The Arab Organisation for Industrialisation (AOI) and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) celebrated renewing their partnership contract for 10 years in a large ceremony that was held, in conjunction with opening the latest Jeep service centre in Egypt, at the headquarters of the Arab American Vehicles Company (AAV).
Attending the celebration were Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr; Minister of Industry and Trade Tarek Kabil; AOI Chairperson Abdulaziz Seif El-dein; Roberto Mousinho, director for Africa and the Middle East at FCA; Roberto Grazioli, head of business development at FCA; Pietro Tombaccini, commercial attaché of the Embassy of Italy in Egypt; Abdulrahman Sultan, CEO of FCA Egypt; and Mohamed Anis, chairperson of the AAV.
This strategic partnership confirms the confidence of the international FCA Group in the Egyptian economy and automobile market, which reinforced the step of establishing an integrated service centre opened in conjunction with the renewal of the agreement for 10 years.
The new service centre was built on an area of 14,425 sqm and has a capacity for more than 100 cars a day. It is three times the capacity of the old centre and uses the latest environmentally friendly technologies according to international standards in order to be the latest and only service centre of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa, with investments worth $2.8m, providing many direct and indirect employment opportunities.
The celebration ceremony started with a welcome speech by Anis, in which he extended his thanks to the attendees and expressed his happiness with the event. He then gave a detailed presentation on Jeep’s integrated service centre.
Then came a speech by Abdulrahman Sultan, who said that his company receives full support from the parent company due to its positive outlook for the Egyptian market, which gives the company many facilitations and constructive cooperation to enable it to serve its clients in Egypt in a better way.
For his part, the chairperson of AOI stressed the readiness of the organisation for such important and strategic partnerships that offer high-quality products.
The new service and maintenance centre includes a workshop for mechanics, overhauls, and repairs of microelectronics. The centre also includes a department for tinsmithing and painting on an area of 830 sqm. It includes a spraying cabin, a chassis replacement service, a preparation area, and an area for special tools. There are also many other pavilions that include the express service department, the reception area, and the car care area. There is also an area for customers to rest, a display room, and a spare parts store, in addition to a scrap room and a compressor room. Moreover, there is a building for technicians in addition to administrative offices and rooms for meetings and trainings.
The new service centre is distinct for using the latest electronic means of operation from when a customer arrives until he or she receives their car. Customers can choose the kind of service they want to receive through a touch screen. The reception engineers also use tablets and the latest technological systems.
The finest furniture companies were used to furnish the centre, including the reception area and the administrative offices. During the designing stage, providing a work climate suitable for workers was taken into consideration, along with allowing them to move easily within the centre and saving customers’ time.
The new centre was established in accordance with international standards, as it contains many renewable energy sources and environmentally friendly sources. It is the only centre in the area that includes:
1- A solar power plant with 105.74 kW capacity. It was established on four sheds and a building with an area of about 640 sqm. The plant produces about 160 MWh annually.
2- Solar tubes are structures used to transport or distribute natural or artificial light for lighting purposes. The total amount used is 154 solar tubes. Each can be simulated with a 100 W energy source.
3- VRF-A/C system, known as the variable refrigerant flow (VRF). It is HVAC technology that uses the refrigerant as a cooling and heating medium. VRF units operate only at the required rate, allowing significant energy savings under partial load conditions.
4- Insulation panels: The new service centre was built using insulating panels, which maintain a fixed temperature within the workshops and buildings, which, in turn, provides energy for HVAC systems.
5- An exhaust system: This system is used in workshops to avoid the accumulation of car exhausts during the provision of car maintenance services.
6- A well thought out system for workshops’ ventilation.
7- The buildings all have a fireproof coating.
Noteworthy, the partnership between the AOI and FCA started in 1977. During that period, the Egyptian market was provided with locally-assembled Jeep Wrangler and Jeep Cherokee models, with the latter later replaced with the Grand Cherokee. Several military jeep models were exported to the markets of the region over the past period, which stresses the leadership of the Egyptian market and its services.
At the end of the ceremony, the attendees officially opened the centre and took a tour around it.
