cement is proud to be the first company in Qatar to utilise such system on construction vehicles which are normally equipped with the standard “manual gearshift”
“NBK Automobiles is committed to contributing towards the continued development of the country through providing our business partners with extensive support and equipment tailored to meet their specific requirements, and the agreement with Khalid Cement Industries Complex is in line with this strategic objective,” said Khalid Shaaban, General Manager, NBK Automobiles.
“KCIC has established itself as one of Qatar’s foremost suppliers of complete concrete solutions and a major player in construction material production, and we look forward to working with them to offer long-term support in this and their upcoming ventures.”
NBK’s agreement also includes “fleet board” management system, which is a management consultancy service designed to help companies maximise efficiency along their entire transport fleet work flows, including cutting fuel consumption and wear-related costs.
The service focuses on swift implementation of a telematics system in industry-specific day-to-day operations, to develop solutions that will ensure that their telematics and IT systems map the individual work flows as effectively as possible.
The Fleetboard telematics system also enables the automation of the fleet vehicles including the transport processes, recording the working hours of the drivers, the optimal use of fuel and reduction in maintenance costs.
“The decision was not easy”; said Nabil Al Kaluti, Group General Manager of KCIC. According to Al Kaluti, KCIC went through a rigorous technical & commercial evaluation process of several well-known manufacturers before reaching their final decision to go for “Mercedes-Benz” trucks.
“Our decision was based on three main criteria’s: Brand Name, Total Cost of Ownership, and After-Sales Support,” said Mr. Al Kaluti
Khalid Cement Industries Complex is one of Qatar’s leading suppliers of complete concrete solutions with a 200,000 square meter main production plant just outside Doha, Qatar and additional plants in Industrial Area, Dhukhan, Dafna and Ras Laffan.
The Peninsula
