Rob Collinge discovered the secret of winning car rallies ages ago; great shock absorbers! In the early 1970s, with modified shock absorbers he was able to win the East African Rally Championship driving a Mitsubishi Gallant and later a Datsun 160J.
In 1978, he won the Kenya National Rally Championship in an Alfa Romeo equipped with double front shock absorbers — and an ingenious cooling system for the rear shock absorbers, all which he engineered himself.
He started his company— Romageco (Kenya), on the strength of these experiences 26 years ago. Now the company is turning over $5 million (Sh500 million) annually.
I sat with him in a boardroom at Rob’s Magic headquarters in Nairobi’s Industrial Area one very chilly morning. He was in a lousy mood; angry and emotional, but also reflective and warm. -------------------------
When I was coming here I thought my first question would be “Hey Rob, what’s the magic?” but then when I was waiting downstairs I thought that was a bit corny. But seriously, Rob, what’s the magic behind building something like this?
Our magic is that we provide a very high quality service. People trust us. I think that’s what the magic is.
It can’t be that simple, surely...
Trust. Which is something that’s lacking in Kenya today. That’s where we stand; trust. We have no trustworthy leadership, trustworthy police, we don’t have a trustworthy judiciary. I’m speaking very frankly. I think Kenya has become very wayward.
We have some of the best entrepreneurs in the world in this country. Where are we? We’re going nowhere. We’re embroiled in corruption, nobody’s had their heads chopped off because of the corruption that’s happening in Kenya. I’m ashamed, frankly.
You know, every single company in this country is virtually struggling to survive! You talk to the big companies here. Everybody is in trouble. Sure the building industry is rampant, because everybody is getting rid of their black money and paying cash. You talk to the formal sector and nobody’s very happy.
You’re ticked off...
I am pissed off. And I’m not the only one. It’s not a level playing field, you’ve got harassment at every single turn trying to run a business in this country. I’m speaking very frankly, you know, I’ve lived here all my life. My parents’ parents were here since 1902. I have nothing outside of this country. This is my home. [He takes off his spectacles, pauses and takes a deep breath to calm himself.]
How does one build a strong lasting brand like this?
Trust, honesty, great quality, solid guarantees. I mean, this is a model workshop you can see for yourself. There isn’t another one of its kind in the country. Our business is 95 per cent indigenous Kenyans. How do you build such trust in Kenya? Because you have a good solid brand.
A guy has a problem, you fix it. You’re not going to argue with him. If you have an issue we sort it. We sell very good quality products! People love us (chuckles) and we love Kenyans.
Do you miss driving rally cars?
No, I’m too old. I’m afraid not. My eyes have gone, I can’t see anymore. We’ve had a big support programme for youth in motor schools since the year 2000 and we’ve won every single championship we’ve entered.
We’ve got a kid in the world championship now, Tejis Hirani, who we’ve spent a lot of money on. He’s now running with the best team in the world. He’s doing the world championship. We discovered him when he was nine years of age and now he’s 17 or 18 and he’s now doing the World Series.
We hope that Tejis continues to be successful. He’s a phenomenal talent. He’s won 58 events, been on the podium 85 times and won eight national championships and one international. He’s currently third overall in the Swedish rallycross championship.
But I want to retire from doing some of the things that I enjoy doing like flying, being in the Coast, spending time with my two sons who are 35 and 34. I want to retire gracefully, try to maintain good health and live for a lot longer.
So when you retire you won’t get the urge to poke your nose back here to see if they aren’t burning down your shop?
I will. I won’t retire completely because you need to be active. You need to keep the brain cells working and your hands going. I’ve seen two people die early because they decided they’re just going to retire and they just corrode. I have no intention of corroding. I want to be active.
How old are you now?
I’m so young. I’m 68.
You are my dad’s age...
Is your dad active?
Oh yes! Fit guy too. Always cutting grass, trimming a hedge, planting a tree, walks everywhere, still teaches in a local institution twice a week...
There you go. The day he’s not active is the day he’s going to go to his box. The same as me. I love travelling. I do a lot of travelling. This year I’ve been to America, La Puda, Sweden, Norway, and England.
When you look back at building this place, what’s the biggest mistake you made and what did you learn from that?
It must have been 20 years ago when a Japanese man came to see me and he was from a company called Autorec, which was one of the biggest second-hand Japanese car dealerships in the world. They were very huge. He came into my office and he said, ‘‘Are you interested in representing us here in Kenya? We’ll give you an exclusive franchise for second-hand cars.’’
I scoffed and asked, “Is there future in Kenya for second-hand cars?” (Laughing) I think that was the biggest mistake I ever made in my life. I never foresaw what he saw otherwise I wouldn’t be sitting here in this little office trying to talk to you. I’d be in an ivory tower some 25 storeys in the air. (Laughs). No future in second-hand cars in Africa? (Laughs hysterically).
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received from anybody?
I think it was actually something I read. “Surround yourself with good lawyers and good accountants.” I rely heavily on that.
You know, at the end of the day, I’m a mechanic and I’m blessed with a lot of common sense and intuition. As a child, I suffered terribly with my education because I was chronically dyslexic and still am. So being in school was a bit hard.
What have your two sons learnt about family?
I think it’s the greatest blessing you can possibly have. And the greatest thing is to spend time with your family. As rich and ambitious you want to be, don’t lose that attachment. That’s my advice to any entrepreneur.
What are your regrets?
I have few. I have very few regrets. I regret not making it to become a world champion in rallying. I had the ability, I would have most definitely been the world champion had I been given the opportunity. The opportunity didn’t come because I had an issue with one of my key sponsors.
Are your sons involved in business?
Yes. My eldest son is running a power engineering firm. The youngest one worked for us for a while but said “I want to do my own thing.” I admire that. He’s joined a security company that has just introduced the latest technology in security and he’s doing very well.
And your wife?
Not a subject for discussion (Laughs).
That’s cool. What’s your greatest extravagance?
My greatest extravagance has been supporting Tejis Hirani. We are Sh50 million in.
Why are you sinking so much money in this boy?
Because he is living my dream, he’s doing something I wanted to do and didn’t do.
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