focus may 2015

Triumphant solutions for transport problems

Truck Test 2015 Simply the best!

What’s new in theworld of trailers

engineering, technology, ultimate efficiency

Actros:

Can SA’s bus industrylower road death stats?

MAY

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May 2015 |FOCUS| 1

contents

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2014

on trAnsport And Logistics

Mercedes-Benz Trucks has upgraded the Actros to include hypoid-drive axles and intelligent maintenance scheduling. Read more on page 6.

COver

Published monthly by Charmont GlobalUnit 17, Northcliff Office Park, 203 Beyers Naude Drive,

Northcliff, 2195. P O Box 957, Fontainebleau, 2032, South AfricaTel: 011 782 1070 Fax: 011 782 1073 /0360

eDITOrCharleen Clarke

Cell: 083 601 0568email: [email protected]

ASSISTAnT eDITOrGavin Myers

Cell: 072 877 1605 email: [email protected]

SUB-eDITOrJeanette Lamont


JOUrnALISTSJaco de Klerk


Claire RenckenCell: 082 559 8417

email: [email protected]

InDUSTrY COrreSPOnDenTFrank Beeton

Tel: 011 483 1421Cell: 082 602 1004


TeCHnICAL COrreSPOnDenTVic Oliver


PUBLISHerTina Monteiro


ADverTISInG SALeSMargaret PhillipsonCell: 083 263 0451


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2 Steering Column

4 Wheel Nut

14 Vic’s View

72 Global Focus

76 Short Hauls

78 Subscription form

82 Global bus

84 Hopping off

reGULArS

8 reACHInG neW HeIGHTS

After a year of planning, Truck Test 2015 hit the open road during April. It was the most

thoroughly planned, scientifically accurate, utterly awesome event so far. The results

follow on page 16.

48 TIMBer!

Highly specialised and rugged equipment is used in forestry operations. We take a look at

how Matriarch Equipment came into being, and what it has to offer this sector.

58 neGATIve MOOD, POSITIve MArKeT?

The year has kicked off on a relatively high note, says FRANK BEETON, in his report on

commercial vehicle sales in the first quarter of 2015.

66 “MOnSTer” TrUCKS In THe ArCTIC

In Finland, nine-axle, 76-t GCW, longer truck-trailer combinations are becoming increasingly

popular. This is the story of two such monster trucks: a Volvo Trucks FH 16-750 timber

truck and a Sisu Polar gravel dump truck.

80 TACKLInG rOAD DeATHS THrOUGH TrAInInG?

“Woman killed, ten hurt in N1 bus crash” and “Dad, daughters die in Johannesburg crash”

– headlines like these add to the horrifying death toll figures on South African roads. We

take a look at how training within the bus industry can help to tackle this blight.

MAY

c h a r m o n tm e d i a g l o b a l

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2 |FOCUS| May 2015

tumbles and

smiLes

i fell down my stairs. To be perfectly

honest, it was one of my most incredibly

stupid moves (I seem to make a lot of

those nowadays). I had just returned

from Truck Test 2015, and was dog tired. My

legs weren’t working properly (my brain seldom

does). And I took a monster tumble.

Eventually, I crashed to the bottom of the

stairs with a thunderous bang. I was only semi-

conscious. I think I saw angels hovering above

me. I definitely saw a bright light above me (it

could have been the one in my entrance hall).

I wondered what was broken (apart from my

beloved Buddha, who had suddenly gained

the ability to fly). I pondered the practicality of

crawling – bloodied and broken – to my mobile

phone.

And then I just lay there. And grinned.

I could not stop smiling – and Truck Test

2015 was the reason why, because, while

it had undoubtedly been the cause of my

near-death experience, it was also one of the

highlights of my career.

As regular readers know, I just love trucking.

I have had many good trucking experiences, but

Truck Test 2015 wasn’t just good, it was utterly

sensational.

There are many reasons why. First and

foremost is the fact that nothing serious went

wrong. We always worry about things going

wrong – anything and everything from someone

missing a turn to someone getting hurt.

The down run from Super Park in

Johannesburg was not without incident – two

cars collided and then hit the FAW truck

(which just happened to be in the wrong

place at the wrong time), but no one was

seriously hurt and, after a bit of on-the-spot

panelbeating, the FAW continued its weary

way to Komatipoort.

