UD Trucks And Tan Chong Industrial Equipment Celebrate 40 Years Of Partnership

Japanese truck maker, UD Trucks, and its Malaysian partner, Tan Chong Industrial Equipment Sdn Bhd (TCIE), recently celebrated their 40th year of partnership – the longest-ever principal and distributor partnership in UD Trucks’ history globally. This partnership started back in 1978 when TCIE first brought in the CK11 and half cab UG780 Nissan Diesel trucks to Malaysia, and proceeded to build on the brand with the latter model.

At a recent dinner in Kuala Lumpur to celebrate their 40 years together, Filip Van den Heede, Managing Director Hub Malaysia, UD Trucks said, “Over the past 40 years, TCIE has been a pioneer and leader in the commercial vehicle services industry in Malaysia. UD Trucks, as a partner, has been able to introduce our innovative trucks that the world needs today and substantially grow our brand in Malaysia over the years because of a genuine, sturdy and trusted relationship between TCIE and UD Trucks.”

“TCIE has been constantly growing its all-rounded capabilities and enhancing service offerings for customers. Delivering comprehensive and satisfactory truck ownership experience to all valued customers has been our shared core focus, and we are proud to call TCIE our sole distributor partner in Malaysia,” he told the crowd, which included Dato’ Rosie Tan, Group Chief Executive Officer of Tan Chong Motor Holdings Berhad, Jacques Michel, President of Volvo Group Trucks Asia and JVs Sales, as well as the management team of Tan Chong Group, UD Trucks, TCIE, staff, partners, customers and members of the media.

In 2007, the Volvo Group acquired Nissan Diesel and rebranded it as UD Trucks in 2010, which essentially means Ultimate Dependability. Van den Heede added, “When the Volvo Group took over, we continued to build on the legacy of Kenzo Adachi, the founder of UD Trucks, to ‘build the truck that the world needs today’. Despite the various challenges that both UD Trucks and TCIE had to face from time to time, our common values and goals drove us forward and we prevailed at every opportunity. We continued to look forward and stepped up on our collaboration to strengthen our partnership which resulted in the continuous creation of key milestones.”

“This led us in Malaysia to become the first market in the world to assemble UD Quester and UD Croner outside of Japan. With this 40th anniversary celebration, we are very thankful and remain confident that TCIE will continue to be the ideal Malaysian partner for us for local manufacturing, distribution and customer support. We certainly look forward to many more successful years to come!”

With Volvo Group in the picture, UD customers in Malaysia benefit from UD Trucks’ deep history of Japanese craftsmanship, TCIE’s local expertise and extensive network and after-sales support, as well as Volvo Group’s technological know-how.

In celebrating this occasion, Wong King Yoon, Director, Tan Chong Industrial Equipment Sdn Bhd shared, “The pioneering spirit of Tan Chong Group that was espoused by our founder, the late Tan Sri Dato’ Tan Yuet Foh, had allowed TCIE to pursue every new opportunity that came with new challenges. The strong bond and deep understanding we have developed with UD Trucks and Volvo Group has successfully established our reputation, credibility and reliability as one of the best sources for smart trucking solutions in the market today.

Wong added, “TCIE has come a long way to be where and who we are today.  From our humble beginning, TCIE now offers the full range of services, from assembly to distribution, marketing, financial and insurance assistance to servicing and full aftermarket support. As the sole distributor and long-term partner of UD Trucks, we feel gratified to have contributed to the growth of the UD brand in Malaysia. We would not have achieved it all without UD Trucks and the unwavering support by our business partners and customers. I am happy to say that we have all powered the nation together for the past 40 years and many more years ahead!”

As part of the anniversary celebration, UD Trucks and TCIE expressed their appreciation to their partners and customers with the Golden Partnership Award, given to those who have notably contributed to this 40-year partnership.

The customer Golden Partnership Award was given to ASAC Logistics Sdn Bhd, a loyal customer of TCIE. ASAC Logistics was the very first owner of the CK11 in 1978 and over the years, has continued to support the brand. The company has more than 500 units of UD Trucks in its fleet and has evolved into one of the largest logistic companies in Malaysia.

The Golden Partnership Award for Sales Dealer was given to LK Utara Auto Sdn Bhd. Appointed by TCIE as an authorised private sales dealer in 1999, the company focuses solely on the sale of UD Trucks and has to-date successfully sold more than 880 units of UD Trucks; maintaining its position as the top 3 best performing private sales dealer for 19 consecutive years.

The Golden Partnership Award for Service Dealer was awarded to Mun Chai Auto Works Sdn Bhd. Established in 1980, Mun Chai Auto Works was appointed by TCIE as the authorised service dealer for UD Trucks. Continuous and extensive service and technician training were provided to ensure the tip-top service quality. Today, Mun Chai Auto Works has more than 20 service bays to cater for its growing business.

Finally, the Golden Partnership Award for Parts Dealer was awarded to Kaifa Auto Parts Sdn Bhd as it continues to maintain its top 5 best performance position since 1999. TCIE appointed Auto Enterprise (M) Sdn Bhd as the authorised parts dealer in 1978, and in 1999, the role was transferred to its sister company, Kaifa Auto Parts Sdn Bhd to solely focus on UD Trucks.