FUSO Blogartikel – Meet the Industries

As always, bauma 2025 presented itself from its superlative side. From 7 to 13 April, the experts from FUSO were also represented at the trade fair in Munich and took the opportunity to address customers personally and to show genuine commitment to customer proximity.

Everything, really everything, the construction industry needs can be found at bauma. It is not for nothing the world’s leading trade fair in the industry. This year, 3601 exhibitors from 57 countries presented their products and services on a total of over 600,000 square metres of indoor and outdoor space. Gigantic exhibits awaited visitors in the open-air area, which has partially transformed into a giant gravel pit. a crawler crane in the skyscraper category with a maximum boom height of 169 metres, a dump truck with the dimensions of a housing block, whose wheels alone are already around four metres high, or a hydraulic excavator with a delicate dead weight of 700 tonnes and a bucket that can dump up to 44 cubic metres at once. Just to name a few. In the halls, the process continues as follows: Construction machinery, attachments, equipment, accessories.

Trucks for the specific requirements of the construction industry must not be missing, and they do not have to be particularly large or heavy, but “only” tailored exactly to the needs of the corresponding customers. This is proven by the FUSO team, for whom bauma is a set date every three years. With a total of three Canter and eCanter vehicles in industry-relevant configurations, experts from the areas of product management, sales, bodybuilder management and marketing are on site.

Expertise, good mood, no stairs and brand awareness

Manuel Baader is at the forefront from day one. As former product manager for the Canter and current product manager for the eCanter, he knows the exhibited vehicles down to the smallest technical detail. At the opening of bauma on 7 April, he therefore guided the trade press around the stand and his colleagues from the Daimler Truck press department also took him as a talking point for a podcast. “You really experience everything at bauma,” he says with a laugh, “but I have to say that there were really interesting technical questions on both occasions. That’s great fun for me.” Joy, but on the visitor side, also seems to make the test seat in the eCanter a joy. Here, the comfortable low entry height of the vehicles scores points, while elsewhere manufacturers had to set up extra stairs so that their XXL exhibits could be climbed without any risk of falling.

Erk Rönnefahrt is also pleased with this year’s trade fair presence when he looks over the 200 square metre stand. As Head of Marketing FUSO Europe, a successful appearance is important to him. With the clear, yet inviting design of the presentation area, which shines completely in modern and dynamic FUSO blue, the brand can definitely be seen. “Atour first bauma twelve years ago, it looked quite different,” he recalls with a laugh, “our stand was outside, tiny and only a lonely flag fluttered in the wind.”

Today, the whole thing is definitely more impressive: In addition to the vehicles, a Canter 6S15 with platform crane body and an eCanter 7C18e with Meiller tipper and payload record, there is a video screen on which the eCanter runs in real customer use or informative explanatory videos on charging in continuous loop. At a barista, guests can pick up a delicious hot drink and discover a Canter 9C18 hook lift tipper and the FUSO event trailer in the additional outdoor area. “The local proximity to the Mercedes-Benz stand right next door also emphasises the connection of the brands under the umbrella of Daimler Trucks,” adds the marketing specialist. In fact, you can sometimes experience visitors passing by as one and one: “Oh, that’s right, FUSO also belongs to Daimler.”

We use the diesel Canter as collection vehicles for municipal collection in inner cities or in rural areas where space is limited. Its manoeuvrability makes it very suitable for this purpose. I took a close look at the eCanter and had the technology explained to me. For urban traffic, this is probably already the future.

Olaf Ibscher, Head of Scheduling at Knettenbrech + Gurdulic Süd GmbH Disposal & Recycling, from Kirchheim near Munich

Three target groups and interest in conventional and electric vehicles

In addition to these untouched, but always welcoming souls, the FUSO experts generally feel that the audience at this year’s bauma is already extremely well informed. The majority of the numerous visitors have the FUSO brand on their umbrella. Erk Rönnefahrt underlines this impression, as he sees bauma as a very target-oriented trade fair that addresses three of the four segments served by FUSO at once in the areas of construction, horticulture and landscaping and municipal applications: “Inmy experience, interested parties with very specific needs come to us in a targeted manner. They say ‘I need’ or ‘I want’ rather than ‘I don’t know’.”

His colleague Manuel Baader obliges him to say, “People may first ask about diesel, but they are also happy to be explained what the alternatives are,” he describes. After all, the industries addressed are about long-term purchases and the focus is more on purchase than leasing, as use is very intensive. In addition, a lot of money is often invested in specialised bodies. According to the product manager, the strategy of presenting the conventional Canter and the eCanter side by side is therefore well received: “It’s nice to be able to show, dear prospective customers, that we have the tried-and-tested diesel, but also an equally broad portfolio of future-proof alternatives. However, missioning does not take place at our company. We provide the information that the customer decides.”

My three employees and I are at bauma together. At FUSO, we have come by because we bought a Canter 7.5 tonnes as a diesel at the beginning of last year. We are absolutely satisfied. Power and payload, it has the largest payload in its class, are just right for us. We use it to transport all our materials. I see the eCanter here for the first time today. The model shown has even more payload than ours, but it doesn't get that far.

