Spar and Goscor Mark Operational Partnership

SPAR KZN this year celebrates its 50th year of operation in Southern Africa, and for the past 15 years, the Goscor Lift Truck Company (GLTC) has supplied the SPAR Kwa-Zulu Natal Distribution Centre with a range of warehouse materials handling equipment including Crown reach trucks, powered pallet trucks, order pickers, Doosan diesel and gas forklifts and much more.

“In fact we have supplied SPAR more than 220 machines,” says GLTC KZN regional manager Michael Keats. “This has been an unusually rewarding relationship for our company. SPAR KZN is a consummately professional organisation and it has been a privilege servicing them for all these years.”

SPAR KZN’s logistics director, Max Oliva, concurs. “We have a long and proud history with Goscor, as SPAR values strong relationships that are built on honesty, integrity, good business principles and excellent customer service. Mike Keats and his team have achieved this and more, as they have an excellent understanding of our business and really “partner” with us to achieve our respective business goals,” he says.

It is no surprise that the two companies have got on so well. They certainly share a fundamental philosophy of ‘partnership’ in the truest sense of the word. Recently Goscor Lift Truck MD, Darryl Shafto, wrote: From day one we have seen business as a four-way partnership between our company and its people, its suppliers, its dealers and its customers. Making excellent relationships the foundation of our business has helped us develop a strong and sustainable business. We were never in this business for the short- haul, rather taking a long-term view on everything we have done.

“The SPAR/Goscor relationship is a perfect example of the success of this mutual philosophy and long may it continue,” he said.

Meanwhile Goscor, a leading equipment and industrial solutions provider, part of the Imperial group, is spreading it wings in Africa. Goscor Group CEO Neil Wilson says that the nature of its products and its experience with providing excellent service are significant advantages for growth in the burgeoning markets of Africa, especially sub-Saharan Africa. “We pride ourselves on having great backup and service and are in the process of developing this capability in more remote areas,” Wilson says.

“Our policy is to distribute only the leading brands in the industries in which we operate. This is certainly to our advantage in the fast-growing economies of sub-Saharan Africa where, not only is there a demand for the highest quality equipment, but also the remoteness of many of the developing areas of these countries requires the toughest and most reliable machines,” says Wilson.

Some of the best-known brands that Goscor distributes include: Doosan, Crown, Bendi and Hubtex in the forklift and warehouse logistics industry; Tennant, Elgin and Delfin in the industrial cleaning industry; Bobcat in the construction and agricultural industries; Subaru/Robin Engines in the power products industry; Genie and Teupen in the mobile elevated work platform industry, Sullair in the compressor industry and many more.

Wilson says that while the array of his group’s products is undoubtedly impressive, their value would be diminished without the requisite backup and customer support from the Goscor sales and technical teams.

“The extraordinary service and customer support levels throughout the group are, ultimately, what underpin Goscor’s exceptional record. Excellent product is the minimum entry level requirement,” says Wilson. “The secret to success, however, is consistent service excellence and continually finding ways to lower the total cost of ownership for one’s customers over the lifetime of the product,” he concluded.