Svevia relies on Mählers
Svevia dominates Swedish winter road maintenance.
And as the Deputy Head of Machines, Lennart Johansson only chooses products and suppliers he can rely on.
“When it comes to ploughs, Mählers is our biggest supplier. They represent quality and extensive knowledge, and they keep their organisation in good order,” he says.
Svevia holds more than 50% of the operating contracts for state roads in Sweden. The company’s machines are owned, managed and hired out by subsidiary Svevia Maskin AB, where Lennart Johansson is the coordination manager for winter equipment.
“95% of all worktools hired out for winter road maintenance are hired internally by Svevia AB, but they’re also a customer as far as we’re concerned. And the wishes of our customers are what control our investments,” says Lennart Johansson.
Svevia Maskin is responsible for all Svevia machines which cost more than SEK 10 000 to buy. Given the company’s extensive operations, this involves an enormous machine fleet.
“We have just over 24 000 machines in total, of which 2 000 are ploughs,” says Lennart Johansson.
Multiple strengths
A meeting is held at Svevia in April or May in order to check on what equipment will be needed ahead of the coming winter. And when it comes to ploughs, Mählers is often the first choice.
“This is an old, well-known make, of course, but it’s what the company can supply right now that makes all the difference,” says Lennart Johansson.
“They have a broad product range and the quality is good,” he continues.
“The fact that it’s a Swedish make is also a plus. It means a secure aftersales service with fast, on-time deliveries. In short: we receive products and services that we can rely on.”
Lennart Johansson certainly knows what he’s talking about. He started working as a service repairman for winter equipment at Hanson&Möhring back in 1978 and moved to what was then Vägverket Produktion in 2000.
“I do have a certain amount of experience, yes. I visited all the road stations in Sweden several times over during my years at Hanson&Möhring!” he laughs.