How was 2019 for Tennant NZ? What were the highlights? What were the challenges?

2019 was one of the best years in our region’s history. At the start of the year our main challenge was to get the trust back of our customers after several years of not representing our brand from a direct sales perspective to the standards we set globally.

As the year progressed, we saw that come back to exceptional levels in our results across all market sectors. We are seeing our NZ team collaborating at new levels across our direct service team, customer service and operations. This culminated in two national retail contracts with 11 of NZ’s largest sites rolled out fully in less than four weeks.

What will be the immediate focus for Tennant NZ in 2020?

• Continuing our strong results from 2020 along with expanding our sales team in the North Island with a new territory manager.
• The launch of our new IPC brand in early 2020 and creating a more solid distribution network.
• Our T7AMR robotic solution will also be a great addition to our fleet in 2020.

What challenges and opportunities do you see for Tennant NZ looking ahead to 2020?

Many NZ businesses are focusing more on the upkeep of their facilities from an H&S standpoint, both indoors and out, meaning sweeping and scrubbing are more prevalent, especially in the industrial space creating many more opportunities.

Cheaper product is always a challenge in the industry, however, the launch of our IPC brand will be backed up across Australia and New Zealand, with full aftermarket and factory direct service support- this is where customers will see end-to-end value in our offering.

Did you notice any trends in 2019? Do you expect those trends to continue into 2020?

End users in the BSC/industrial space are looking at quality over a short-term fix, which falls well into our category well. Having the longest lasting brand in the market certainly provides a better ROI.

Did you notice any changes in customer behaviour in 2019? How have you adapted to meet these changes?

Training certainly has become a key driver for end users and their staff to ensure all aspects of using machinery is covered.

Using our “pro panel” technology on the machines which have training videos on board (in 28 languages), has helped stay on top of the demand.

What role will innovation play for Tennant in 2020?

Certainly, our T7AMR Robotic solution will have an impact in some of our larger sites across New Zealand. Robotics is still very much in its infancy in New Zealand and will draw some real attention when we get up and running.

New products in the smaller commercial sector should also raise a few eyebrows that we will be launching with our distribution partners.

Are there any international trends you think will make their way to NZ in 2020?

Smaller commercial machines will have more of an impact and we will see less of the traditional mop and bucket. Contracts are getting squeezed and people need to work smarter on saving labour costs in becoming more productive.

From a high-end Tennant perspective, we will be focusing more where we have a competitive advantage such as SweepMax on our mid-size sweepers, and less distracted in areas where we do not.

I also think people will start to look at getting a service contract built into their purchase of mid to larger equipment. Something I have noticed becoming more prevalent, and our field direct service techs will be able to keep end user units in great working order.

What is one issue the industry should urgently address in 2020?

Although it has improved significantly, I still feel training is a real issue in some sectors from an upkeep of machines. One thing we provide is comprehensive ongoing help as machinery is so key to many contracts across the country.

Providing an excellent platform both on board and off as well as our equipment is simple to use from our quick release magnetic heads to one touch scrub will certainly go a long way to covering these concerns.

This article first appeared in INCLEAN NZ magazine 

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