Rolf Rahlwes, owner of Zimmerei Rahlwes, from Rottach Egern on Lake Tegernsee

Advice discussion as self-starters and surprising electric enthusiasts

Erk Rönnefahrt confirms that this approach seems appropriate when he reports on his interview with a visitor duo: “Senior and junior boss of a construction company looking at the eCanter with me. The senior tended towards diesel, but the junior predicts how cheaply they charge the eCanter. Since the electricity from their PV system is not supplied and they could simply plug it into an electric truck instead of feeding it for eight cents.” The consultation was almost self-evident and the marketing specialist almost only had to mention the excellent charging times of the eCanter and the fact that construction site power is usually available and the NRGkick charging cable also exhibited at the stand is a simple mobile solution. if charging is necessary on the go. “The two liked the overall package. I love the bauma for such encounters alone,” he smiles.

Jan Lamer from Product and Marketing Management FUSO Europe from Berlin can also report on a memorable meeting with the target group. “I was caught by a pretty excited visitor. Bavarian farmer. I admitted that I had a bit of trouble understanding him at first and was briefly uncertain whether he might want to complain about something.” But far from that, as it turns out, the somewhat older man is actually completely convinced of the topic of electric mobility and was originally at the trade fair to ask about an eSprinter.

“But then he discovered our moss-green eCanter and went away immediately,” Jan Lamer continues with a laugh, “and then with a Meiller tipper! I think he would have preferred to take it straight away.” The electric enthusiast explained to the FUSO expert in detail the various applications he sees for the eCanter on his farm and that he has already equipped his entire cow shed with PV systems. So that’s not a problem with charging. His community would laugh at him a bit with his ‘e-spinnery’, but he wouldn’t care. “He said that he would immediately look for a demonstration vehicle at the Munich branch. To drive it through the village and show it to everyone. He was just the hit, the good guy.”

Trade fair rewarded with new motivation and confidence

Sebastian Schäfner from Sales Management at FUSO believes that it is not only customers who take a lot from the discussions at the trade fair, but that this is based on reciprocity. “I had a lot of good conversations and some of them made me feel very positive.” After all, sales are always in mind. This is where interested parties with current needs get their hearts racing. Understandably, the sales manager received two exciting inquiries from the Austrian market.

On the one hand, it was about the city of Vienna, which was interested in the new eCanter as a platform vehicle. The acquisition is linked to the construction of a PV system to create a completely green cycle. However, the tonnage was still open, the 4.25-tonne or 7.5-tonne variants come into question. “The two of us spent a good hour and a half talking about the vehicle’s technology,” recalls Sebastian Schäfner. On the other hand, he advised a representative of the city of Innsbruck who, according to his statement, is currently planning to replace their fleet and is calculating up to 40 new vehicles for the next eight years. “Here too, the focus was on CO2 neutrality and therefore on the eCanter, namely the 4.25-tonne. Being able to drive it with a class B driver’s licence was a decisive argument,” explains the sales expert, adding, “that gives me personally a real boost of energy with a view to the next quarters and I like to take care of getting our sales partner on board in the local market.”

Bauma is always a MUST for me. My interest in the vehicle concept specifically brought me to the FUSO stand. Say the lightweight class and the high payload in the 7.5-tonne segment. In addition, the compact dimensions and the resulting manoeuvrability are very interesting for our applications in inner-city areas. We do not currently have a Canter in our fleet, but the need is concrete.

Matthias Zorn, Head of Mechanical Engineering at Diringer & Scheidel Bauunternehmung GmbH & Co. KG, from Mannheim

Loyal customers, potential customers and the right vehicle concept

On the other hand, colleague Martin Tritschler, also from Sales Management, was particularly pleased with an absolute success story, but rather from yesterday than from tomorrow: “I had a very warm conversation with a scaffolder from the Bavarian Forest who owns two Canters. One 13 years old and the other 15 and still in top shape, robust and economical. He just wanted to drop by and find out how satisfied he was with the vehicles. You love to hear that.”

Another remarkable and very detailed discussion was held by the sales manager with a delegation of the Bavarian administration of state castles, gardens and lakes. She was on a special mission at bauma and watched countless exhibitors from all areas. “As the ladies and gentlemen told me, they plan to convert their entire fleet of machines to zero emissions in the coming years. From the leaf blower and lawn mower to the vehicles,” he says. The agency is the largest state museum sponsor in Germany and is working on its sustainability strategy, which it also intends to actively promote in the future. A highly interesting use case for which the extensive portfolio of the eCanter, as well as the associated range of charging infrastructure, could certainly be an excellent fit.

What remains and what to look forward to

As a summary of bauma 2025, the FUSO trade fair team agrees that the demand and fundamental need for a product such as the Canter and the eCanter is always present and growing. This not only applies to the German market, but was confirmed by the international audience from a wide range of countries: Italy, Spain, Portugal, Serbia, Austria, Switzerland, Norway, England.

Compared to the 2022 trade fair, the topic of electric mobility in commercial vehicles in particular has matured enormously. Manufacturers showcased electric vehicles, storage solutions and charging infrastructure at countless stands. Even the construction giants mentioned at the beginning are probably the largest electric vehicles in the world. The specialist visitors are now also much deeper into the topic, as the experts were able to find out in the discussions. The TCO is being calculated sharply and there is much greater awareness of the surroundings, such as the precise analysis of vehicle use with regard to electric feasibility, the possibilities of generating own electricity or the requirements of any subsidy programmes. So we can look forward to the next bauma 2028. One thing is already certain: The FUSO team of experts is definitely back.