by Jon M. Casey

For the dealers and customers of Sandvik Construction Mobile Crushers and Screens in North America, the recent opening of the company’s distribution center in Bensalem, PA has been a “feather in the cap” of Sandvik Mobile when it comes to product sales support. According to Stu Gamble, Business Line manager for Sandvik Mobile Crushers and Screens in the Eastern U.S., Sandvik dealers and customers have Charles Hillmann and John Walsh, Sandvik executives for North America, to thank for this move, which took place in mid-2013. Since its opening, the centralization of parts and equipment in one location has given Sandvik customers the assurance that Sandvik is a company that they can count on for the parts and service after the sale, one of the most important parts of large equipment sales of any kind.

“When Mr. Hillmann was approached with the idea of consolidating our equipment setup and parts distribution at one location, he recognized the advantages of making this kind of move,” said Gamble.

“Since our sales had increased significantly in the past two years, he realized that by being able to inspect the new equipment as it arrived in the U.S. and then being able to stage it for sale and immediate delivery was a tremendous selling tool for our dealer network in the U.S. More importantly, he could see the value of having a parts inventory that could meet the needs of our dealer and customer network in such a way as to give them whatever they needed, whenever they needed it. We can supply approximately 95 percent of all the parts that our end users routinely need, at any given time. That really helps our customers eliminate downtime.”

Gamble said that since the opening of the distribution center in Bensalem, they have also been able to offer dealer support with equipment demonstrations, an added selling tool. “By being able to provide the equipment that a customer is considering for purchase, we can give the dealer a piece of equipment to place at the customer’s location to help them determine if it is the right machine for their needs. That is extremely helpful to the dealer and customer alike.”

“We currently have 15 employees at the distribution center,” he said. “Originally, we did administrative work from our offices in Atlanta, and the parts were shipped from a warehouse in the Chicago area. Now, we have everything at one location, which helps make the process seamless. When dealers or customers call, we can help them immediately and send the parts out right away.”

Gamble noted that with this new, expansive facility, there is room to grow and add improvements in the coming months. “We have some ideas for making our facility even more supportive of our dealer network,” he said. “We will be improving our facilities here as time passes. We have much to work with here. The new site even has a heliport, which could allow customers who fly, come here to see the lineup of equipment that we stock here at Bensalem. Right now, we have right enough inventory on hand to meet all of our needs. We want to be able to ship a product the day it is sold.” For more information on Sandvik Mobile Equipment, visit their website at sandvikmobiles.com or give them a call at 215-244-2035.