MAHLE Aftermarket opens sales office in South Africa

Pressrelease [PDF; 26 KB]

Stuttgart, 18 March 2014 – MAHLE Aftermarket, the MAHLE business unit specialising in spare parts, opened a sales office in the South African city of Port Elizabeth on 3 March 2014. The branch offers customers comprehensive service on location and should contribute to further strengthening the position of the brand in the South African region.

Besides South Africa, the new sales location of MAHLE Aftermarket GmbH will also serve Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique, Angola as well as the Kingdom of Lesotho. The focus thus lies on the whole South African region. This simplifies the exchange of experiences and enables specific regional features to be addressed faster and more effectively. For local customers, this results in more individual and flexible support and access to the extensive MAHLE product range: from turbochargers, to thermostats and engine components, to filters. Furthermore, the new sales office, which is headed by Chris Stanbridge (Head of MAHLE Aftermarket Southern Africa Branch), is located directly at the production location of the MAHLE BEHR plant in Port Elizabeth, which will enable the company to use synergies optimally on site and also tap the full potential of future growth.

Moreover, the new sales location should strengthen the position of MAHLE Aftermarket GmbH on the African market. “Africa is a continent with great potential”, says Georges Mourad, Head of Middle East /Africa and Head of Sales Middle East/Africa and Overseas. “It has a very large and diverse fleet of vehicles; and all OEMs are represented in this market. Therefore, the region will become increasingly important in the future due to its growth.” MAHLE will continue to supply its customers in the region directly from its locations in Europe, the United States, Brazil, and Asia.

With the appropriate business development, a distribution centre may be established at the same location in the future.

About MAHLE

With its two business units Engine Systems and Components as well as Filtration and Engine Peripherals, MAHLE ranks among the top three systems suppliers worldwide. On 1 October 2013, the former Behr Group—which ranks among the leading OEMs worldwide in vehicle air conditioning and engine cooling—was integrated into the MAHLE Group as the Thermal Management business unit. All of the Group’s non-automotive activities are combined in the Industry business unit, encompassing products from the application areas of filtration, thermal management, and large engines for industrial purposes. The Aftermarket business unit serves the independent spare parts market with MAHLE products in original equipment quality. MAHLE has a local presence in all major world markets. In 2014, some 65,000 employees at 140 production locations and ten major research and development centres are expected to generate sales of around ten billion euros.

About MAHLE Aftermarket

MAHLE Aftermarket, the business unit specialising in spare parts, is represented with 1,500 employees at 17 locations and other sales offices worldwide, including numerous logistics centres and regional offices. In 2012, the business unit achieved a global sales
volume of EUR 797 million.

Find out more about MAHLE Aftermarket GmbH at www.mahle-aftermarket.com