How Mantrac Nigeria’s Digital Service Centre is Redefining Customer Experience and Powering West Africa’s Future

By Azeez Disu

In the demanding landscape of African commerce, where downtime can instantly translate into losing millions of dollars, reliable equipment performance is the bedrock of the industry.Mantrac Nigeria, the sole authorized CAT dealer representative in the country, has decisively shifted the paradigm of after-sales support with the launch of its new Digital Service Centre in Lagos. This innovative facility, situated in the heart of Ikeja, is not merely a call centre; it is a remote command post designed to ensure maximum equipment uptime, leveraging world-class technology to support infrastructure, mining, construction, oil & gas, and agricultural sectors across Nigeria and the wider West African region.

The inauguration, announced on October 14, 2025, marks a major milestone in Mantrac’s digital transformation roadmap, setting a new benchmark for customer-centric service.

The Vision: Empowering Productivity

The strategic importance of this center was immediately highlighted by the leadership. Emad Adeeb, Managing Director of Mantrac Nigeria, stated that the facility reflects a long-term vision to redefine after-sales service in the market. He emphasized the synergy achieved by combining Caterpillar’s world-class technology with specialized local expertise.

“By combining Caterpillar’s world-class technology with local expertise, we’re ensuring customers get immediate, intelligent support, no matter where they are,” Adeeb noted. “This is about empowering productivity and building stronger partnerships”.

This sentiment echoes the increasing global focus on seamless interaction and proactive support. As renowned business consultant Peter Drucker famously said, “The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product or service fits him and sells itself.” This digital initiative embodies that philosophy by preempting equipment failures.

The new center’s capabilities are revolutionary for the region. It enables Mantrac to monitor equipment performance remotely, conduct virtual inspections, and proactively respond to faults or irregularities before they escalate into costly breakdowns. This is particularly critical for customers operating in hazardous or hard-to-reach locations.

Nigel Lewis, COO of Mantrac Group, confirmed the regional significance, calling the launch a “major milestone not just for Nigeria but for our entire Group”. He stressed how Mantrac is “harnessing digital solutions to improve customer outcomes, enhance operational safety, and create a sustainable service model that will shape the future of our industry”.

The Technical Heartbeat: Intelligence in Real-Time

At the core of the Digital Service Centre’s effectiveness is its integration with advanced Caterpillar technologies. The facility is fully integrated with CAT Product Link and VisionLink, allowing for sophisticated equipment tracking and health analytics. It offers live remote troubleshooting, enabling real-time issue resolution through video consultations and remote software updates and calibrations. Currently, this system is actively supporting over 200 sites in Nigeria and covers approximately 900 customers, with more than 5,000 units connected across the country.

The technology team ensures that this sophisticated data is handled responsibly. Installation and activation of the monitoring devices (Product Link) require explicit customer approval and a full explanation of the value provided. Crucially, Mantrac operates under strict non-disclosure agreements: any data collected from the equipment is confidential and “cannot be used, cannot be shared with any third party”.

Discussing how the centre tackles common operational challenges, Mohamed El Attar, Service Operations Manager at Mantrac Nigeria highlighted the strategic use of technology to support field engineers. “The engineer gets the power of information,” he explained. “He gets all communication done through the technology center as a package we prepare it as a package. So he already knows what is needed to be done. So in the shortest time he can solve the problem”. This preparation is key to reducing downtime virtually.

The system offers significant customization options. Customers are given access and training to utilize features like geo-fencing, allowing them to identify on a map the specific area where a unit should operate. If a machine moves outside this defined geo-fence, the customer immediately receives an alert via mobile or email.

The Strategy: Loyalty Over Revenue

A crucial element of Mantrac’s strategy is viewing this comprehensive digital support as a relationship-building tool, not a new revenue stream. The devices, installation, and subscription services for the digital support program are offered free of charge, applying to all yellow Caterpillar units, not just new ones or those still under warranty.

Mohamad Zarife, General Manager, Caterpillar Power System, Mantrac Nigeria explained that the purpose is not to “generate revenue from customer going to get support or from this subscription”. 

In addition, Adeeb stated that the goal is twofold: “to increase customer loyalty and to get customer connected with us,” ensuring the customer enjoys “a healthier equipment”.

“When he enjoy a healthier equipment, productive, nonbroken equipment, he will buy equipment from us again. He will buy parts again,” the leader elaborated. “Our customers are our assets.  We want our customer to be our ambassadors to the market”. This digital service is designed to make customers happy, thereby increasing loyalty and satisfaction, which ultimately drives future sales. This aligns with the well-known statement by motivational speaker Zig Ziglar: “You don’t build a business, you build people, and then people build the business.”

Investing in the Human Element

Mantrac recognizes that even the most advanced technology requires skilled human capital. This is particularly relevant in Nigeria, where, globally, there is a recognized shortage of experienced technicians. Furthermore, Mantrac Nigeria faces the challenge of losing highly skilled Nigerian engineers, who are “extremely good” and smart, to overseas opportunities, experiencing an annual loss of about 20% of its engineering manpower.

To combat this “lack of experience in engineering” and ensure service quality, Mantrac has employed a dual strategy. First, the technology itself reduces the reliance on constant physical travel, estimating that about 25% less manpower is needed for site visits because problems can be fixed digitally.

Secondly, Mantrac launched a rigorous training school two years ago. This 18-month programme inducts fresh graduate engineers, who spend their time purely studying, engaging in modeling, component training, and testing, before starting as junior engineers in the field. Currently, 18 engineers from the first cohort are now active, and a second phase of 18 is being recruited, ensuring a continuous supply of skilled, certified CAT technicians.

El Attar further detailed the customer interaction process, noting that they use a platform called CAT Interact, which facilitates communication across Caterpillar, Mantrac, and the customer. Through this platform, combined with video calls and detailed instructions sent via channels like WhatsApp, they continuously educate the customer on how to care for their units.

Powering Nigeria’s Infrastructure Growth

Beyond the power systems focus, Mantrac is a foundational contributor to Nigeria’s development. Mantrac equipment is crucial to major infrastructure and construction projects across the country. As Adeeb highlighted, Mantrac’s contribution to the economy and infrastructure growth is significant, emphasizing the “huge value added to the economy in Nigeria” through reputable companies utilizing high-quality Caterpillar machines.

Mantrac also addresses the evolving energy landscape, including the growing trend toward renewable energy solutions like solar power. While acknowledging that the rise of solar panels and inverters has reduced the demand for smaller diesel generator sets (gensets), the demand for reliable, large-scale power remains high for factories, banks, and big organizations.

Importantly, the company is deeply invested in localization and job creation. At their facility, Mantrac operates a Completely Knocked Down (CKD) factory where gen sets from 12 KVA up to 750 KVA are assembled, manufactured, and tested using Nigerian hands and meeting strict Caterpillar standards. Furthermore, electrical panels and customized solutions for huge generators are designed and assembled by Nigerian engineers in-country.

In conclusion, Mantrac’s new Digital Service Centre is a powerful demonstration of innovation meeting need. By providing reliable, remote support, investing heavily in local expertise, and maintaining a strategy focused on customer success, Mantrac is solidifying its position not just as a dealer, but as a critical partner in Nigeria’s continuous growth and development.