Capital Equipment News June 2015

CAPITAL EQUIPMENT NEWS

JUNE 2015

TRANSPORT

gululu Carriers (Pty) Ltd, a subsidiary

of Ngululu Holdings, came into being

when it bought a controlling share in

a well established transport company that

operated as Lukas Potgieter Vervoer.

Today, Lukas Potgieter Vervoer, renamed

Ngululu Bulk Carriers in 2009, also known

as NBC, is becoming a significant player

in the transportation of platinum concen-

trate and holds a leading market share in

the transportation of nickel concentrate.

Chrome, however, still remains the number

one revenue earner for the company. Based

in Steelpoort, Limpopo province, the com-

pany currently has contracts to transport

more than five million tons per annum of

raw materials to various strategic areas of

South Africa. There are plans in the pipeline

to increase this footprint to the rest of the

SADC region.

Ngululu Bulk Carriers currently runs a fleet

of 440 vehicles of which 134 are DAF

XF105 460FFT 6X4 truck tractors which

operate to the ports of Durban, Richards

Bay and Maputo. The DAF trucks were

purchased at the beginning of 2014 and

to date have each covered, on average,

130 000 km.

In an exclusive interview with Flip Myburg,

Executive Director, Fleet and Technical, at

Ngululu Bulk Carriers he said, “Some years

ago we ran a fleet of DAF CF85 truck trac-

tors, with excellent results but uncertainties

with the distributor at the time forced us to

replace the DAFs with other brands in order

to keep our business on track.”

When asked his reasons for looking at DAF

again, Myburg commented further and ex-

plained, “I was approached by the manage-

ment of Babcock who took over the distrib-

utorship of DAF in Southern Africa in 2010,

with some new proposals and assurances

of a more defined and structured backup

for the product. To be fair to ourselves and

the industry, we tested various trucks from

the leading manufacturers. Based on the

criteria we set: Fuel consumption, payload,

FML, finance availability, driver training and

service infrastructure around the country,

we then introduced a demonstration DAF

into the fleet for further evaluation, the re-

sult is now history.”

“We found that DAF specifications fitted

our requirements and over and above that

they were able to offer the complete pack-

age including finance from Babcock Finan-

cial Services so everything was in-house,”

added Myburg.

Babcock Financial Services is an indepen-

dent legal entity fully owned by Babcock

Africa (Pty) Ltd and is registered to trade

as a service provider for capital equipment.

Babcock Financial Services obtains its fi-

nance from Babcock Africa as well as the

local market.

Ngululu Bulk Carriers had applied various

service options to its fleet in the past but

with the new DAF fleet has opted for a full

maintenance plan as part of the package.

“I am very satisfied with the package we

have received form DAF so far. The trucks

are still new and have not required too

much attention on the road but the minor

breakdowns have been attended to with

the minimum of downtime every time. This

reflects favourably on the company’s posi-

tive management style and its superior re-

sponse to queries which I am pleased to

say is not restricted only to the contract we

have with them. I am prepared to say that

the service is not only good but excellent,”

said Myburg.

With the revamped structure of the com-

pany and the rapid increase in the fleet in

recent years, Myburg talks of a consolida-

tion period with no real growth plans in the

short term. With margins now reflected in

single figures, which has become an indus-

try norm, the company is looking at some

diversification into other transport markets

so as to not rely fully on the mining indus-

try. This would entail diverting some of its

existing fleet for these applications.

“With the type of service we are receiving

from DAF and the quality of the vehicles

themselves it may be in our interests to

consider stretching the lifetime of the fleet

and look at a 720 000 km or four year re-

placement cycle,” concluded Myburg.

As a 100 % BEE owned company, Ngululu

Bulk Carriers has entered into the spirit of

the strategic objective formulated for the

progressive economic development of the

country and having ‘partnered’ with DAF

for its transport requirements, has brought

a leading European manufacturer into this

strategic alliance.

DAF TRUCKS ADD A SHINE

to chrome transportation

Flip Myburg