Another reason was the convoy of

trucks. They looked utterly magnificent! I got

goosebumps every time I saw them. Standing

on the side of the road, filming the entrants,

made me feel so proud.

It was, ultimately, the camaraderie of the

event that truly gladdened my heart. It was so

lekker (I use that word quite deliberately) to see

over 100 people from the trucking industry –

many of them arch rivals – hang out together.

There was lots of friendly bantering along the

way – which is to be expected, but everyone

involved in the test was clearly enjoying the

opportunity to network, chat, tease … and share

war stories.

One of the highlights was the opportunity

to get up close and personal with competitors’

products. I saw one MD quietly hop into a

rival company’s truck in order to check it out.

Another took a rather mischievous photograph

on his phone (my lips are sealed). Each entrant

supplied an observer, who had to travel in

another truck. So those observers also gained

first-hand knowledge about other vehicles – and

that proved to be invaluable too.

There was also camaraderie amongst the

suppliers. Because this is, indeed, an industry

event, those suppliers are an integral part of

Truck Test. For instance, the event could not

have happened without the support of Afrit and

GRW; suppliers of the trailers – you guys rock!

Numerous other suppliers were involved

too – such as Engen (fuel supplier), Ctrack (fleet

management), TRAC N4 (tolls) and Wabco

(that, most importantly, supplied meals en

route, as well as snacks, which were dropped

at our rooms).

Barloworld’s Adrian van Tonder was

the “baas” of the Truck Test “plaas” and he

kept everyone in line (and, it must be said,

entertained). He worked hand in hand with

TransSolve’s Martin Dammann, without whom

this event simply would not have happened.

We also enjoyed wonderful support from

Aero Truck, Afrisam, Air1, Alcoa, Bridgestone,

BPW Axles, Cargo Carriers, Linde, Load

Tech, One Insurance, Phoenix Risk Solutions

and Scott Byers. A big thanks also to Ford,

Mercedes-Benz Vans and General Motors for

supplying back-up vehicles.

I thought about all these companies and

the associated individuals, as I lay on the floor

last night. I am still thinking about them now,

as I type this article, pain shooting through my

body (I feel as though the entire Truck Test field

drove over me).

And I am still smiling. |FOCUS

I came close to ending up in

hospital last night, but I ended up

grinning instead. Here’s why …

Charleen Clarke

STeerInGCOLUMn

TrUCK TeST LIve On IGnITIOnCatch all the Truck Test 2015

action on Ignition. Truck Test 2015

will be aired on: Saturday, May

23, at 12:00; Sunday, May 24, at

18:00; Monday, May 25, at 08:00

and 17:00; Tuesday, May 26, at

14:00; Wednesday, May 27, at

24:00; Thursday, May 28, at 04:00

and Friday, May 29, at 20:00.

May 2015 |FOCUS| 3

STeerInGCOLUMntumbles and

smiLes

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4 |FOCUS| May 2015

WHeeLnUT

While bearing all this in mind, they have

to deal with high traffic volumes and the

irate, impatient motorists (and, unfortunately,

colleagues) that form part of the everyday

commute. And they do it with aplomb, which

is why I couldn’t understand any of the

incidents we, unfortunately, came across on

our journey.

The first of these was at 07:20, on the

N4, some distance outside Springs. The

driver had fallen asleep at the wheel. His side-

tipper interlink combination then made its way

across four lanes of highway and the grass

verge that separates the two directions of

traffic flow, only to smash through a barrier

and land up at the bottom of an embankment.

Miraculously, no other vehicles were

gathered up by the out-of-control truck and

the driver emerged unscathed.

Forty minutes later, we arrived at the

Middelburg weighbridge, to find out that our

own FAW truck had been caught up in a

tussle between two other vehicles en route.

Thankfully, it sustained only minor damage. The

incident would not have happened, however, if

the person who caused it had been paying

attention to the road …

With the weighbridge 20 minutes behind

us, I had Naveen Sook in the Mercedes-

Benz Actros in my camera’s viewfinder, but

my attempts to capture driver and vehicle

At some point in the second

quarter of the year, we trade

our comfortable offices and

warm cups of coffee for that

early morning autumn chill and a trip to some

interesting part of the country – for our annual

Truck Test event. As regular readers will know,

this event attracts all vehicle manufacturers

and their best products. To drive them, the

best helmsmen are enlisted.

