Scania’s MD bids farewell

Mikael Jansson has been with Scania for 37 years and in 2017 he came to Australia to run the business here taking over from the popular MD Roger McCarthy.

Asked if he was proud of what he’s achieved since he’s been here Mikael was humble but emphatic: “We wanted to continue the ‘volume journey’ that Roger started,” he said. “And we have. We’ve doubled our orders in the past five years. It has dropped a little lately with the supply chain issues, but we’re now approaching 10 per cent market share and that is a good place to be.”

“We’re getting volumes out in the market and we’re seeing more Scanias on the road.

“We’ve also increased the size of our company, when I got here we employed less than 400 people, now we have over 500. And we’ve just opened our new dealership at Eastern Creek in Sydney and we’re very proud of that.

“But there is still more to do. We need more capacity in Perth and we need more in Adelaide – there will be 340 new buses going in there over the next decade – and like everyone else, we need more technicians.

“We were recruiting from overseas but that stopped during COVID, but we’re ramping it up a bit now. We got some people in from the Philippines and they seem to be a good fit. They speak the same language, they have a very good work ethic and they are nice people – they fit right in here.

“We’ve also increased our aftersales just like our orders, that has doubled over the past five years.

“So I am leaving the company in good condition but still with some work for Manfred to do.”

Mikael will soon be replaced by Manfred Streit, who will move from his current role of Scania’s Country Director for Austria. Manfred will take up his new role in Melbourne in August and he should fit right in as Mikael told us the markets of Austria and Australia are a very similar size.

Asked how he’s enjoyed his five years here running Scania Australia, Mr Jansson said: “It has been a fantastic journey, I really mean it when I say, this has been the best job I’ve ever had. To be running a company like this, in Australia, it has been a great adventure.”

It was a bit of a learning curve for Mikael when he first arrived. Our market is different from the European model he was used to with more brands and different trailers.

“Certainly it’s a different market, and that takes a bit of getting used to,” he said. “There are different trucks, and definitely different trailer configurations than we have in Europe, and there was a different mindset. It takes about half a year to get on top of that,” he added.

“When I first got here I was surprised that no one was talking about sustainability. It wasn’t on the agenda. It is now, but back then, no. It has changed, but not as much as in Europe.

“And I’m still surprised that the Australian Government hasn’t mandated Euro 6, it seems that India will beat Australia to mandating Euro 6 – it’s hard to believe.”

Alternate fuels was another issue that was virtually stillborn in this country: “I’m a bit disappointed that alternative fuels haven’t taken off in Australia. We have trucks that can take alternative fuels like biodiesel, but nobody has pushed for it,” he said.

“If the government isn’t interested, then there’s no interest from the customer, and that’s a shame.”

Mr Jansson said that Scania has some great products coming in the future, and although he didn’t want to give too many of the company’s secrets, he did give a glimpse of what’s to come.

“The new 13-litre has just arrived and will be with us for testing for a while, and then with customers by the end of the year. We’re very much looking forward to that, it will be a great addition to our range.

“For a long time we’ve had the best products and with the new V8 models as well, it will be even better.

“Then there are BEVs (battery electric vehicles). We have two BEV vehicles in with mining companies in Western Australia right now.

“Why do we start with mining? Because the legislation around axle sets isn’t there. There needs to legislation for the BEV trucks in the heavier categories for them to be viable on the road.

“With the restriction in weight on the front axle, it will impact on the payload a lot and then you don’t have a business case. In Europe, you get an extra two tonnes that they will allow for the BEV trucks and that’s what they must do in Australia.

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“I’m not sure if the politicians understand about the load issues because they talk about incentives etc., but it doesn’t matter, we can’t run trucks successfully because of the weight.

“And then there’s the width issue as well. It will come but the weight issue is the big call. Not for light applications in the cities – distribution et cetera, they can handle it, but if you do long haulage, for us it’s a challenge.

“We don’t have the business case for it at the moment. If you don’t have the productivity, it doesn’t matter. People won’t take it.

“The trucks we have in the mining applications, they are service trucks, rigids carrying water, fuel, explosives, things like that. They can be charged on site so the range and the weights don’t matter.

“They can produce the electricity on site with solar so it makes sense in that environment.

“That could have huge potential for us. They’re very keen. Mr Forrest has indicated what he wants to do in that area and he currently has one of our BEV trucks, so we’ll see.

“In Sweden we have our own battery factory and we are preparing batteries that really can take the tougher long-haul traffic and the one we have now are not the same capacity as the ones we’ll have in a few years.

“The batteries in the future will go into the bigger, stronger long-haul trucks.

“We’ll be getting the battery cells from North Volt. We own 10 per cent of that company and it has a huge factory in Sweden and that is where the batteries will come from.”

We knew from when he first arrived that Mr Jansson was a bit of a sports fan and he said he has really enjoyed the sport here in Melbourne. “I have really loved living in the city and enjoying the love of sport here. There’s always something on, always something to do,” he said.

“And I love to go running in the Tan (Melbourne’s Botanic Gardens) even during COVID, I could go running and it has been great.”

Will he ever come back? “Sure, when St Kilda gets in the Grand Final, I’ll come back. I’ve now got friends who can get me tickets!” he laughed.

See you Mikael, it’s been a pleasure having you. Enjoy your retirement.