Kenworth DAF Melbourne crowned DAF Dealer of the Year 2017

Kenworth DAF Melbourne has been awarded the 2017 DAF Dealer of the Year award for outstanding sales, service and support.

This is the third time the dealership has been recognized with this important industry accolade, having also won in 2007 and 2012. The award acknowledges excellence in overall dealer performance, truck sales, parts sales, finance and customer support.

Speaking at PACCAR Australia’s annual Dealer meeting, Director Sales and Marketing, Brad May, congratulated the dealership for winning the hotly contested DAF prize.

“Kenworth DAF Melbourne has made a significant contribution to DAF’s collective market share, and the dealership continues to exceed customer needs by investing in staff training, specialist equipment and maintaining modern facilities.” said Brad.

Brad Motteram, General Manager Kenworth DAF Melbourne, said he was proud and honoured to again win DAF’s highest award. “We had a really strong year back in 2012, and it’s great our ongoing commitment to the brand has resulted in the dealership winning this award in 2017. We’ve been able to find new customers along the way while keeping the rest of the DAF family happy.”

“This award is for everyone in our dealership,” Brad said. “Our hard-working staff believe in the product and they’re dedicated to delivering the highest level of support to our customers. As a result, throughout 2017, we saw an increase of 18% in DAF order intake compared to the previous year, which reflects both the number of new customers, and strong sales from existing customers expanding their DAF fleets.”

Established in 1999, Kenworth DAF Melbourne services the western and northern suburbs of Melbourne, Ballarat, Geelong and surrounding districts. Based in Derrimut, it is only minutes from the Westgate Freeway and the Western Ring Road and is within easy reach of CityLink, the Tullamarine and Calder Freeways, as well as the Western and Hume Highways.

The dealership is situated on a large 11.4 acre site, and employs 102 staff, including 41 mechanics. The state-of-the-art facility features an expansive display of DAF and Kenworth models in a variety of configurations. It also offers a parts supermarket, which holds in excess of $4 million in parts inventory, and fully-appointed driver amenities. Its workshop is regarded as one of the most sophisticated in the country. It comprises 30 service bays, with 4 fast lube service pits, a dedicated rebuild room, plus a wide variety of specialist tooling, including a range of advanced DAVIE diagnostic equipment for improved troubleshooting and repairs.

The dealership also offers on-site truck servicing at customers’ premises, plus a 24-hour breakdown and emergency parts support throughout the area.

Over the past 12 months the dealership has also launched new TRP Parts branches in Geelong and Ballarat.

Brad said that throughout 2017 his dealership experienced sustained growth across the entire DAF range. Their most popular model was the all-rounder CF85 which was strengthened even further with the release of the 510hp rating.

“It goes without saying that we couldn’t have achieved this without the effort and dedication of the entire team our salesmen who understand our customers’ businesses and get the right trucks out there and our aftersales team who keep the trucks on the road so our customers can continue earning their money. Importantly, our directors of the company continually invest in our business and give us great facilities to work with.”

“It gives me great pleasure to receive this award and share it with the entire team, because that’s what it is, a team award. It’s a Sales, Parts, Service and Finance award. It’s also recognition for our administration staff. It’s something we can celebrate with everyone.”

PACCAR Australia conducts comprehensive training programs and regularly evaluates dealers to ensure DAF and Kenworth products and services are represented in the best manner possible.

DAF Trucks Australia, a division of PACCAR Australia, distributes a complete range of medium to heavy-duty trucks throughout Australia. PACCAR Inc, a Six Sigma company, is a global technology leader in the design, manufacture and customer support of high-quality light, medium and heavy-duty trucks under the DAF, Kenworth and Peterbilt nameplates. PACCAR also designs and manufactures advanced diesel engines, provides financial services and information technology and distributes truck parts related to its principal business.

Photo caption: L-R: Andrew Hadjkakou, Managing Director, PACCAR Australia, Brad Motteram, General Manager, Kenworth DAF Melbourne, Mick de Boer, Area Manager, DAF NV and Brad May, Director Sales and Marketing, PACCAR Australia.