Usually driver trainers or product

engineers, these men (it would be great to

see some women behind the wheel sometime)

know how to get the best from their vehicles.

They have to adhere to a set schedule, much

like any other driver would. They also need

to conserve fuel and be sympathetic to their

vehicles, much like any other driver should.

on the road were thwarted by another

tipper combination trying to overtake him,

incredibly slowly, while going up the hill. With

a growing line of vehicles stuck behind him,

for the inordinate amount of time taken by the

manoeuvre, I reluctantly abandoned my shoot

of the Merc.

Thankfully, the rest of the event proceeded

without incident. At the finish at Super Park

the following day, though, I couldn’t help but

notice a mangled truck in the corner of the

yard. As it wasn’t a Super Group vehicle,

details of what happened to it were sketchy.

Judging by the damage to it and its cargo,

however, and the fact that the driver hadn’t

made it out alive, it’s fair to assume high speed

was a factor.

Unfortunately, for me, this put a dampener

on what should’ve been a triumphant ending to

an utterly superb event.

It reminded me that our industry is in need

of a fair amount of cleaning up. Drivers are

being pushed to adhere to schedules that

result in them falling asleep at the wheel;

some then take stupid, unnecessary risks that

result in already-irate motorists becoming

more impatient; and many don’t make it out to

drive another day.

It’s saddening and maddening.

The question is, why is rectifying it so

difficult? |FOCUS

At FocUs we are truck-

obsessed, and we like to

concentrate on the bright side

of our dynamic industry. If we

didn’t, we’d probably become

depressed and derailed

Gavin Myers

taking the good with

the bAd

Hitting the road for Truck Test 2015 highlighted the daily madness.

May 2015 |FOCUS| 5

www.powerstarsa.com

(in)telligenthyp(oid)

6 |FOCUS| May 2015

COverSTOrY

Fuel economy in vehicles can be

improved in many ways; including

increasing engine efficiency,

reducing aerodynamic drag and

rolling friction, and improving the fuel quality.

Mercedes-Benz engineers developed the

new hypoid rear axle for the current Actros

2644LS/33 and Actros 2654LS/33 6x4

truck tractors, and tested them under

everyday conditions along Mercedes-Benz

South Africa’s (MBSA’s) well-known trial

routes in the Eastern Cape. Significant fuel

savings of more than five percent have been

achieved.

Mercedes-Benz trucks combined the OM

502LA engine, with its 402 kW (540 hp),

with the RT440 hypoid rear axle in the Actros

2654LS/33, which replaces the other air-

suspended 2650LS/33. It now has a 3,583:1

rear-axle ratio.

Christo Kleynhans, product manager at

Mercedes-Benz Trucks, says: “The new RT440

hypoid rear axles make for the most fuel-efficient

Mercedes-Benz 6x4 truck tractors. In fact, the

fuel saving achieved on the 2644LS/33 was

5,67 percent, and on the 2654LS/33 was

5,37 percent.”

It is an ongoing quest in which Mercedes-

Benz Trucks continues to reduce fuel

consumption and emissions in South Africa.

Kleynhans points out that South Africa is

well known for its unique operating conditions

and trucking environment, which provides a

testing ground suitable for a wide spectrum of

applications.

“The Mercedes-Benz Testing Department

has an outstanding track record. It was,

therefore, an obvious choice to call on their

expertise to perform the comparative test

between the new hypoid axles and the

existing hub-reduction rear axles,” elaborates

Kleynhans.

Independent testing, along with thorough

research, also played a significant part in

Mercedes-Benz introducing yet another

innovative offering in the form of the Telligent

Maintenance System, which makes it possible

for the trucks to inform operators and drivers

when it is time for a service.

The first truck manufacturer to introduce

this product in South Africa, Mercedes-Benz

Trucks is changing the maintenance and

servicing mentality in the country. Moving away

from pre-set service intervals, the truck is

designed to monitor the condition of the engine

oil, transmission oil, axle oil and general service

components such as air filters, fuel filters and

brake pads, based on the operating conditions

of the vehicle.

This ensures optimum utilisation without

risk to the service life or reliability of the engine

and driveline. The Telligent Maintenance system

stores information about faults, but only alerts

drivers if they need to take action.

The system leads to less time in the

workshop and more time where the truck and

driver are productive, and can realise a saving of

up to 14 percent in service costs.

