Bramont, our distributor in Brazil, was instrumental in making Mahindra tractors’ presence felt in a big way during October. Its dealers Simoagro, Rodair, Netos Krause, Santa Macchina and Schneider participated in various regional fairs. Mahindra tractors were showcased in their full glory at these fairs and demos were also held to give visitors a thorough idea about the strength and features of the tractors. The fairs saw a good turnout and visitors spent substantial time with the tractors which left them suitably impressed.

In September, our dealer Maquinarias Gildemeister took to different fields and grabbed the farmers’ attention in different areas with extensive demos. The 9500 model was showcased in Ensenada, Puerto Varas X Region, the 6000 DI, 6000 Orchards and 8000 models in San Fernando Branch, VI Region and the 8560 model in Chaicao, Lonquimay, IX Region.

The working of the 7030 model was demonstrated in Linao Ancud, Fundo La Tiza, X Region and in La Luma K4 – Paillaco, X Region. The demos were effective in sparking the farmers’ interest and generating enquiries. The dealer followed this up with a newspaper ad in Revista del Campo Mercurio and magazine ad in El Campo Sureño.

The marketing strategy for October was similar with field demos being held at several locations and newspaper and magazine ads being used to popularise Mahindra tractors. The Feria Valle del Itata, Coelemu, VIII Region saw the 6000 DI and 8560 models in action, while the Lonquimay, IX Region witnessed the efficiency of the 8560 model.

To reinforce its recall value, the same newspaper ad was run in Revistadel Campo Mercurio. An ad and article appeared in the GTT magazine promoting our tractors and dealer. The activities resulted in the brand staying on the public’s mind.

Maquinarias Gildemeister gave Mahindra tractors more visibility with every effort they made. In September, they extended Mahindra tractors’ reach to the country’s south zone by having a point of exhibition in Puno city. Considering the geographical dynamics of the zone, they envision substantial demand for the 8560 Cabin model. Moreover, their team and dealers also participated in the Huancavelica Agro Fair this year, which is well attended by farmers from neighbouring cities who are mainly engaged in the cultivation of potatoes and cereal crops. They received a good response at the fair and are expecting to generate more business.

In October, Maquinarias Gildemeister delivered the 8560 Cabin model to its client, Agualima, who finds the tractor very useful in moving the compost preparation at its facility.

Total Agro, our distributor in Bolivia, made Mahindra tractors the centre of attention in October and November. On 17th October, they held a demo of the 9200 4WD model owned by their client, Mr. Curtis Juett, from Campo León.

The demo was attended by 20 keen farmers. In addition, they participated in the country’s biggest agriculture show, VIDAS 2015 held on 23rd and 24th October. 7030 4WD, 8000 4WD and 9200 4WD models were set in an eye catching display for the visitors.

In November, Total Agro participated in the Quinoa Fair held at the Sorocachi town in the city of Oruro. Total Agro is making inroads in the government sector by bidding for tenders. They participated in a tender with the Government of Santa Cruz de la Sierra which they have won. Total Agro’s enterprising efforts gave Mahindra tractors an edge in Bolivia.

ETS Zouari was active in October and November holding training sessions and participating in industry related exhibitions. Mr. Parambir Singh, Service Manager, M&M Ltd., conducted a product and service training session for technicians between 5th and 7th November to further hone their skills and knowledge. He visited 3 dealerships in Safax, Gabes and Sousse and trained the teams at all the three locations. He also interacted with customers of 8560 4WD and 7030 4WD addressing product issues and offering solutions.

During 28th October – 1st November, Tunisia’s biggest agri fair, SIAMAP 2015, was held. ETS Zouari used this once-in-a-year opportunity to prominently display Mahindra tractors. Mr. Parambir Singh attended the fair along with Mr. Alaya EL Ghali, Service Head, ETS Zouari. One of the interesting highlights of this event was that a lot of women customers visited the Mahindra stall and showed keen interest in the 4035 4WD and 8560 ROPS models.

ETS Zouari made the requisite moves to deepen the relationship between Mahindra tractors and its immediate stakeholders.

The third edition of the India-Africa Forum Summit held from 26th – 29th October 2015 at New Delhi brought representatives from 54 African countries and the Indian government on a common platform to discuss collaboration for transformative development. Over a period of 4 days, matters pertaining to Africa’s economic growth, industrialisation, agriculture, infrastructure and employment were in focus.

In the field of agriculture, Africa sought India’s increased cooperation in improving their farming techniques through the supply of affordable technology, organic farming, enhancing crop varieties, seeds and fertilizers, efficient use of water through transfer of irrigation know-how, promoting investment in agri-business and food processing industry and several other significant measures.

The summit saw Mahindra Group’s keen and committed involvement in AFS, MACE, Defence, Public Affairs and GSO sectors. The Group made its presence felt through exhibits at all the venues, distribution of the Mahindra Group information kits to all delegates, one-on-one and round table meetings with the Head of States and visiting delegates and exchange of incisive thoughts by Mr. Ashok Sharma, President & CE – Agri, Africa & South Asia, who was one of the speakers of the Agriculture Panel alongside esteemed African agriculture ministers.

