Power through every obstacle with Smith Power Equipment

Ashleigh Schubert

Benine Ackermann

Smith Power Equipment has more than thirty years of experience in the industry! This expertise makes them the sole distributors of ten premium brands into South Africa, focused on agriculture, turf care and off-road vehicle segments.

Smith Power’s main interest for farmers is the Kubota division, which offers the best quality tractors, TLBs, and power engines.

Kubota offers a wide range of products. According to Dennis van der Merwe, this diversity holds many advantages. He explains that although the agricultural market has faced many challenges over the last few years, on the construction side, business has doubled in the past year. “This is a good balance. We also have a good parts business on all the products. When things are going tough, people tend to repair instead of replacing, so things have been picking up in that area as well.”

Dennis continues to explain that Kubota has a unique way of reaching business success. He starts by saying that it is important to change and develop with the times. “Our business model needs to be adapted to a changing market. We choose the best retailers in South Africa and do business with them, but we also become more involved with retailers in the country.

“We need to get back to the basics of business. We are focused on bringing products and ideas to the business that will sustain it in the future. Focus on what the markets need.

“Attitude in our teams is very important. We need spirit and pride in our products. Our workers work as a unit to bring out the best of our products,” Dennis says.

Smith Power Equipment also has an off-road division. Craig Tutton expands on this area by saying that the main brands they focus on are Polaris and Linhai. Polaris is a premium brand from America, while Linhai is the economic product from China.

This company holds over 45% market share of off-road vehicle segments! “We have over fifty dealers across South Africa, with sales and service at the forefront of our brands,” Craig explains.

This year at NAMPO Cape, they have some exciting new launches on show. This includes the Linhai 800 cc diesel and 550 litre T-archon, and on the Polaris side the Ranger 1000-series.