2010 Excellence Awards finalists announced

The votes are in, and the countdown has begun. The finalists for the fifth annual FOCUS on Excellence Awards, sponsored by WesBank, have been announced! Companies throughout the transport industry have been waiting in eager anticipation for the wave of votes to make its way to the research team to find out if they’ve made the final cut. At stake are the ultimate accolades within the transport industry …

It’s time to pay tribute to the best South African companies within the field of transport. The 2010 FOCUS on Excellence Award programme, sponsored by WesBank, is in full swing and the finalists have been named.

Scott Byers, the research company in charge of counting the thousands of votes, will now kick into high gear figuring out who will be going home with trophies come 9 November. The awards banquet will be a cruise down the proverbial red carpet – for captains of the trucking and transport industry.

WesBank is the sponsor of this event, and has supported this vitally important industry programme for three years. “WesBank is delighted to have supported the FOCUS on Excellence awards for the past three years. We have always shown great interest in being part of celebrating performance and service excellence,” says general manager of WesBank Corporate Gerald Burton.

Scott Byers conducted the research in the second quarter of 2010. Ian Byers, founder of Scott Byers, explains that the sample for the FOCUS on Excellence Awards is drawn from Scott Byers’ South African database of transport operators. “This has some 23 463 records in it at present,” he says.

Scott Byers then contacts a random sample of those fleet owners who own more than five commercial vehicles. Questions are then asked as to which products/companies are considered best.

Only senior members of the industry are questioned. “The people we spoke to were senior management, ranging from directors to fleet managers. Once they gave their opinions as to the best supplier in a category they were asked why they made that choice,” explains Byers. This is an extensive exercise, involving thousands upon thousands of interviews.

Scott Byers’ customer contact team uses telephonic interviews to obtain all the information. “The results of each interview are captured using our database that the company has developed over years; the system used is Computer Aided Telephone Interviews,” he reveals.

The awards ceremony, being held on 9 November at the Barnyard Theatre in Broadacres, Gauteng, provides a platform for industry participants to receive the recognition they deserve. A large array of categories is represented – from the humble one-ton bakkie to extra-heavy commercial vehicles, buses and coaches. Naturally, the country’s premier truck, bus and coach operators are also saluted.

In addition to this, awards are presented to vehicle manufacturers who excel in the fields of sales, service and parts support. We have chosen to present these awards because these are all extremely important issues to fleet operators. The companies are chosen based on the Scott Byers Comparative Customer Satisfaction independent performance measurement. These awards follow 6 537 individual interviews, each of which covered eight separate factors.

Several changes have been made to the qualifying process this year. In all the categories (excluding the sales/service/parts categories), companies had to obtain at least 10% of the vote to qualify as a finalist.

Byers explains why. “In order to make a finalist nomination more meaningful it is no longer based on the top five companies within a particular category but only those who achieve a score that is equal to or greater than 10% of the vote.”

This makes the finalist announcement especially significant. Only companies at the very top of their game can become finalists. It is a massive honour to secure a finalist spot. These companies are doing an outstanding job of delivering world-class customer service.

In the sales/service/parts categories, companies had to achieve at least 90% to earn their finalist status. “That’s why there is a different number of finalists in each category,” states Byers.

The FOCUS on Excellence Awards is not only sponsored and therefore endorsed by WesBank, but also enjoys massive industry support. The following industry associations have also endorsed the awards programme: Automotive Component Remanufacturers’ Association (ACRA), Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport of South Africa (CILTSA), Engine Remanufacturers’ Association (ERA), Federation of East and Southern African Road Transport Associations (FESARTA), Institute of Road Transport Engineers (IRTE), Motor Industry Workshop Association (MIWA), Motor Parts and Equipment Association (MPEA), National African Association of Automobile Service Providers (NAAASP), National Association of Automotive Component & Allied Manufacturers (NAACAM), National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (NAAMSA), National Automobile Dealers’ Association (NADA), National Vehicle Testing Association (NVTA), Road Freight Association (RFA), Retail Motor Industry Organisation (RMI), RMI Towing Association (RMITA), Southern African Bus Operators Association (SABOA), South African Motor Body Repairers’ Association (SAMBRA), South African Petroleum Retailers’ Association (SAPRA), South African Vehicle and Body Builders’ Association (SAVABA), Tyre Dealers’ and Fitment Centre Association (TDAFA) and the Truck Rental Association (TRA).

