Scania NZ has appointed Fernando Bustamante as its new service director to help lead an eight-person team.

He comes on board from his previous role with Scania Iberica (Spain and Portugal) as a services director based in Madrid.

“I am very motivated about my leadership role in an area of the business that Scania NZ has committed significant, ongoing investment in,” said Bustamante.

“From the development of new service centres and workshops in Invercargill and Hastings this year, to investing more than $40 million in spare-parts stock and the recruitment and upskilling of more technicians, it is all about ensuring that we have the best capacity to service our customer base.

“I am proud to lead a team that includes more than 400 technicians across our wider Scania network.”

Scania NZ managing director Victor Carvalho said improving customer experience is always top of mind.

“Every services-related investment we make is done with achieving better outcomes for our customers.

“The more expansive our service centre network is, the more highly trained technicians we have, and the more right parts that are available at their fingertips, all adds up to faster servicing of customer vehicles and less down-time off the road,” Carvalho said.

“Every dollar we invest in this area has a direct benefit to our clients’ bottom lines in their businesses.”

Bustamante hails from Argentinean and has held service-related managerial roles with Scania for the last 19 years in both Argentina and most recently Spain.