Volvo dealership goes to ex-Kenworth chief

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. (May 24) — Andries Mellema has never run a truck dealership before, but he¹s a Volvo dealer now, a progressive new player who could have an influence on others in the Toronto area and beyond.

With three junior but very experienced partners, he bought the former Toronto Truck Centre in Mississauga, as of May 20, and re-named it Volvo Trucks of Toronto. Previously owned by the Tokmajian Group, it had been an under-performing $75-million enterprise. Its new owner says the business has lots of room to grow.

Mellema spent four years as president of Canadian Kenworth going back a decade or so, and knowing the OE side of the business will no doubt be useful in terms of creating a productive relationship with Volvo Trucks Canada. Since then he has run an American packaging outfit in Chicago and more recently a major Canadian auto parts manufacturer. In an earlier life he spent a dozen years with Firestone in various capacities around the world.

His partners are Ross Hill, latterly v.p. finance with the Minacs Group, as CFO; Gary Van Ryswyk, most recently with a Kenworth dealership, as parts and service chief; and Brad Bowering, ex of Volvo’s head office, handling sales and marketing.

The soft-spoken Mellema is known for his intelligence, fairness, and good common business sense. He brings a sophisticated approach to truck sales and service, one that will emphasize things like trust and integrity -­ and certainly people — at least as often as dollars and cents.

He certainly doesn’t see his lack of experience at the dealership level as a hindrance. In fact, it probably frees him to do things that others may think radical.

“One of the reasons why I’m here,” he says, “is that Volvo thinks the traditional dealership has to change.”

But, he adds, “the basics of management are the same for any business. Where organizations go wrong is very often when the vision isn’t clear.”

Before that vision is firmly established at Volvo Trucks of Toronto, Mellema and his team will survey both existing and potential customers to get a fix on the market. That’s a predictable move, but his very first step will be rather unique — an attitude survey of dealership staff to ascertain just what his inherited new employees care about, worry about. He believes firmly that he can’t serve customers well if his employees aren’t on his side.

Once he understands what he’s working with, internally and externally, a strategic plan will follow. Part of that plan will be the creation of an electronic interchange with his key customers, a link based on service contracts in which paper invoices won’t play a role.

“It would make sense to hook up with major customers so that we can look into their schedules, know when their trucks are available, and send somebody over to pick them up,” he says. “Why not? How much money and time are we losing in phone calls and call-backs and waiting? It’s almost like going back 20 years.”

Mellema will focus especially on the service side of things, and says he wants to earn recognition for excellence in that area by way of honesty and integrity. To promote that, he’ll likely pay bonuses to shop staff, based partly on how many trucks come back a second time for the same repair and partly on independently measured customer satisfaction.

Among his other intentions is to move quickly from the dealership’s cramped present quarters — a former cement plant — and to add two satellite locations east and west of Toronto as soon as he can.