After May 2023, We Hit the Road Again
After the WHO declared the COVID-19 emergency over in May, three of us flew to three African countries in eighteen days. Mohammed, unseen for three years, had gone gray — and the trip brought back orders for twelve machines.
June 8th, evening. The plane touched down in Guangzhou. Three of us, eighteen days, Tanzania, Kenya, Zambia — one full loop and home. This was the company's first group trip since January 2020.
On May 5th, the WHO declared that COVID-19 no longer constituted a public health emergency of international concern. Visas came through May 16th. Wheels up May 22nd.
Before Departure
Three people: I led, Chen Guodong ran inspections, Xiao Wang handled documents and records. Tickets booked three weeks out, Guangzhou–East Africa round trip, RMB 11,000 a head — less than half of last year.
No more PCR tests; nobody looked at vaccine certificates. The carry-ons held the same old three things: calipers and chain gauges for inspections, two hundred freshly printed product catalogs, and stationery for the customers' kids. Three years away, and the courtesies can't lapse.
The night before we left, my wife asked if I was nervous. I said no — just a little out of practice. Three years without a long trip; even my passport was newly renewed.
The People We Hadn't Seen in Three Years
In Dar es Salaam, Mohammed picked us up at the airport. Three years gone, and his hair had gone a ring grayer. His first words to me: "You've lost weight."
He took me to his warehouse to see the batch of road rollers we shipped three years ago. Eight units, seven still working, one parked in a corner waiting for parts. He patted that machine and said, "Now that you're here, the parts should finally come." I wrote down the part numbers and shipped them within a week of getting home.
Joseph's repair shop had moved — the new place is three times bigger, eight bays. He said repair business boomed these three years; nobody could bear to scrap an old machine, so everything got fixed. The two used forklifts he bought from us are still running. He replaced a set of chains himself, following our inspection video.
The Kenyan customer — the one I'd talked with for eighteen months and met only once at the end of last year — took us straight to his yard this time and ordered two wheel loaders on the spot. He said being able to see people anytime puts his mind at ease.
The Market Has Changed
Three years away, and the streets changed. A lot more brand-new Chinese heavy trucks and excavators, and cheap new machines pushed used prices down about 10%.
Local currencies have depreciated hard. The Tanzanian shilling lost more than ten percent against the dollar in three years. Customers pay more for dollars now, and they bargain harder.
And competitors. This market used to have five or six Chinese used-equipment exporters we regularly dealt with. This trip, I heard a dozen-plus new names from customers. The cake got bigger, and so did the crowd fighting for it.
Orders Made Up
On this trip we signed nine machines on the spot, USD 470,000. Four from Mohammed, five from two new Kenyan customers.
Three more looked at the goods without deciding on the spot; within two weeks of our return, two confirmed, adding three wheel loaders.
The Zambia stop was the most interesting. The customer showed us his mine and said what he needed wasn't excavators — it was generator sets and a concrete pump truck. That requirement stayed fuzzy through eight months of online chats; on site, half an hour made it clear. Some deals just can't be done through a screen.
The Trip's Ledger
Three people, eighteen days — flights, hotels, visas, local transport — RMB 113,000 total.
Signed on the spot and confirmed after: twelve machines, over USD 600,000. Run that math any way you like, it was worth it.
West Africa is scheduled for the second half of the year: Nigeria and Ghana, departing in October. Customers who want a slot can tell me now.