On February 7, 2022, an explosion razed the entire Apiate community killing and injuring many.

The donation was made to support the Apiate Community as government commences rebuilding the community into a modern one to bring the necessary relief to the people.

SMT Ghana team including: Edward Kingsley Sackey, Sales Manager, Philip Ackon, Parts Manager – Tarkwa and Stephen Ponful, Workshop Manager – Tarkwa were present at the Apiate Relief Camp on Thursday 24^th February 2022 to hand over the donation.

Edward Kingsley Sackey, said as an Institution, SMT Ghana saw the need to come forward to support the reconstruction of the community considering how devastating the explosion had affected the lives of the entire community. “The incident was an unfortunate one that resulted in the loss of lives, properties, injuries, and the destruction of the entire community”.

“Apiate community is close to the Tarkwa branch of SMT Ghana and as part of our CSR we support communities close to our operations so immediately after the tragic incidence, we quickly moved to the site to commiserate with the victims and then contacted the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) to see how best we can support.

“Big tragedies like this we know call for a national support and so as Government is in the process of rebuilding with support from other corporate institutions we are also here with our widows mite and we believe it has come in handy and will be used judiciously for its intended purpose”.

Present to receive the donation on behalf of the community were; Mr. Lewis Afful, NADMO Deputy Director-Prestea/Huni-Valley, Mr. Emmanuel Fosu, PA for the Municipal Chief Executive – Prestea/ Huni-Valley, Mr. Thomas Enyan, Assembly man of the Apiate area and members of the local Committee.

Mr. Lewis Afful, the NADMO Deputy Director for Prestea/Huni Valley thanked SMT Ghana for coming to the aid of the victims and expressed optimism the timely nature of the donation will speed up the rebuilding project by Government. He urged corporate Ghana to come forth with more of such support to rebuild the Apiate community.

SMT Ghana marks 10^th Anniversary

This donation is part of events lined up by SMT Ghana’s corporate social responsible activities as the company marks its 10th Anniversary celebrations this year as one of the leading dealers of construction, transport and mining equipment in the country.

As one of the leading dealers of construction, transport and mining equipment in the country, the company has held series of open house events throughout the country to showcase its products (construction equipment) and orient stakeholders on the need to use premium brand quality construction equipment for maximum output.

The latest open house event was held at Tarkwa last week Thursday, 23^rd September, 2021 at the SMT Tarkwa premise where customers and guests present were ushered into a wide range of Volvo and SDLG products for participants to experience their quality at first hand.

On display were Volvo and SDLG construction equipment including wheel loader, compactor, backhoe loader and motor grader. Also available was Volare bus representing SMT Ghana’s commitment to the public and intercity transport and coach segment. Aftersales service was not left out with the availability of an ultra-modern mobile learning centre and quality genuine Volvo and SDLG parts.

Managing Director of SMT Ghana, Alex Dutamby, underlined the importance of the regular engagement with clients and stakeholders as key to the company’s operation. It affords SMT the opportunity to solicit for feedback and to provide the right support.

He described the Tarkwa visit as appropriate since the town is a mining area where most of their equipment including the quality Volvo brands are in operation.

“Our Volvo and SDLG equipment are very good on rough and harsh environment. This is the terrain for our products where we can express the potential of the machines, so we are happy to be here in Tarkwa, the hub of our customer base,” he said.

Me Dutamby assured that the company will continue to partner well with its customers so they can continue to succeed on their projects with the Volvo brand and other flagship products provided by SMT Ghana.

SMT Ghana, he reiterated, has invested in three key areas. First, the SMT network, with four branches across the country (Accra, Tamale, Tarkwa, and Kumasi) to ensure customers are closer to the product and can easily access aftersales service as well.

Secondly, the SMT Team, with dedicated sales and service teams, coupled with the availability of genuine spare parts, adequate logistics and good technicians to drive productivity  and the SMT Academy which is readily available to train customers before products are delivered. Finally, our partnership with Volvo Equipment, Volvo Trucks, Volvo Bus and Volvo Penta to offer a very reliable product to our customer.

Presenting the Volvo Products and SDLG equipment,

Felix Ofosu-Kontoh, Sales Director at SMT Ghana, touted the uniqueness of the company in providing the total product segmentation right from building to mining with strong partnerships from the Volvo Group, Dressta , Sennebogen (port handlers), SDLG and Dongfeng Trucks to ensure customers’ needs are met to grow their businesses.

It was a day of networking and engaging with stakeholders in the mining, construction and transport industries in the Tarkwa mining area. Top officials from Volvo led by Jean-Philippe Delebecq, Service Market Manager for Market Area Africa – Volvo CE, Marc Vandewijer, SMT Africa – Aftersales Director and Safak Tugut, Commercial Manager in charge of Africa at Volvo Construction Equipment were on hand to provide support to the SMT Ghana team. Also present was the Municipal Chief Executive of Tarkwa Nsuaem, Hon. Benjamin Kessie.

In an interview with the media, Jean-Philippe Delebecq, Aftersales Market Manager at Volvo Construction Equipment commended SMT Ghana for what he described as a state-of-the-art promotion the Volvo Group will expect from a dealer. “That’s promoting the brand, product, operators training and services which is of importance to the Volvo CE today,” he said.

