One of Kenworth's longest-standing dealerships - the Barry Maney Group in Mt Gambier, SA - has been crowned Kenworth Dealer of the Year for 2009
February 24, 2010
One of Kenworth’s longest-standing dealerships – the Barry Maney Group in Mt Gambier, South Australia – has been crowned Kenworth Dealer of the Year for 2009.
The Kenworth accolade is widely regarded as the industry’s most coveted prize for dealers. The award is judged on a points system across five main areas, including general dealership performance, and truck sales, service, parts and finance customer support.
At a Paccar dealer meeting at the RACV Country Club in Healesville, Dealer Principal Fred Hill says he is delighted to accept the award on behalf of the Barry Maney Group.
“It’s a great honour to be recognised as the leading dealer by the leading heavy-duty truck manufacturer in Australia. This award is especially rewarding for us, as we have just sold our 1,400th Kenworth,” he says.
Paccar Australia’s Director Sales and Marketing, Andrew Hadjikakou, says the dealership has been a consistently high performer for a number of years, and set a good example for all dealers.
“The Barry Maney Group has been a Kenworth dealer for more than three decades. Throughout this time, it has focused on delivering the highest standards of customer care.
“This commitment to service – from the way customers are treated to the continual improvement in facilities – is the main reason it has won our premium dealer award for 2009,” he says.
Over the years, the Barry Maney Group has won many industry awards, including several Kenworth service and parts awards, as well as the Kenworth Dealer of the Year for 1991.
From the beginning, the dealer had ambitious plans. Barry Maney purchased a five-hectare lot on Jubilee Highway West, Mt Gambier in 1976, and began construction of a new car and truck dealership.
It became a Kenworth dealer two years later in 1978, and a DAF dealer in 2002.
Today, the dealership services the ‘green triangle’ region, encompassing south-east of South Australia, the western district of Victoria, and the lower Wimmera-Mallee region. It caters for a mix of large and small truck fleets and owner-drivers, primarily in the logging, bulk farm products and general freight industries.
The Barry Maney Group employs 76 people, 27 of whom are directly involved in the heavy truck business, including 10 mechanics.
The dealership features impressive premises, displaying a range of Kenworth and DAF models, as well as a large parts supermarket, including a 200 sqm AllRig truck parts mart, with more than $1 million in stock. It has a special paint and panel shop, and a workshop with the latest diagnostic and repair equipment, plus five truck service bays, including two full-length, drive-through pits for B doubles.
In addition to the main dealership, the group appointed in 1989 three heavy truck sub-dealers – Tatiara Truck & Trailers in Bordertown, Kirchner Trucks in Horsham and DM Truck Centre in Warrnambool. They have become an integral part of the group and, like Mt Gambier, they offer truck service, repairs and parts as well as a 24-hour emergency breakdown service.
Group Chairman, Barry Maney, says the key to their ongoing success is his team’s single-minded commitment to the customer.
“From day one, we developed a strong customer care culture throughout all areas of the company. We work hard to maintain and improve our service, which begins before the sale and doesn’t end after the sale.
„That commitment is reflected in our company slogan – ‘it’s nice to go to somebody who cares’. And that’s why we gain a lot of repeat business and referrals, because we genuinely care about our customers,” he says.