Agricultural equipment the
focus for DLL team in Plock, reports Antonio Fabrizio.
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De Lage Landen (DLL) and Case New Holland (CNH) have
strengthened their co-operation in Poland. The new agreement,
announced last month, enhances an existing vendor programme,
launched in 2007 between the Dutch lessor and the construction and
agricultural equipment manufacturer, and might pave the way for
closer ties in the future.
The private label programme
operates under the CNH Capital name, with DLL Leasing Polska
providing financial solutions for CNH products for end-users in
Poland.
According to Frans Janssen, senior
vice-president for Central and Eastern Europe at DLL, it is a
“significant enhancement” of the previous agreement, which he
described as a “straightforward vendor programme”, where CNH
Capital focused on sales and DLL looked after back office.
The new agreement includes
increased territory coverage, a dedicated sales team and enhanced
support of the dealer network.
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By GlobalDataJanssen said: “With this new
programme, we are much more connected. We have eight dedicated DLL
staff under the CNH Capital name as part of a sales team situated
in CNH’s Polish headquarters in Plock. We have sales managers in
the field, who are really close to the dealers and visit them
several times a week.”
Tom Meredith, recently appointed as
president for DLL’s global business unit
for food and agriculture, said: “The key component of this
agreement is that we are joined at the hip. Having people in
situ enables us to better understand CNH’s needs and to
deliver that solution, closer to the vendor, the dealer and the
farmer. As a private label programme, we really try to act as one
company.”
International ties and
expertise
DLL’s international network and its
expertise in agriculture and construction were put forward as the
reasons for strengthening the partnership.
“Our overall corporate strategies
match very nicely in that respect. We are specialists in the
agricultural market, and our people really know what farming is
about, in line with the focus on food and agribusiness of Rabobank
Group, our parent company,” Meredith said.
The agreement fits CNH’s strategy
for retail business.
Danny McTaggart, chief executive of
CNH Capital Europe, said: “In Poland in particular, we had this
arrangement with DLL, and having looked at what we did together
with them in the past, and due to their investment in people and
structure, it was an option that we were very happy to choose.”
He added that CNH’s overall
strategy on the retail side was to partner with “the most
appropriate people. What we’ve done with DLL in Poland is very
consistent with that. We follow the same strategy throughout
Europe, and look at where it makes sense to partner with somebody
to deliver the best action for potential customers of our
products.”
The country approach means that CNH
has a number of relationships in place with other vendor finance
companies.
These include an agreement with BNP
Paribas Lease Group (BPLG) in seven European countries – the
latest deal, signed in March, covers
the Belgian and Dutch markets. The joint venture with BPLG, which
last year recorded €675m of originations, now covers countries
including Germany, Austria, France, Italy, and the UK.
Russian
agreement
Earlier this year, DLL and CNH
signed another co-operation agreement covering Russia.
Janssen said: “The agreement we
have in Russia at the moment is purely a vendor programme. We
believe that the Russian agricultural market can provide big
opportunities, and the deal with CHN is the first step to
strengthen our presence there.”
Since the launch of the programme
in Russia in March 2010, the two companies have already signed €10m
of new business, including a large deal with one specific customer
for the financing of 50 harvesters.
The agreements in Poland and Russia
fit well with DLL’s strategy to expand into the CEE region.
“We are happy to have a partner
like CNH to move forward in that region,” said Meredith.
Janssen described the relationship
as of strategic importance which could lead to new opportunities in
other countries.
“We would be very interested in
bringing this relationship even further. We have presence in most
European countries and we are ready, willing and able to assist CNH
if they should decide to expand further,” he said.
Focusing on
Poland
McTaggart did not rule out any
future agreements with DLL either, although he said that “at this
point in time we are focused on Poland”.
He explained: “In terms of Poland,
we are very happy in the short period that we have rearranged
ourselves into this new agreement with the outcomes that we are
achieving. We look forward to those outcomes continuing to improve
and that is the expectation that we had on Poland as a consequence
of the investment of both partners to the agreement.”
He expects the deal to boost CNH
Capital’s performance in Europe.
“We are happy with the results achieved in both the agricultural
and construction sector,” he said. “Clearly the construction sector
has been a difficult area for most people, but with our partners we
continue to look for opportunities in our markets.”
