Angola’s Minister of Trade, Jofre Van-Dúnem, challenged the Kin Lai company, of the Nors group, to set up an assembly line in Angola for Dongfeng trucks, as part of the process of diversification of the country’s economy and to boost the domestic market, the Angolan press reported.

The minister, who was speaking at the inauguration in Cacuaco of the premises of Kin Lai, the official distributor of Dongfeng Trucks in Angola, said that efforts should not only be focused on increasing sales but also on quality, so that investments can generate business and guarantee jobs.

The senior vice president of Dongfeng, Stuart Lennie, said that the company has a policy for the establishment of factories outside China, as already happens in some countries, particularly in Africa, but recalled that this can only happen in countries where the value of sales warrants it, according Angolan news agency Angop.

The director of the Nors group in Angola, Francisco Ramos, said that investment in the sales line totalled US$1.3 million and that 10 of the 50 units planned for this first phase of sales area already available, as well as over 1, 000 references of replacement parts to ensure the maintenance and quality required by the manufacturer and the standards recommended by Volvo.

The Nors Group is a Portuguese business group focused on transport solutions and construction equipment, founded in 1933 when Luiz Oscar Jervell became representative of the Volvo brand in Portugal.

The internationalisation of Nors began in 1991, with the beginning of the representation of the Group in Angola, which now has six companies, at a time when the company is about to celebrate 30 years in the Angolan market.

Dongfeng Trucks, created in 1969, with headquarters in Shiyan, in Hubei province, central China, is one of the major brands of trucks in the country, producing heavy and medium-sized trucks for long-, medium- and short-haul distribution and for construction, mining and all-terrain activities. (macauhub)