Bell Equipment UK launch Middle East operation

BELL Equipment have opened a new office in Bahrain as part of plans to develop their articulated dumptruck business in the Middle East. The company says the move forms part of a long-term business strategy that has been in development since 2006.

The new Bell operation in Bahrain’s capital city, Manama, will oversee marketing, sales, service and support of Bell dealers in 11 Middle Eastern countries, including Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

Bell have already established a network of dealerships and commercial partners across the Middle East to assist in ADT sales, and customers in the region also have the backing of a dedicated parts depot based in Bahrain, which is managed by the company’s own product and after-sales support team.

Neville Paynter, managing director of Bell Equipment UK, said the decision to develop the company’s ADT market in the Middle East had come at a time when the region is embarking upon an unprecedented level of large construction projects.

‘We have been researching and developing Bell’s Middle East strategy for more than two years, and we have already seen some major sales successes, particularly in terms of our larger ADTs,’ he said. ‘The launch of our Bahrain office is just the beginning; we see greater growth opportunities in the future.’

South African Kevin Rock has been appointed as Bell Equipment’s new business development manager for the Middle East. Based at the new Bahrain office, he will take responsibility for all the company’s commercial activities in the region.

Mr Rock, who has spent the last three years in Saudi Arabia working for transport and logistics firm Arabian Hala, said Bell machines were particularly suited to quarrying, mining and construction operations in the Middle East.

‘It’s not unusual for machines to be operated 24h a day out here – mostly in very hot and dusty conditions – so it’s imperative that the trucks are extremely robust,’ he commented. ‘Bell machines will fit well into the market because they are simple to operate and maintain, and this will emphasize Bell’s value proposition of high productivity, improved uptime and low daily operating cost.

‘Also, given the number of ongoing large-scale projects in the Middle East, Bell are in the enviable position of being able to offer their flagship 50-tonne B50D – which is still the biggest production ADT in the world.’