Ries Engineering S.C. (RESCO), the importer and distributer of Ford vehicles and different machinery has inaugurated its first Quick Lane Vehicle Tier and Auto Service Centre in Bahir Dar, Amhara, at a cost of 60 million Br.
The decision to start the centre in Bahir Dar was made because the company had sold more than 200 vehicles to clients in Amhara Regional state. The centre was established on a 5,900sqm plot of land. It has a four-storey building with a shed for vehicle maintenance, which is situated on a 1,000sqm plot of land. The building includes offices, show rooms and spare part shops.
“What makes this centre unique is that we did not build it for mere purpose of providing repair and maintenance service for our brands but to provide the same service for other brands,” said Fikadu Mengistu, deputy managing director of RESCO.
The company started its operations more than four decades ago, representing Caterpillar and Massey. The company has added the products of other manufactures and it has long experience of importing different types of vehicles to Ethiopia.
RESCO has had different brands of machinery such as tractors and combine harvesters produced by AGCO Corporation, an American company which manufactures machinery and equipment mainly for areas of agricultural industry. RESCO is also known for importing and selling different Caterpillar brand machinery and Ford brand vehicles.
Services at the centre range from oil and filter changes for engines and transmissions, brake services, repairs and replacement of lights, tyre change, to wheel alignment and wheel balance.
Vehicles that pass through Bahir Dar and those that are situated in Bahir Dar can have a quick service to check the road-worthiness of their trucks, said Fikadu.
“This service will help vehicles of our regional state to get easy access in terms of maintenance service and spare parts,” said Megabiw Tassew, director general of the transport authority of the regional state.
RESCO is also building the same kind of centre in Hawassa with a total investment of 40 million Br. This is expected to be inaugurated in the last weeks of April 2015. Moreover, the company plans to add two more in Mekelle and Dire Dawa.
This is one of our marketing strategies so more customers will have the confidence to buy our vehicles, stated Fikadu.
The company is one of the major automotive and machinery importers in the sector; other renowned names include Nyala Motors S.C., B.H. Trading and Manufacturing Plc, Orbis Trading & Technical Centre S.C., and Marathon Motors.
According to data from the Ethiopian Revenues & Customs Authority, the number of vehicles imported has been increasing. In 2010/11 alone, there were 21,412 new and used vehicles imported, this number increased to 30,128 in 2012/13. The number has grown to 17,749 for the first half of the last fiscal year.
So far 519,816 vehicles have been registered by the Federal Transport Authority; of which 340,088 are registered in Addis Abeba and the remaining 52,080, 32,414 and 42,618 are registered in Oromia, Amhara and Southern regional states, respectively.
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