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He might well have hit the ground running earlier this month but the new MD of Volvo UK plans to take time to listen to his team By Justin Stanton
ON THE EVE OF Commercial Motor Live 2012, CM met the then new Volvo UK MD Ulf Magnusson. Earlier this month, on the eve of Commercial Motor Live 2013, we experienced a strong sense of déjà vu as we met his replacement: Arne Knaben.
Following a four-year stint in Australia, where he was president of Volvo (with responsibility not only for Volvo, but also the Mack, UD and Renault brands), Knaben had to hit the ground running in the UK. Barely off the plane from down under, he met his senior management team and the CM team the day before Commercial Motor Live. On the first day of the event, he met his first UK customer — Day Aggregates — and drove a Volvo truck in the UK for the first time (yes, that's right, he's a truck manufacturer MD with an LGV licence!)
To get to know the new FH, he took it for a 1,300km spin over a weekend when it was launched in Australia. "It was good to live in a truck and sleep in it," he said, adding: "It's the best truck I've ever driven. The handling is just amazing I know I should be passionate about the product, but it really is fantastic. It drives like a sports car!" However, don't mistake this initial flurry of activity for
panic: the 50-something Norwegian is not in firefighting mode. He told CM his plan for Volvo in the UK: "This is already a well-functioning organisation; it's about keeping up the good work. It's a strong management team: they all know what they're doing. My plan is to listen a lot and get to know people and the market.
"We will try to stick together and do the best job we can for our customers — who are very enthusiastic and loyal. It's a very basic plan. I like things simple — I don't like to complicate them."
Having worked for Volvo in Australia, Denmark, India, Norway and Sweden, he is well placed to guide Volvo through what is expected to be the muddy waters of the UK truck market as it lurches from Euro-5 spike to Euro-6 sluggishness. It's about trucks and operators
Keeping with that simple approach, he's not fazed by what might lie ahead. Drawing a comparison with the other countries he's worked in, he noted: "When it comes down to it, it's about trucks and operators, so the differences aren't that great."
Our interview was regrettably short, because he needed to get to the airport to greet his family. But it will be another two months before his container of worldly goods completes its journey from Brisbane to Warwick. As he gets his feet under the desk and gets over the jet lag, his message to CM readers is simple: "It's the results that matter — and it all starts with the customer. We shall just work hard and do our best." •