Capital Equipment News October 2019

The reliability of Scania trucks has been one of the key pillars of Carbon White Investments’ success over the years.

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Carbon White Investments started in 2008 with a single used Scania R420 end tipper, and today operates a fleet of 17 Scania trucks, with two more on order

far,” explains Ramsunder. One of the key reasons for standardising the fleet on Scania is the reliability of the truck. A case in point is the R420, a 2004 model which started the business in 2008. It has already clocked over 1,8-million km, and counting. Ramsunder also makes special mention of the R480 in the fleet, which he terms a “never die truck”. The particular unit is a 2006 model which was purchased as a second-hand unit back in 2011. It’s also still running cost-effectively, with a great deal of uptime and minimal downtime. Ramsunder is of the view that delivering on the promise is the most important underlying principle of any successful trucking company. “On-time deliveries are a direct result of fleet reliability, which is, therefore, an important parameter in keeping the promise to our own clients,” he says. “Top trucking companies carefully track and measure each element of their operations to find ways to continually improve, and reliability is one of the key benchmarks for us in our decision to stick with Scania.” Maintenance is key The success of Carbon White Investments’ business hinges on truck uptime. “Our trucks spend more time on the road than in the workshop,” says Ramsunder. Key to uptime is an uncompromising maintenance regime. Neil Charles, sales representative at Scania, hails Carbon White Investments as a progressive company that understands

STARTED IN 2008 WITH A SINGLE USED SCANIA R420 END TIPPER

NOW OPERATES 17 SCANIA TRUCKS, WITH TWO MORE ON ORDER

The company decided to standardise its fleet on Scania due to the performance, reliability and fuel efficiency of the trucks

1,8-MILLION KM, AND COUNTING 2004 MODEL

Its Scania R420, a 2004 model which started the business in 2008, has already clocked over 1,8-million km, and counting

Carbon White Investments uses a wide range of Scania services, all the way from finance and insurance and repair and maintenance contracts

QUICK TAKE

Reliable fleet The current fleet complement is 17 Scania trucks, comprising four end tippers and 13 side tippers. The four end tippers are still running in the quarrying sector. The side tippers are doing long haul, carrying manganese and iron ore from Kuruman to Durban and Port Elizabeth. “We are currently running six R500 units, seven R460 units, two R420s and two old R480 units. We are adding two more R460 units, one new and one used. We have bought three new trucks thus far, and one of those is the NTG R460 we received in August this year. Our second NTG unit is coming this month, taking our complement of new vehicles to four thus

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