Capital Equipment News June 2017

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CAPITAL EQUIPMENT NEWS JUNE 2017 21
The FJ26-280C ticks all the boxes in the construction
sector, especially with its 9-speed transmission with a
crawler gear that provides the flexibility to negotiate
complex terrain.
FUSO, a Daimler Trucks & Buses Southern
Africa brand, sees lots of opportunity to
grow in southern Africa, and one of the
pillars of its growth is its speed to market
with new products. Jasper Hafkamp, executive
director at Daimler Trucks & Buses Southern
Africa, says the product strategy is not just
driven by the desire to introduce new offerings
to the market, but it is rather a carefully planned
product expansion informed by the needs of the
market, and is complemented by the company’s
ability to swiftly respond to those customer
needs.
The launch of FUSO’s Canter Lift in 2014 has
since been followed by a relentless product ex-
pansion programme that has seen several other
models arriving in a very short space of time,
further articulating the brand’s speed to market
prowess. After the Canter Lift, the FA 9-137,
a light to medium-duty truck was launched in
2015, followed by the FJ16-230 in 2016. The
FJ26-280C is the latest offering to roll off the
production line, allowing FUSO to compete in a
completely new market segment.
“After our previous focus in distribution, the
new FJ 26-280C takes us into construction, a
whole new market segment for FUSO. We are
opening a new chapter by answering the call
for a FUSO product from our construction cus-
tomers,” says Hafkamp.
Despite the fact that construction constitutes
only 10%of the local commercial vehicle market,
Hafkamp believes it is still a key growth market
for FUSO. According to Hafkamp, distribution is
still the biggest market for commercial vehicles
in South Africa, raking in 50% of the total
sales, while long distance follows hot on its
heels, with 40% of the sales volumes. “FUSO
will focus on the 60% of the market – which is
distribution and construction – and we will not
compete in the long distance segment,” says
Hafkamp.
The arrival of the FJ26-280C has also seen
an increase in the production of Completely
Knocked Down (CKD) FUSO units produced at
the Mercedes-Benz East London plant, accord-
ing to Naeem Hassim, head of FUSO Trucks
Southern Africa. Mercedes-Benz South Africa
invested in excess of R3 million into the plant
to ensure it was ready for the increase in FUSO
CKD production.
“We are excited to be expanding our product
portfolio to a point where we will see a
significant increase in the CKD production of
FUSO trucks within our shores. The FJ26-280C
joins the FA9-137 and the FJ16-230 on the local
FUSO production line,” says Gladstone Mtyoko,
divisional manager for Commercial Vehicles at
Mercedes-Benz East London plant.
FJ26-280C in detail
According to Harry Makitla, FUSO product
specialist – Southern Africa, the brand’s value
proposition to its customers stands on three
legs – reliability, value for money and service.
The FJ26-280C is exactly in line with the
FUSO brand proposition with several features
aimed at increasing durability and reducing
total cost of ownership, complemented by the
strong wide-reaching southern African dealer
footprint.
“The durable chassis, service intervals
of 20 000 km and a wide-reaching southern
African dealer footprint, all speak to the FUSO
value offering,” says Makitla. “The FJ26-280C
ticks all the boxes in the construction sector,
especially with its 9-speed transmission with
a crawler gear that provides the flexibility to
negotiate complex terrain often synonymous
with off-road applications,” says Makitla.
In terms of reduced total cost of ownership,
the FJ 26-280C is powered by a direct-injection
diesel engine rated at 205 kW @ 2 200 rpm,
with the torque levelling out at 1 100 Nm
between 1 200-1 600 rpm. The engine utilises
an Inline FIP with high injection pressure for
better atomisation (better burning), resulting
in higher fuel efficiency. “The engine is tuned
to deliver high torque at low rpm for increased
fuel efficiency. It also comes with six individual
pumps, and in the event that even one pump
stops, the engine keeps running,” says Makitla.
The 6,4 ℓ engine is said to be significantly
smaller, bearing in mind that construction is