MAN Truck & Bus Appoints New Managing Director For Malaysia; Outlines Strategy For Expansion

MAN Truck & Bus has appointed a new Managing Director, Andrew O’Brooks, for its Malaysia subsidiary, MAN Truck and Bus (M) Sdn Bhd. O’Brooks is replacing Richard Frenz who will be moving to a new role in MAN Truck & Bus in Munich, Germany.

As the new Managing Director of MAN Malaysia, he will lead the execution of several strategic initiatives for Malaysia, in line with MAN’s global direction and motto of ‘Simplifying Business’ for its customers. Concurrent with his appointment as MD, O’Brooks announced that MAN Malaysia will be opening a new service centre in Port Klang to offer fleet operators and customers with more efficient and timelier vehicle care and maintenance.

This new service centre is the first of several strategic initiatives the company has planned, and will be in a location that is more convenient to its customers. Sited on about two acres of land, the service centre will be operational in March 2020. The new facility in Port Klang will be MAN’s fourth service centre in Malaysia, the others are located in Rawang, Prai and Johor Bahru. It will have six service bays and all the necessary equipment to provide the highest level of service and repairs including a MAN Cats III® Diagnostic system and air-conditioning servicing, ample trailer parking space as well as a customer lounge with refreshments and complimentary WiFi. MAN customers in the area are currently being serviced by two of three mobile service trucks. With the establishment of the new facility, the service trucks and technicians can then be deployed to other areas for convenience.

Without going into details, MAN Malaysia looks to be positioning itself to gain a bigger share in the commercial vehicles segment, which could involve increasing engagement with customers and potential customers and offering the most suitable logistics solutions and products.

Dato’ Nazari Hj Akhbar, President of Association of Malaysian Hauliers lauded MAN’s decision in opening the new centre in Port Klang as it is the largest port in Malaysia and an important gateway for cross-border logistics for many hauliers and transportation companies. Long-haul trucks plying the backbone of the country will benefit from MAN’s strategically located service centres as they will not need to travel far off-route for their aftersales and servicing needs.

O’Brooks hails from the UK and brings with him more than 35 years of experience in the commercial vehicle industry. Before joining MAN, O’Brooks held several leading management positions for the Volvo Group, serving as Country Managing Director in United Kingdom, Latvia, Kazakhstan and Ukraine.

“One of the main emphasis for us at MAN is always on being closer and more accessible to our customers, on top of providing them with the best solutions for their transportation needs. The Port Klang service centre is the first among many to come. With the various new initiatives we will be implementing this year, I am confident we will be able to continue to provide high quality products and serve our customers faster and better”, said O’Brooks.

Thilo Halter, Head of Area Asia Pacific for MAN said, “Simplifying business for our customers – by making business processes easier and more effective for them – is one of MAN’s chief goals. Andrew O’Brooks’ knowledge of the industry, along with his international experience and clear customer focus, makes him a real asset to help us drive this forward for MAN in Malaysia. We are very pleased to welcome him on board in what are exciting times for our company.”

At the same event, MAN Malaysia also officially handed over a 12 MAN prime movers to Nittsu Transport Service, which is part of Nippon Express Company, as part of its fleet expansion. Nittsu’s fleet is made up of primarily MAN trucks.