Optimal results will be realised if used in

conjunction with FleetBoard, the benchmark

vehicle management and tracking system

provided by Mercedes-Benz South Africa. Over

an 18-month period between 2011 and 2013,

Fleetboard registered a combined savings of

over R6 million and uptime savings of 2 658

hours, in 658 cases.

FleetBoard provides impartial, comparable

data from all vehicles of a customer’s fleet.

This enables the fleet manager to determine

the causes of high consumption and promptly

address them to ensure correct deployment

of the trucks, thus increasing the economic

efficiency of the fleet.

From an environmental point of view, the

Telligent Maintenance system also scores

brownie points for the manufacturer and the

truck owner. Less frequent oil and filter changes

equate to less of these items contributing to

pollution.

For an Actros to qualify for this unique value

offering it simply needs to be activated on either

the CharterWay BestBasic or CharterWay

Service Complete contracts available at the

nearest dealership. However, cancellation of the

CharterWay contract will result in the vehicle

returning to fixed service intervals. |FOCUS

new hypoid axles and trucks that think for themselves, net mercedes-benz industry-leading fuel efficiency

??????????????

May 2015 |FOCUS| 7

TrusT our workshop To puT your fleeT back on The road in no TimeGearbox, Axle & Steering repairs Retrofitting for greater safety, comfort and cost efficiency

Genuine OE & Replacement parts State of the art testing facilities

Highly trained staff

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24hr field service support

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Johannesburg: +27 11 457 0000 I Cape Town: +27 21 950 6300 I www.zfsa.co.za

63044 ZF Commercial Workshop (210x297) Focus Mag.indd 1 2015/03/20 11:41 AM

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8 |FOCUS| May 2015

there we were, standing on the deck at the Komatipoort Golf Club and staring into the dimly lit darkness, after having dinner at the end of

day one. Just below us, in the far reaches of the deck’s floodlights, was an elephant having its own dinner; helping itself to some of the long reeds on the bank of the Crocodile River. Just to the left, a rather large hippo made its way across the shallow water.

(The club is located between the Crocodile and Komati rivers; its eastern-most point being where they meet to form the Incomati River that flows into Mozambique.)

The scene had attracted quite a crowd; most of the Truck Test 2015 participants had gathered there, drink in hand, to pause for a moment and take it all in.

“Now this is how you end a day,” one of the guys said with a satisfied smile.

Truck Test 2015 was certainly unique; this being just one of the experiences that made it so special ... It was also, without doubt, the most efficient, thorough test we have run thus far.

PrePAre TO SUCCeeD Truck Test 2015 was perhaps the most unique in the series thus far, in that each participating

vehicle had to be fitted with an identical trailer and load. This, as you can imagine, required a lot of planning and processes we haven’t had to manage before. Chiefly, we knew we had to manage the loading process with an iron fist.

This, in turn, meant that, for the first time, we had to practise. It was organised early on that David King and his team from AfriSam would supply the pallets of cement to be loaded onto the vehicles – so they were happy for us to go to their premises and practise. We then needed to borrow a reefer and an interlink and organise a pallet jack to move the loads into the bodied trailer.

after a year of planning, truck test 2015 hit the open road during

april. it was the most thoroughly planned, scientifically accurate, utterly

awesome event so far. gaVin myers takes you through the journey

reaching new

heights

TrUCKTeST 2015



www.htm.co.za

www.engen.co.za

www.ctrack.com/za/

http://www.entry.man.eu/za/en/index.html

www.udtrucks.com

www.ford.co.za

www.freightliner.co.za

www.tracn4.co.za

www.wabco.co.za

May 2015 |FOCUS| 9

“AfriSam makes use of our three- and eight-tonne forklifts every day. There’s not much out there that can beat our eight-tonne lift for reliability,” he says.

Taftman was overtly excited to take part in the day. “It’s great to be able to learn about the problems and be able to set the process. It’s also just fun to be here, actually; at what is the start of Truck Test,” he says.

“FOCUS and the organisers have really taken Truck Test to the next level. It is completely different this time, which is brilliant. It’s the most comprehensive commercial-vehicle test in the South African market,” he enthuses.

Enter Scania South Africa and Linde Material Handling. As Scania happened to be entering one reefer and one link into this year’s test, product and marketing director Alexander Taftman went above and beyond by arranging for the two vehicles to be available a week before they were actually required.

