Hino World Conference – Yokohama, Japan

At the end of October Sime Darby NZ Commercial’s General Manager, Chris Brown, and Hino Distributors (NZ) Ltd’s General Manager, Ray Roberts, attended the Hino World Conference in Yokohama, Japan.

Attended by over 500 people both from Hino Japan and global distributors, the conference, titled ‘Total Support’, focused on Hino’s 3 S operations – sales, spares and service and what total support looks like to our customers.

The world conference is a chance to share ideas and discuss what the world looks like from a Hino perspective; what makes Hino different from our competitors; and our advantages and the challenges we face. Seven countries were asked to address the global conference in Yokohama, one of which was Hino Distributors (NZ) Ltd. We accepted this challenge and together with Blacksheepdesign set about putting together a professional presentation that showcased New Zealand as well as the Hino brand in NZ.

Our presentation, titled Customised Vehicle Modification In New Zealand, showed how we take the Hino factory produced cab and chassis and make engineering modifications to ensure the vehicle best fits and aligns to NZ licencing and regulatory requirements, and most importantly our customers. Furthermore, we explained how important it was to us to control the engineering process and protect the core Hino brand values of quality, durability and reliability. It also emphasised how all of our modifications are field tested and backed by our engineering suppliers and HDL.

Of course we could not go to Japan and speak on Hino product without speaking of the fantastic service and support provided by our Sime Darby sister company Truck Stops. The support that they provide to our customer base goes well beyond the sale of the vehicle. Truck Stops has implemented Hino Fixed Price Servicing throughout NZ and this has almost single-handedly improved the Hino retention rate back into our Truck Stops workshops. Our combined teams remain steadfastly committed to the Hino brand we distribute and the outstanding service that they provide each day throughout the length and breadth of New Zealand.

Ray was that confident of an All Blacks’ win he added a haka from a previous Bledisloe Cup to recognise it was the Rugby World Cup finals week. While he haka caused much to the distress of the Aussie contingent, the presentation was well received and received a standing ovation of the rest of the delegates.

Both Chris and Ray were inundated with questions regarding modifications and the engineering that we undertake here in NZ to meet customer requirements. The conference provided a great opportunity to reflect on the passion and effort that goes into delivering the very best product and service can.