Canada is the second largest country in the world and the U.S. is fourth, making North America the biggest market articulated hauler manufacturer Rokbak serves geographically. The region is also the company’s biggest market financially, purchasing more haulers than any other. The most exciting part for Rokbak is that there’s still a huge amount of untapped potential, with its articulated haulers winning new admirers on an almost weekly basis.
Greg Gerbus is Rokbak’s Regional Sales Manager covering Canada and most of the U.S. states west of the Mississippi River. It’s a huge territory and one that puts him on the road at least two weeks out of four. He says the key to Rokbak’s success has been its steady development of strong dealer relationships based on mutual partnership.
“We want to work with dealers who share our goals – those who recognise Rokbak trucks as a complementary product to other lines,” says Greg. “We’re looking for dealers who want to build a constructive partnership. Rokbak is a face-to-face company, and a good dealer usually wants to work with an OEM where they know they have a safety net — which usually means a personal representative they can pick up the phone to.”
Rokbak operates 25 dealerships across North America, giving the brand substantial coverage. Nevertheless, given the scale of North America there are still opportunities for new dealers. Greg’s priorities include appointing partners in Washington State, Oregon, southern Nevada and areas of Canada.
In addition to building strong relationships with dealers, Greg is also focused on growing Rokbak’s connection with end users – the contractors and companies who use Rokbak’s trucks day-to-day. By fostering the manufacturer/dealer/customer relationship, Rokbak ensures all parties’ goals and expectations are in sync, leading to better end results and higher overall customer satisfaction.
“Being aligned means understanding each other’s businesses,” says Greg. “If we do our part as the manufacturer, then we can provide the support that’s needed at the dealership, and that helps ensure smoother product and service delivery for the end user.”
All round understanding
Greg is perfectly placed to understand the needs of customers, dealers and manufacturers, having worked at all three types of organisations. He began his career working part-time as a teenager at his family construction business in southern Ohio, gaining a passion for the heavy equipment industry. After university, he joined the family business full-time, working as a job site supervisor for 10 years. He then moved into the dealership side of the industry, working in sales and product for a company selling heavy equipment. Today he is on the OEM side, working as part of the Volvo Group as Rokbak Regional Sales Manager in North America.
“I’d say our North American Rokbak team is second to none in building and developing customer and dealer partnerships,” he says. “Our approach has helped develop high comfort levels among users for Rokbak trucks. We’re seeing them used in a wider variety of applications across North America and there’s still so much potential out there.”
Rokbak trucks are used in general excavation duties for construction, sand and gravel operations and quarries. There are even some units converted to serve as water tankers for dust suppression on job sites – a niche application that highlights the versatility of Rokbak trucks.
The growing popularity of Rokbak machines in North America is also down to the host of customer benefits the trucks offer. Their fuel-efficient drivetrains, for example, deliver powerful performance and meet worldwide emission standards with low cost of operation and low environmental impact. In the western U.S. and across Canada, the RA40, with a haul capacity of 41.9 US tons (38 tonnes) and a heaped capacity of 30.3 yd³ (23.0m³), is the preferred choice thanks to the expansive, open job sites that define that part of the region. This contrasts with the eastern side of the U.S., where the smaller RA30 is often preferred because of tighter navigation requirements on the more constrained job sites in that part of the region.
“I love when customers in North America get a full realisation of what a Rokbak articulated truck can offer, and then put that potential into their application,” concludes Greg. “And you see there is respect for the product. Our customers like the value, performance and reliability of Rokbak haulers, and we have one of the most fuel-efficient trucks on the market today.”
With construction activity predicted to continue growing in North America and so much untapped potential in the region, Rokbak is well-positioned to maintain its growth trajectory in this important market.