Reg Ravenscroft, Linde service manager: Gauteng, also made sure we had a standard 2,5-t pallet jack at our disposal. Linde, it so happens, has a 15-year relationship with AfriSam, so Ravenscroft’s decision to help out was a no-brainer. The company supplies all types of lifting equipment up to over 40 t.

TrUCKTeST 2015

TrUCK TeST LIve On IGnITIOnCatch all the Truck Test 2015

action on Ignition. Truck Test

2015 will be aired on: Saturday,

May 23, at 12:00; Sunday, May

24, at 18:00; Monday, May 25,

at 08:00 and 17:00; Tuesday,

May 26, at 14:00; Wednesday,

May 27, at 24:00; Thursday, May

28, at 04:00 and Friday, May 29,

at 20:00.

»

www.volvotrucks.com/trucks/south-africa-market/en-za/

www.iveco.com/southafrica

www.barloworld-logistics.com

www.aerotruck.co.za

www.hino.co.za

www.renault-trucks.co.za

www.zfsa.co.za

http://www.mercedes-benz.co.za/content/south_africa/mpc/mpc_south_africa_website/en/home_mpc/truck_home/home/trucks.html

http://www.mercedes-benz.co.za/content/south_africa/mpc/mpc_south_africa_website/en/home_mpc/van.html

www.phoenixrisk.co.za

10 |FOCUS| May 2015

TrUCKTeST 2015

Scania Southern AfricaAngola, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, NamibiaSouth Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe

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Scania’s two vehicles for Truck Test 2015; the G460 (reefer combination) and R500 (interlink combination), were absolutely bog-standard off-the-shelf units. Taftman explains: “We wanted to enter vehicles that any customer can buy, with no tweaks at all; to deliver good, reliable figures that our customers can achieve.”

At the end of the day – literally – the dummy run turned out to be an imperative extra step that everyone was glad we had taken. Truck Test coordinators Adrian van Tonder of Barloworld Logistics and Martin Dammann from Hellberg Transport Management were both pleased with the way things went.

“It went better than I think anyone expected – the weights were spot on and we learnt a lot,” says Dammann.

Van Tonder concurrs: “It was a good exercise, without it we would’ve been running around like headless chickens on the pre-test loading day …”

LIKe KIDS In A … It’s amazing how excited we all were. It wasn’t even 06:00 yet; we hadn’t had our morning coffee and that early-morning Highveld winter chill was rolling in with biting abandon … yet the FOCUS staff, the Truck Test 2015 organisers, and all the supporting partners present, were like kids in a, um, Tonka-Toy store, as the first few rigs rolled into the holding area at AfriSam’s Roodepoort depot.

The actual running of the test (in mid-April) was still a week away – but, after months of planning and preparation, this was it: the start.

One by one they rumbled in – as did that coffee and some breakfast muffins, again courtesy of King and his kind team. As each vehicle arrived, Van Tonder, Dammann and HTM’s Olav Tollner scrutinised them for compliance with the rules, according to a comprehensive pre-test checklist.

The first group of vehicles made their way across the AfriSam weighbridge and into the depot. Van Tonder’s remark a week earlier (about us running around like headless chickens) rang true – it was immediately apparent that the procedure we perfected at the dummy run was working well.

To be honest, this was more for the reefers than the links (which were, naturally, easy-as-pie to load with a forklift). The reefers required

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

QUALITY ON TIME

southafrica.air1.info/

www.scania.co.za

www.grw.co.za

http://www.babcock.co.za/Products/default2.aspx?catID=6

www.afrit.co.za

www.scott-byers.com

www.bridgestone.co.za

www.bpw.co.za

www.afrisam.co.za

www.faw.co.za

May 2015 |FOCUS| 11

TrUCKTeST 2015

those Linde pallet jacks (they had kindly lent us two additional ones for the day) and each required around six of AfriSam’s burliest men to shift the two-tonne pallets of cement into and around the closed bodies.

Nonetheless, by noon the day was done. Each vehicle had been loaded, weighed, adjusted (where necessary) and sent on its way to be parked until April 14. This was to be the day they would all congregate at Super Group’s Super Park, in Jet Park, have their tanks brimmed to exacting measurements and be readied to hit the road the following morning.