Jean-Philippe recommended SMT Ghana as the dealership well structured with the right solution for Ghana’s mining and construction industry.

“This is because they deal with great products. Volvo for instance has a strong spirit of engineering and aims at becoming a major stakeholder in the construction equipment world in the market. A strong product and strong service support. We’re working towards achieving electronic solution in the near future, so we remain the number one in quality for our customers,” he praised.

In a solidarity message, Benjamin Kessie, Municipal Chief Executive of Tarkwa Nsuaem, urged mining companies to trust SMT Ghana for their quality construction equipment and partner them to boost their mining activities in the area.

“As Government we see the company as the right partner for our projects because they have the right solution for the construction and transport industry,” he said.

The donation according to the company forms part of its Corporate Social Responsibility program geared towards supporting communities close to its operations.

Jerusalem M/A primary school is constructing a two classroom block and needs support. SMT Ghana was contacted and in 2020 came forth with the first donation of 75 bags of cement valued at GH¢3,000 to assist in the foundation works.

In a bid to ensure the progress of the building, SMT Ghana, has donated iron rods valued at GH¢7,100 to assist in building the pillars and lentil of the two classrooms.

SMT Ghana team including: Edward Sackey (VCE Sales Manager), Doris Opoku Agyen (CounterSales-Parts), Stephen Ponful (Workshop Manager-Tarkwa), Welbeck Asiamah (Accountant-Tarkwa) were present at the premises of the Jerusalem M/A primary school to hand over the donation which was received by Mrs. Agartha Adu, Headmistress of the School.

Receiving the donation on behalf of the school, Mrs. Agartha Adu described the various support from SMT Ghana as an example of a corporate entity ready to support society in times of need. “We are grateful on your willingness to show up at a short notice and hope you will continue to be an example”.

She thanked SMT Ghana for the support and urged corporate Ghana to emulate the SMT Ghana example by adopting needy communities close to its operational areas and support.

Managing Director of SMT Ghana, Mr. Alex Dutamby when contacted said the company was delighted to lend support to the vulnerable as a commitment to its Corporate Social Responsibility targeted at supporting education in communities where it operates.

He was optimistic the items donated so far will make it possible for the school to have adequate classrooms for the primary section to drive the course of promoting quality education as captured in the company’s CSR initiative.

 About SMT Ghana

SMT Ghana is based in Accra with subsidiaries in Tarkwa, Tamale and Kumasi. SMT Ghana is the official Distributor of Volvo Construction Equipment, Volvo Trucks, Volvo Penta, SDLG range of equipment and Dongfeng Trucks in Ghana. Our quality products are tailored to your environment and accompanied by a first class after-sales service.

The company painted the entire school building and offered scholarship packages covering full tuition and feeding to six brilliant students.

In addition, staff of the company mobilised stationery and other learning materials for the school. Veronica buckets and their accessories were also presented as part of the SMT’s commitment towards the control of coronavirus in the country.

Top Executives of SMT Ghana including Felix Ofosu-Kontoh, Sales Director, Leonardo Aguiar, Technical Director, Godfred Sessah-Johnson, Health & Safety Manager, Mrs Beatrice Oduru-Afranie, HR Director and Mrs Hilda Peasah, Marketing Manager were present at Klaas Haven Montessori School to hand over the scholarship packages and the items.

Speaking on behalf of the SMT team, Mrs Peasah, reiterated that the donation formed part of the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility initiative targeted at giving back to society, especially the communities within its operational areas.

“Being part of the SMT Africa Group, with our core values as caring, daring and sharing when the school contacted us for support we didn’t hesitate.

“Education is one of the key factors of development and no country can achieve sustainable economic development without investing in its human capital. That is why SMT Ghana takes pride in supporting education. We recently started with our Volvo Truck traffic safety campaign dubbed: ‘Stop, Look and Wave’, to give schoolchildren the opportunity to better understand how trucks operate in traffic. We move around schools to educate the kids on road safety and make donations as well to them,” she said.

Receiving the donation, Christoph Edem Kobla Damalie, owner of the school, thanked SMT Ghana for the gesture and urged Corporate Ghana to emulate to ensure the government gets the adequate support to promote education in the country.

He recalled that Klaas Haven Montessori School was established in 2000 with the objective of inculcating human rights into the educational system so that kids will not have to wait to get old before understanding basic societal issues.

“Before we started this school, Kasoa was not developed like today so there were so many girls and boys moving around without schooling. I am happy we have made an impact in terms of education here in this community.

“We are happy SMT Ghana is here to provide the necessary support and to be part of this success story. Education is vital, especially basic education because if the foundation is not strong then the whole structure will be weak,” he said.

It was a day worth remembering as the kids entertained the SMT team with songs and artistic display. Godfred Sessah-Johnson, Health & Safety Manager of SMT Ghana, took the kids through a practical demonstration on the safe use of roads by pedestrians. The kids were also oriented on the basic road safety practices.

Most of the parents of the scholarship beneficiaries, who spoke to the press, were excited about the offer and thanked SMT Ghana for giving their kids hope for the future.