Volvo Construction Equipment is a Swedish construction equipment manufacturer. The company recently entered a partnership with Explore Earthmover Pvt. Ltd. for the authorized distribution of Volvo CE in Nepal. David Choo, Business Director of Volvo CE for Nepal, Hub South Asia, Sales Region APAC (Asia Pacific) was in Kathmandu recently. New Business Age caught up with Choo and talked with him about the partnership and other things. Excerpts:

What brings you to Kathmandu?
This time we are here to visit our newly-appointed authorised dealer in Kathmandu, Explore Earthmovers, which is part of the Panchakanya Group. This is not my first visit here.

How do find the Nepali market for your products?
Definitely, there is lot of opportunity in Nepal. A lot of infrastructure development work has been moving ahead. And the demand for construction equipment is also increasing. So, Nepal is going to be a good market for us, and we are happy with the market. We look forward to doing good business with our partner here.

There are other construction equipment companies coming up in the market, how is the competition?
Very aggressive! There is a lot of competition in the market and we do find a good challenge here. We hope, through our partner here, to bring premium equipment. Also, we hope that people will appreciate the quality of our product.

What is the market share of Volvo?
We are new in the Nepali market.

What are the USPs of Volvo CE?
Volvo CE has three USPs. One is Volvo engines are environment-friendly. Second, Volvo CE is also known for its fuel efficiency. And thirdly, being a Swedish company, we manufacture our products considering quality. The other factors are safety, long life and high residual.

What types of equipment do you sell in Nepal?
We are bringing two product ranges: Volvo render construction equipment and Volvo SDLG. We have two market segments, one is premium segment which includes Volvo machine and other is SDLG.

Recently Nepal faced a major earthquake and we are stepping towards reconstruction. Being a construction equipment company how you are going to help in the time of reconstruction?
The company is willing to provide the needed equipment to help the country in the time of reconstruction.

Do you provide after sales service?
One of the important sectors that we look for is after sale support. Being an earth-mover and earth-wheeler producer, we provide after sales service in the countries that we are trading in.  

How is the presence of Volvo CE in the South Asian market?
We are in most South Asian countries: India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Nepal.

What about the availability of spare parts?
We have a huge logistic centre here in Nepal. The dealer for each country has a stock of spare parts.