And, by that time, well, excitement was not a descriptive-enough word …

We WAnT MOre!All Truck Tests are equal, but some are more equal than others … yeah, by our own admission, there’s one specific facet that made Truck Test 2015 that tiny bit extra-special. It’s the same factor that was present in the inaugural 2012

event – the fact that the 16 vehicles under review were 6x4 truck tractors.

The “super models” of the industry, we called them back then. And super models they still are. It’s awe-inspiring to witness how the South African trucking fraternity loves these vehicles. (Not, it must be pointed out, that that means nobody cares about the light(er) weights!)

Comments after the test ranged from “Don’t worry about the other categories, let’s repeat this next year”, to “It should have been a three-day event, two days was just too short”.

The second that the first truck left the Super Park yard, on Wednesday, April 15, we expected we’d get this sort of “abuse” from all who took part. Truckers, without doubt, live for the open road.

The open road in this instance was eastbound on the N4 highway from Kraft Road, Jet Park, to Komatipoort, with a slight detour via the Schoemanskloof Pass.

ONBOARD TYRE INFLATION

insurance done right

Pantone 541 c

Pantone 3015 c

»

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www.loadtech.co.za

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www.unitrans.co.za

www.elitefibre.co.za

www.drive-report.com

www.tfm.co.za

www.grenco.co.za

12 |FOCUS| May 2015

TrUCKTeST 2015

The stop at Belfast allowed the opportunity for the drivers, observers and their support crews to have some brunch at the facility’s Wimpy, kindly sponsored (on both days) by Wabco. TRAC N4 also set up a driver “work out” area, where they could stretch their limbs and grab an energy drink.

From here, it was on to the Schoemanskloof pass, which put drivers and vehicles to the test. Nonetheless, they conquered it with style.

Once the vehicles arrived in Komatipoort, everyone was, naturally, eager to see how they had fared as they filled up once more. Interestingly, there really didn’t seem to be much in it at the half-way point. (Don’t go skipping on to the results pages just yet …)

Another nice addition to Truck Test this year was the inclusion, that evening, of a dinner at the Komatipoort Golf Club. With delicious braai-style grub, entertainment by musical duo Cashel, and a visit by our friend the elephant, a great time was had by all the 100-odd guests.

The FOCUS team played taxi in getting some of the guests to and from the club (see page 30). This was probably a good thing, as, for what must be the first time in the history of truck industry get-togethers, an early night was preferable.

Well, for most … As the sun rose on day two, everyone

was eager to hit the road once again. Amidst the early-morning film shoot and camera interviews, the overnight security (organised

by Engen) departed and Van Tonder and Dammann gave a few fatherly words to the drivers and observers – as they had the morning before.

For this leg, observers were required to ride in a different vehicle – which added to the excitement. The trip back to Joburg was without incident and, by 15:00, the convoy began to roll back into Super Park for the final fuel top up.

“I could do it all over again, right now,” one of the drivers commented at the end of it all. Given the attention the convoy attracted, and the allure of the open road, we were inclined to agree ... talk immediately turned to what we should do next year.

Whatever it turns out to be, the height to which this year’s Test raised the bar will definitely mean next year’s is, at the very least, just as epic.

FOCUS and the organisers of Truck Test 2015 would like to sincerely thank all participants, drivers, observers and their support crews, as well as the following sponsors: Aero Truck, Afrit, AfriSam, Alcoa, Alcosafe, Barloworld Transport, Beier, Bridgestone, BPW Axles, Cargo Carriers, Ctrack, DAF, Engen, Engen Air1, Elite Fibre, FAW, Freightliner, GEA, GRW, Hino, Iveco, Knorr-Bremse, Linde, Loadtech, MAN, Mercedes-Benz, MSA, One Insurance, Phoenix Risk Solutions, Renault, Scania, Scott Byers, Sika, Sub-Saharan Tyre Services, Super Group, TFM, TRAC N4, TransSolve, UD, Volvo, Wabco, ZF. |FOCUS

The total test distance (including the few kilometres from Super Park to the freeway) was 859,5 km.

Out of the gate first – at one-minute intervals – were the reefers, from most powerful (Scania G460) to least powerful (FAW 28.380 FT). They were followed by the heavier interlinks, again from most powerful (Scania R500) to least powerful (Iveco Trakker 440 SR). The starting sequence was done in this way to avoid any bunching up of vehicles caused by the more powerful reigning in the lesser-powered ones.

