Only a select few drivers are able to say in the morning that they will be in another country when they finally settle down to sleep that night and also in a different continent. Fewer still do that journey on a weekly basis. Abdelkarim Mhammedi Senhaji, a driver for Fes-based Boyauderie Drimano, is one of those select few drivers.
The company ships meat, olives and capers from the Moroccan city through the port of Tangiers on the northern coast and by boat across the 15km straits that separate Europe from Africa. Once on the other side, Senhaji will deliver to locations in Spain, France and even as far north as Belgium.
“I do this because I just love this work,” Senhaji’s translator tells T&FME. When asked what it takes to be a good driver his words return wryly through her: “Passion and patience.”
We’re sitting with the owner of Boyauderie Drimano, Mohammad Ali Laraqui Houssani, during the Volvo Trucks Driver Challenge. More than 12,000 drivers took part in the competition, and Houssani says he extremely proud to join his star man at the event. He adds that Senhaji, a man he endearingly calls the professor, is trusted to travel thousands of kilometres in the newest Swedish-built truck the company owns, a two-year-old FH.
“We cannot give the oldest truck to the best driver we have!” He laughs
Boyauderie Drimano owns nine FH trucks and Houssani says the company has always gone with Volvo because of safety, reliability and economy – crucial for a company that is running such long distances. The oldest in the company is now seven years old and, unsurprisingly, his expanding fleet will continue to bear the iron mark.
“We can’t compare with other brands since we have always used Volvo Trucks since the beginning,” he explains. “Safety is importance as we’re transporting raw materials but also final products.”
With the trucks expected to travel thousands of kilometres away from home, maintenance schedules and programmes are prioritised and controlled in-house.
“We integrated this activity into the company to essentially better support our customers. Uptime is very important in our business,” he continues.
When he speaks, Houssani chooses his works carefully and responds softly – only hardening when asked how a Moroccan company has grown by transporting into Europe.
“It’s normal, it’s easy for business as Morocco is in close proximity to Europe. It’s only 14km,” he retorts. “If you have a factory in Morocco, it’s like having it in France.”
As such, the Boyauderie Drimano operation is now fully plugged into the operations of its customers based on the continent across the water – running full both ways.
“They bring the raw material, for example, on Monday and by Friday we can ship the final product. The next Monday they are in France. We have nine drivers and generally they take one week but it’s very simple.”
In terms of fuelling, the trucks are sent fully fuelled on their outward journey as fuel is cheaper than Spain.
“Fez to Lyon is 2,600,” he explains. “So 5,200km, in total. The advantage with Volvo is we have big tanks. 1,480 litres and we need 1,200 litres to get to France.”
Houssani is keen to stress that the drivers – their comfort and safety – are central to the company’s on-going ability to provide a service to customer.
“We have a very friendly relationship (with the drivers). Our aim when we recruit is to find guys with a good education,” he explains. “We need to find the right guy who will take good care of the truck.”
Perhaps surprisingly, he says the company hasn’t fully explored enrolling its drivers onto a driver training progamme. “Never, but we are talking about this.”
Drivers he adds are not in short supply in Morocco, placing the emphasis on recruiting the right skills and right attitude.
“We don’t have a shortage,” he affirms but says that the company does not have a bias against any gender working at the
As for when he is on the move, Houssani says the company has opted out taking Volvo’s Dynafleet, instead choosing an off-the-shelf telematics solution to keep track of Sanhaji and the rest of the fleet.
“I can see the benefit but the price is a bit high,” he adds.
Looking at the wider picture, however, he suggests there are investment opportunities for companies in the Moroccan market.
“We have good opportunities in Morocco now, it is time to invest because what happens now between all parts of the world. We even have an opportunity to develop the US as a destination. We have free-trade between Morocco and the US,” he explains, adding that easing of tax levies to China also makes that a viable market. “By ship containers of course!”
He adds that the company’s success to date has been built on a simple three-pronged mantra: “We should be serious have quality and respect our customer.”
As he is travelling such long distances, Senhaji unsurprisingly says that the truck feels like a second home and is where he rests at night. But he does have one complaint.
“The mattress….” He says ruefully. “It is not very comfortable for me.”
After a brief exchange in French, Houssani adds on the professor’s behalf: “He thinks the back board is the problem!”
Before we part, T&FME asks what’s more important for Houssani and Boyauderie Drimano: the truck or the driver?
He pauses for a moment and draws a smile: “If they are safe, I am safe too.”
Market Analysis: The European influence in Morocco
Morocco is estimated to have almost 140,000 commercial vehicles in operation. According to research by Automotive Fleet and General Motors, 84% of the fleet vehicles in Morocco consists of European brands like Renault, Peugeot, Citroën, BMW, Mercedes, and Audi. Japanese and Korean brands are competitors, especially in the utility and 4×4 segments.
“Morocco is a European-centric market. After Opel was sold to PSA, General Motors is reviving the Chevrolet brand,” Wisam El Bana, general manager – North Africa for General Motors was quoted by the magazine. “We’re starting by building up a product portfolio that suits the market preferences. We recently introduced the Equinox in Morocco. We’re focusing on rebuilding our product portfolio starting with the Equinox by focusing on models made in the USA to leverage the customs and homologation benefits under the free trade agreement between Morocco and the United States.”
Like many North African countries, except Egypt and Libya, French brands have retained their historical importance in the market.
“The high penetration of Asian cars could soon threaten the dominance of French brands which still represent 40% of the market in Morocco,” said Abderrahim Benkirane, president of AIVAM, in an interview with the Le Matin daily. “The breakthrough by Asian car manufacturers, mainly Japanese and Korean, is progressing strongly and in four to five years, they are also set to be joined by the Chinese who are showing great signs of improvement,” added the AIVAM president.
