Capital Equipment News April 2018

TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS

FAW a perfect fit for Transgroup Logistics

Transgroup Logistics, a Black Economic Empowerment company with offices in Durban, Northern Natal and Gauteng, recently took delivery of four FAW 16.240FT truck tractors and one FAW 15.180FL.

T he company, with a mixed fleet, has also been approved for the purchase of a further eight FAW units: five FAW 33.420FTs. All of the trucks have been acquired through FAW Pinetown, a full FAW sales and service branch in Durban, with the sales process expertly handled by Derrick Devraj, senior sales executive at the branch. Owner and director of Transgroup Logistics, Kerwin Naidoo, explains that the company is currently servicing a few global brands, which will see it running the FAW trucks in and around the province and from the Durban port to Gauteng. “We are doing local and national deliveries and these vehicles are ideal for this purpose. The trucks are all single- axle vehicles, which means they are the right choice for light container loads,” says Naidoo. “The vehicles don’t come with computer boxes so they’re not highly technical in nature and are not difficult to maintain. We expect that downtime will be limited. Also, spares are readily available and FAW has got service dealers along the N3. This makes it even easier for us.” Aftersales service is key “The most important thing for us is the aftersales service and the service intervals of the vehicles. This is our first order of FAW trucks, so we are excited to see the real-world results. We hope to grow our fleet further during 2018. Once we start running and testing the FAW range, then we will slowly increase them in the fleet,” says Naidoo. “I have seen a lot of FAWs running across the borders.” He says it’s an important factor that FAW assembles vehicles in South Africa. “There are a number of Euro-spec vehicles in the country and, should anything break, you can wait weeks for parts to arrive. With FAW, parts are readily available – you can have them within a day or two – so downtime is limited,” adds Naidoo. “I have read a lot of articles on FAW supplying construction sites and all of them are working well. We currently sub-contract

The newly-acquired FAW range is deemed the right choice for light container loads.

ago, with dealer principal, Mike Williams, at the helm of the impressive sales and service facility since 2013. “We’ve shown growth at the branch in excess of 20% per annum, year-on-year,” he says. “We are expecting a further 20% growth in 2018 compared to last year, which was itself up 28% on 2016. A large percentage of our business is repeat business. This shows that our aftersales efforts are working.” “We have a good, self-motivated sales team and a fully-equipped workshop. We also have a comprehensive parts department, headed by people that have over 40 years of parts experience between them.” Williams says what sets FAW Pinetown apart is its ability to provide full backup and 24-hour breakdown assistance. “In addition to the workshop manager, we have five fully qualified diesel technicians. We do our very best to go beyond the call of duty to keep our customers happy.” In addition to serving Pinetown and surrounding areas, the dealership also exports vehicles to Seychelles, Mozambique, Lesotho and Botswana. b

a portion of work and certain haulage companies are waiting for me to give them feedback on the vehicles we have purchased from FAW. I know the feedback will be positive, which will impact the branch’s bottom line positively as they will get a lot more deals coming through their doors,” he says. Driver training Transgroup Logistics’ drivers will be hosted by FAW Pinetown to receive training on the intricacies of operating their newly branded vehicles. “These vehicles are practical and driver-friendly and that makes a big difference,” continues Naidoo. He adds that the company undertook a study to determine what the most economical trucks would be when it comes to light container loads. “That is why we chose FAW,” he says. “Diesel cost is your biggest factor in transport and these trucks are light on fuel.” The Pinetown FAW branch is strategically based alongside the N3 to Johannesburg and is in the same vicinity as other leading truck OEMs. It was established eight years

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