It was a smart move, as the vehicles maintained an even distance apart as they made their way to their destination; the first

“checkpoint” being the Middelburg weighbridge. Here, they would have their mass ratings confirmed.

It was also here that we received some distressing news – one of our trucks, the FAW, had been entangled in an accident between two vehicles, driving alongside it, some distance from the weighbridge.

Thankfully, the accident wasn’t major and the damage to the truck was minimal. In fact, the company was able to have a new panel sent to Nelspruit area within a few hours, so that the damaged piece could be repaired there and then (see notes on page 28). Other than a few scrapes and bruises, the vehicle looked as good as new. To put a positive spin on the incident, this surely speaks volumes for FAW’s after-sales backup.

WIELOC®

zaf.sika.com

www.alcosafe.co.za

www.supergroup.co.za

www.rsa.voithturbo.com

www.wieloc.co.za

May 2015 |FOCUS| 13

TrUCKTeST 2015

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older engines to help restore lost power. Its trademarked detergent additive counteracts injector fouling – increasing fuel

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14 |FOCUS| May 2015

TrUCKTeST 2015

check that vehicles kept within the set speed

guidelines.

The route chosen for this year’s test was

from Isando, with an altitude of approximately

1 500 m above sea level, to Komatipoort in

Mpumalanga, which is close to sea level. This

provided an ideal test route, especially for the

long-distance haulage operators.

Nine of the truck tractors were coupled to

a set of identical interlink trailers, which were

built and loaned by Afrit. The remaining seven

truck tractors were coupled to identical tri-axle

trailers, which were built and loaned by GRW.

Using identical trailers fitted with the same

running gear, wheels and tyres ensured that

no participant had an advantage with wind or

rolling resistance.

The trailers were loaded to their full

capacity with pockets of cement supplied by

AfriSam. At the loading site, the vehicles were

weighed empty and then again once they had

been loaded.

The day before the test, all the vehicles

were parked at Super Park Distribution

Centre in Isando and topped up with fuel.

A sight tube was fitted to the fuel tanks

to ensure accurate measurement. The

vehicles were also inspected to ensure that

they were roadworthy, and driver’s licences

and Professional Driving Permits were also

checked.

All the drivers were eager to start on the

first day and at exactly 06:00 the first vehicle

departed. After the Middelburg weighbridge,

the second stop en route was the Engen

Belfast Truck Stop, where the vehicles were

refuelled and checked.

On the route down to Komatipoort, some

long and difficult downhill gradients had to be

negotiated, which tested the retardation ability

of the test vehicles.

The following day was another early start,

with the first truck departing at 06:00 and

heading directly to the Engen Truck Stop

at Belfast for refuelling. The steep uphill

gradients experienced on the return route

from Nelspriut to Belfast tested all the

vehicles’ hill-climbing ability. I am pleased to

report that all the vehicles did well on the

uphill, proving their good productivity, without

seriously jeopardising fuel consumption.

Back at Super Park Distribution Centre in

Isando, the vehicles were topped-up again. The

precise amount of fuel used was recorded to

determine the accurate fuel consumption of

each vehicle.

I was surprised to see how small the

difference was in the amount of fuel that

was added to each vehicle at the various

stops. This proved that, if correctly driven and

maintained, most truck tractors in this class of

vehicle are fuel efficient. |FOCUS

VIC OLIVER joined us on Truck Test, once again offering his expertise in monitoring the procession as it

moved from start to finish through all the checkpoints. He details the technical aspects

the technical side of

trUck test

One of this country’s most respected commercial vehicle industry authorities, VIC OLIVER has been in this industry for over 50 years. Before joining the FOCUS team, he spent 15 years with Nissan Diesel (now UD Trucks), 11 years with Busaf and seven years with International. Do you have a comment or thought you would like to share based on this column? Visit www.focusontransport.co.za and have your say!

this year’s Truck Test was, without

any doubt, the best and most

successful that FOCUS has run

over the past few years. It was

well organised and supported – with 16 rigs

entered, sponsored and supported by 12

companies. Factors that made this event

so successful were the enthusiasm, passion

and professionalism displayed by all the

participants and sponsors.

The objective of this year’s Truck Test

was to demonstrate what vehicles in the

30- to 35-t payload segment are capable of

achieving in a typical operating environment,

and to provide potential buyers of this class

of vehicle with excellent information on the

operating costs.

