One year ago today, a bold new name was revealed to the construction world. Building on eight decades of hauler heritage, and seven previous years of major improvements, the Rokbak brand was immediately a hit worldwide.
Celebrations are underway in Motherwell, Scotland to mark an extraordinary first year of operation for Rokbak. In the 12 months since Managing Director Paul Douglas announced the surprise rebranding of Terex Trucks at an online launch event, the company has enjoyed multiple successes, confirming the decision to replace an established industry name with a new, unique one was the right thing to do.
“We all had huge faith in the new brand and felt that its message of rugged reliability and strength, coupled with its strong hauling heritage and future-focused vision, was a winning combination,” says Paul. “We fully understood the pressing reasons to rebrand – most notably, to better highlight the huge improvements to our haulers that had been made since the Volvo Group acquisition in 2014. And, gratifyingly, our customers and dealers recognised that too, and they’ve wholeheartedly embraced our new brand.”
With a substantial order from Rokbak’s UK dealer, Molson Group, during the launch event on September 1st – which was viewed by 600 people in 22 countries – this affirmation was virtually instantaneous. Paul has already described how some existing dealers were literally jumping for joy afterwards, and as Jacqueline Reid, Global Director Marketing Communications & Product Management, will reveal in a forthcoming behind-the-scenes account, some prospect dealers who were uninterested in stocking the Terex Trucks range were very quick to get in touch and become Rokbak dealers.
The public was not shy in making its feelings known either, with thousands of new followers added to its social media channels. Rokbak’s appearances at UK trade shows attracted enthusiastic reviews from those getting their first real-life glimpses of the revitalised haulers. People were keen to get hold of the new machines as well as the supporting merchandise at the Balmoral Show just three weeks after the launch, as well as at Rokbak dealer Molson Group’s Open Days, ScotPlant and Hillhead.
Supplying demand
Rokbak’s very first Sand-coloured machines were delivered to Easton Sales and Rentals and immediately sold to earthmoving, utility and clearing company Linco Construction of Houston. The two RA30s were put straight to work, helping with earthworks, underground utility and clearing work.
By then, orders were flowing in for RA30s and RA40s with almost all dealers in the US confirming sales within the first couple of months. Over the last year, Rokbak has also seen a big increase in orders from the UK, as well as a high level of interest from France, Indonesia and Australia.
The company’s US dealer network, in particular, has enjoyed significant growth over the past year. Determined to offer even greater support to its customers in the booming North American market, Rokbak has prioritised expanding its geographical coverage, initially adding ProSource Machinery in April to provide representation across Colorado and Montana. One month later, State Tractor & Equipment had been appointed to serve Kansas and Missouri, with TraxPlus joining the team in July to cover Louisiana and Mississippi.
Cross-industry recognition
The rebranding team’s hard work was officially recognized – several times – by those outside of the construction equipment industry throughout the year. First came the CeeD Industry Awards in February, then the company took home five Marketing Society Star Awards. And, last but definitely not least, Rokbak received its second consecutive RoSPA Gold Award, which followed on from four consecutive RoSPA Silver Awards, in recognition of its exemplary role in ensuring the health and safety of its employees.
Those employees will shortly be bringing their relatives along to the Motherwell factory for a family fun day as the celebrations continue. And customers and fans have the opportunity to join in with the fun virtually, with exciting content including behind the scenes stories from the team and videos going live on Rokbak’s website and social media channels.
“The past year been an incredible adventure for everyone at Rokbak and I want to thank everyone in our team for their hard work,” concludes Paul. “The new name and colour really reinforce the point that our haulers operate on a completely different level now, and our customers have had nothing but praise for them.
“That means our dealers have never been happier, and that in turn has led to a buoyant mood at our factory, with more than 150 new colleagues now in place to support the increased demand. I don’t think the expression ‘a change will do you good’ has ever been more appropriate!”