Mr. Ashok Sharma made thought provoking observations and highlighted key areas of improvement during his speech. “Agriculture continues to be the largest employer in Africa, employing almost 60% of the economically active population. So any discussion on growth cannot be without agriculture”, he said. He shared how India had written the script of its agricultural success through farm mechanization, better quality seeds, intelligent irrigation and use of fertilisers, and changed its status from importer to exporter of agriculture produce. Talking about Mahindra’s contribution beyond the manufacture and supply of farm equipment, he quoted, “A decade back when we started working with about 500 farmers from Maharashtra for procurement of grapes, their productivity was 3-4 tonnes/acre and their selling price was 0.5 dollars/kg.

We decided to provide end-to-end support – in terms of know-how on international standards, lower chemical residues, quality agri inputs and cold chain infrastructure. As a result, today the same set of farmers produce 12-15 tonnes of grapes/acre and earn close to 2 dollars/kg. In the process, Mahindra became the No. 1 grapes exporter from India”. He emphatically concluded that Mahindra had the same vision for African farmers and was keen to partner them in growing their food production by 5 times in the next 5 years.

The India-Africa Forum Summit proved to be a catalyst in further strengthening the ties between the two nations.

Diesel & Motor Engineering PLC (DIMO) and Mahindra have journeyed a long way together and touched many milestones. Founded in 1939 by four entrepreneurs – Pandithage Don Alexander, Stephen Peiris, Harold Algama and Cyril Algama – DIMO PLC (previously known as Diesel & Motor Engineering Company Limited) was initially only in the business of automobile sales and repairs. Since then, the company has not only grown in size but in scope of activities as well. Its team strength as on March 2015 was over 1600 employees and annual turnover was of USD 200 million (2014-2015).

DIMO PLC is ably led by Mr. Ranjith Pandithage (Chairman & Managing Director) and Mr. Gahanath Pandithage (Group CEO). While Mr. Ranjith Pandithage has an engineering background, Mr. Gahanath Pandithage has management accountancy skills coupled with auditing experience. Mr Ranjith Pandithage has a grand vision for DIMO and he guides the agriculture equipment department to focus on the bigger picture of farm mechanization rather than only on short term goals of profit generation.

Here’s looking at what makes DIMO the success it is while in conversation with its Chairman & Managing Director.

Q1: DIMO has been playing a vital role in the farm mechanization in Sri Lanka for over 2 decades. You are entering the silver jubilee year of partnership with Mahindra. Could you take us through this journey?

DIMO has been playing different roles in bringing about initiatives for farm mechanization in Sri Lanka. The tie-up with Mahindra Tractors dates back to 1991, and we are on the verge of celebrating 25 years in 2016. DIMO and Mahindra tractors have been serving customers with efficient sales and after sales support since inception. DIMO has also made consistent efforts during the last two decades to build a distinct identity for the Mahindra tractors brand and keep it top-of-the-mind with various activities and campaigns at the grassroots level. Every passing year has witnessed growth in the Mahindra tractors brand and it has a definite edge over competitors.

Q2: What as per you makes Mahindra so successful in the Sri Lankan market?

The success lies in a few key areas. Like investment in human capital. From the last 1-2 years, special emphasis has been placed on recruitment, training, team building and personnel development. These initiatives have enabled the Mahindra tractors’ team to remain dynamic, energetic and focused, and also enabled them to mould to the continuously evolving tractor market. Customer Relationship Management is another focus area. Close rapport and listening to customers has enabled Mahindra Tractors and DIMO to deliver beyond what the competitors offer.

Q3: You’ve talked about the ease with which Mahindra connects with its customers and DIMO enhancing this value proposition in distribution and after sales support. Can you share some insights on the value propositions you offer to your customers?

The ability of farmers to directly be in touch with DIMO has had a greater significance. With more than 50 DIMO owned touch points across the country, farmers can directly liaise with the company regarding sales, spares and after sales. This also enables DIMO to give prompt attention to their concerns and understand their needs. DIMO also has a 24-hour customer helpline for instant communication. The company makes it a point to address their concerns and follow it up till a solution is provided and documented in the ERP system.

Mahindra tractors made their way into the farmers’ lives in a highly effective manner. A lot of activities were carried out to make the brand rank high on people’s preference list.

Demos of Yuvraj 215, 4025, 8000, 9500 and 6560 models were held in the three provinces of Battambang, Kampong Tham and Phnom Penh. Well-attended by farmers, the demos made the audience more comfortable with the tractors.

Customer meet-ups which included product training gave them detailed information on the working of the tractors. Installation and training were also conducted at the customer’s field.

A vibrant road show was organised in which the tractors were displayed and informative collaterals were distributed. Farmers were also given valuable fuel testing and mileage tips. At the same time, salesmen and technicians were converted into an even more formidable force with intensive training sessions conducted for them.

No stone was left unturned to make Mahindra tractors popular with the potential customers, while equal emphasis was laid on building a team that is well-equipped to handle customers.

Out of sight is out of mind. To ensure this wasn’t the case with the Mahindra tractors brand, Motor Market planned its marketing activities astutely. It threw in a good mix of print and radio advertising in its January plan.

A full page magazine ad in La Productiva and frequent radio spots in Encarnación city ensured that the brand was very much on people’s minds.

Thurow, one of the dealers operating under Bramont – exclusive distributor of Mahindra tractors – gave farmers the chance to closely experience the tractor’s strength and quality at a Regional Field Day organised in December.

In January, Thurow conducted a similar activity to make Mahindra tractors more accessible to a larger group of famers. They organised a Regional Field Day which was well-attended. Many dealers of Bramont, namely Santa Macchina, Netos Krause and Schneider, participated in a Regional Event and suitably displayed the Mahindra tractors range.