So, it’s a hearty congratulations to all those companies that have been nominated as finalists. I wish them all good luck for the finals. The finalist status is a true testament to the world-beating performance of these companies and ensures they receive all the recognition they deserve. I am sure that the service that they deliver makes our Minister of Transport, Sbu’ Ndebele, very proud!

The finalists for 2010 Excellence Awards are:

BEST ONE TON BAKKIE:
General Motors
Nissan SA
Toyota SA
Collectively these companies received 96% of the vote

BEST MEDIUM COMMERCIAL VEHICLE (GVM 3 500 – 8 500 KG)
Hino SA
Isuzu Truck SA
Mercedes-Benz South Africa
UD Trucks Southern Africa
Collectively these companies received 95% of the vote

BEST HEAVY COMMERCIAL VEHICLE (GVM 8 500 – 16 500 KG)
Hino SA
Isuzu Truck SA
MAN Truck and Bus SA
Mercedes-Benz South Africa
UD Trucks Southern Africa
Collectively these companies received 93% of the vote

BEST EXTRA-HEAVY COMMERCIAL VEHICLE (GVM 16 500 KG AND ABOVE)
Freightliner
MAN Truck and Bus SA
Mercedes-Benz South Africa
UD Trucks Southern Africa
Volvo Southern Africa
Collectively these companies received 78% of the vote

BEST COMMUTER BUS
MAN Truck and Bus SA
Mercedes-Benz South Africa
Scania South Africa
Collectively these companies received 97% of the vote

BEST TOURING COACH
MAN Truck and Bus SA
Mercedes-Benz South Africa
Scania South Africa
Volvo Southern Africa
Collectively these companies received 100% of the vote

BEST SUPPLIER OF FUELS
BP Southern Africa
Chevron SA
Engen Petroleum Limited
Shell South Afric
Collectively these companies received 88% of the vote

BEST SUPPLIER OF LUBRICANTS
BP Southern Africa
Castrol
Chevron SA
Engen Petroleum Limited
Shell South Africa
Collectively these companies received 94% of the vote

BEST TYRE
Bridgestone
Dunlop
Firestone
Goodyear
Michelin
Collectively these companies received 93% of the vote

BEST SUPPLIER OF TYRE SERVICES
Max T Solutions
Supa Quick Auto Centres
Trentyre
Collectively these companies received 81% of the vote

BEST TRANSPORT OPERATOR
Hestony Transport
Imperial Logistics
Unitrans
Value Logistics
Collectively these companies received 81% of the vote

BEST BUS OPERATOR
Buscor
Golden Arrow
Mega Bus and Coach
Putco
Collectively these companies received 56% of the vote

BEST COACH OPERATOR
Greyhound
Mega Bus and Coach
Springbok Atlas
Translux
Collectively these companies received 69% of the vote

BEST SUPPLIER OF TRAILERS
Afrit
Henred Fruehauf
SA Truck Bodies
Collectively these companies received 81% of the vote

VEHICLE DISTRIBUTOR WITH THE BEST SALES SUPPORT
Freightliner
Hino SA
Isuzu Truck SA
MAN Truck and Bus SA
Mercedes-Benz South Africa
Mitsubishi Fuso
Scania
UD Trucks Southern Africa
Volvo Southern Africa
These companies all achieved at least 90%

VEHICLE DISTRIBUTOR WITH THE BEST SERVICE SUPPORT
Hino SA
Isuzu Truck SA
MAN Truck and Bus SA
Mercedes-Benz South Africa
Scania South Africa
UD Trucks Southern Africa
Volvo Southern Africa
These companies all achieved at least 90%

VEHICLE DISTRIBUTOR WITH THE BEST PARTS SUPPORT
Isuzu Truck SA
MAN Truck and Bus SA
Mercedes-Benz South Africa
UD Trucks Southern Africa
These companies all achieved at least 90%