Bringing finesse to trucking

Bianca Thompson has been dealer principal (DP) at Produkta Trucks since January 2024. After two decades in the industry, she tells ROWAN WATT-PRINGLE that, although DP wasn’t always her goal, it’s a natural culmination of her natural leadership and communication qualities.

Thompson says that through her experiences with UD, commercial vehicles have evolved into a true passion. “I stumbled into the industry… I needed a job! Within six months I was headhunted to go into the truck side with UD,” she says. “There were very few women in the industry, but I must give credit to the men who have played important mentorship roles throughout my career.”

At CMH Commercial Pinetown, Ken Joubert took her under his wing, ensuring she shared important learning experiences. “This opened my mind to the industry’s potential and fuelled my interest,” she remembers.

After putting up her hand for the vacant CMH sales manager position in 2009, Ron Byng played a formative role. “I’ve kept his management mantra, ‘Don’t tell me, show me’, with me to this day; it has proven invaluable,” Thompson says.

For family reasons, Thompson took a step down to move to Produkta Trucks in Nelspruit, but within five months had progressed to sales management and could see a clear future path. “The succession plan started via the UD AMQ DP programme. The co-owner, Gideon Visser, mentored me through that whole process, which took over a year. He has instilled a wonderful ethic here – it’s very much an extended family, and gave us an unbelievable support structure. The company is his legacy, so it’s a big privilege to have been earmarked for this position,” she explains.

As more women enter the industry, Thompson emphasises that they must take on the mentorship mantle: “The lack of opportunities for women in the past is a sad reality, but it’s up to those of us who did get that opportunity to pass on knowledge to uplift women in the industry. Knowledge sharing might not be in the job description, but it is crucial. We try to instil the idea that it is ‘not my customer, but our customer’ across departments.”

It was challenging to replace such a strong long-term leader, so Thompson chose to just observe for a while rather than bringing “a new broom”. Produkta has benefitted from this continuity. “The systems and processes are there, but as a woman one can bring some finesse – a calm, approachable energy – to management,” she elaborates.

“Women work really well in strategic positions: they’ve brought a constructive culture that has filtered through the dealership and added value. They ensure information gets shared; that there’s in-house communication and synergy. In fact, most of my team are women!” she continues.

Thompson believes that more and more women will move into parts, strategic positions, and management in the industry. “To make this happen we need to continue to talk and support each other. Don’t expect to come in at the top; you need to stick with this industry and grow with it – be dedicated and in it for the long run. Customers are in it for life, so building these relationships over time is essential,” she stresses.

UD Trucks provides the perfect environment for this. “I’ve grown with the UD brand, and it will always be my go-to. It is so reliable!” Thompson enthuses. “We’re absolutely spoilt by the amount of training and support UD Trucks provides – our staff get so many opportunities.”