Dangote chooses Shacman heavy duty trucks for refinery project

31st July 2017

Stories by Moses Akaigwe 08072100049

With about two years to the coming on stream of the $12 billion Dangote Oil Refinery in the Lekki area of Lagos, the Dangote Group is demonstrating its commitment to ensuring that the refinery, expected to be the largest in the world, commences operations as scheduled.Recently, the group placed an order for about 350 units of Shacman heavy duty trucks with the brand’s representative and partner in Nigeria, Transit Support Services Limited {TSS}, a subsidiary of ABC Transport Plc, which not only imports the vehicles from China, but also assembles same at ANAMMCO in Enugu.The 350 units, all of which are of the 8×4 tipper truck model said to be among the best from the Shacman product line-up and a class-beater in its segment, have already been delivered to Dangote Oil Refinery in the Lekki Free Trade Zone (LFTZ).The 350 units were not Dangote’s first mass order, but a repeat patronage coming months after about 500 Shacman trucks were assembled for the group by TSS making use of the ANAMMCO plant.Confirming the preference for Shacman by the Dangote and the completion of the delivery of the trucks, the Chairman of TSS, Mr. Frank Nneji, commended the group for looking inwards in procuring its trucks, assuring that the vehicles would replicate for the customer the ruggedness and impressive performance that earned the brand high rating in many markets across the world.Nneji, who is also the Managing Director of ABC Transport, disclosed that detailed 3S Shops {for sales, service and spares} are being set up by TSS in major parts of the country to provide after sales and spare parts services for Shacman trucks .Explaining Dangote Group’s choice of Shacman for the refinery and other divisions, a senior manager in the group said the satisfactory execution of the previous order by Transit Support Services Limited, as well as the auto maker’s reputation as the manufacturer of the best heavy duty trucks in China, were major influencing factors.He confirmed that the latest procurement was also informed by the performance of the 500 vehicles so far, saying “they have been living up to expectation, and we don’t have any issues with them.”