With the current high fuel and operating

costs, the participating manufacturers were

all keen to prove that, correctly driven and

maintained, their vehicles are economical to

own and operate.

Once again, the HTM TransSolve software

was used to simulate the route, and Ctrack

provided the technology to track all the

vehicles during the test.

The vehicle tracking system proved to be

an excellent management tool to keep an

accurate control on the vehicles. This ability,

to monitor the vehicle speeds during the test,

was well used by the test controlling team, to

??????????????

May 2015 |FOCUS| 15

Filename 113942 Scania SA You're Not Buying This_Truck Ad v7

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16 |FOCUS| May 2015

TRUCK TEST 2015 - TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS - TAUTLINER INTERLINKS TRUCK TEST 2015 - TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS - TRIDEM REEFERSMake Iveco Volvo UD Trucks DAF Hino Iveco MAN Freightliner Scania FAW Iveco Renault MAN Hino Mercedes-Benz ScaniaRange Trakker FH Quon XF 700 Pro 229 Stralis TGS Argosy R Series FAW Stralis C-RANGE TGS 700 Pro 229 Actros G Series

Model AT440T44TH SR440 TT Sin-R

I-Shift RetGW26 450 TT

ESCOT105.460 SR

13602848 3.9 Air

DSCAS750S48TZP

Hi-way27.480 6x4 BBS

(LX)CUM 500 - NG

R500 LA6x4 MSZ

28.380 FTAT700S43TZP

Hi-WayC 440HP 6x4

Road26.440 6x4 BLS

(LX)2845 3.9 Stl 2646LS-33 DD

G460 CA6x4 MSZ

Odometer at start (km) 18 203 35 137 54 179 119 132 55 304 3 309 4 320 91 625 70 095 3 457 2 869 12 292 2 732 14 835 2 752 27 932DIMENSIONSFifth wheel offset (mm) 400 510 565 260 450 450 470 506 470 370 400 410 470 450 520 425Overall combination length (mm) 22 240 22 080 22 060 22 320 22 075 22 120 22 170 22 100 21 980 18 765 18 695 18 600 18 600 18 560 18 720 18 610FUELFuel tank 1 capacity (l) 600 490 400 445 390 600 590 378 470 400 600 490 580 390 650 470Fuel tank 2 capacity (l) - 330 400 445 450 - 250 492 470 - - 210 450 450 280 470Fuel in tank 1 when weighed (l) 600 441 280 445 312 600 561 330 470 400 600 490 493 312 468 470MASS, CAB & EXTRASPermissible front axle mass (kg) 7 700 7 700 7 700 7 700 7 500 7 700 7 700 7 250 7 700 7 500 7 700 7 700 7 700 7 500 7 500 7 700

Rims (standard / tested) Steel / SteelAluminium / Aluminium

Steel / Aluminium

Steel / Aluminium

Steel / Aluminium

Aluminium / Aluminium

Steel / Aluminium



Steel / SteelAluminium / Aluminium


Steel / Aluminium


Steel / Steel

Rear suspension Parabolic springs Parabolic springsSemi-elliptic

multi leafAir Air Air Parabolic springs Air

Parabolic springs

Semi-elliptic springs

AirParabolic springs

AirSemi-elliptic

springsAir

Parabolic springs

Cab roof / No. of bunks High / 2 Medium / 2 Standard / 1 High / 2 High / 2 High / 2 High / 2 High / 2 High / 2 Low / 1 High / 2 High / 2 High / 2 Low / 1 High / 2 Standard / 2

Aerokit (standard / tested)None /

Aero TruckVolvo / Volvo

None / Aero Truck

None / Aero Truck

None / Aero Truck

None / Aero Truck

None / Aero Truck

Freightliner / Freightliner

Scania / ScaniaNone /

Aero TruckNone /

Aero TruckRenault / Renault

None / Aero Truck

None / Aero Truck

Mercedes-Benz / Mercedes-Benz

Scania / Scania

Tare (spec sheet) * (kg) 8 970 - 8 530 8 475 9 055 8 540 8 886 8 287 9 229 8 750 - 8 739 8 375 9 290 8 393 8 871

Tare (tested) * (kg) 9 096 8 930 8 545 8 840 8 458 8 736 8 829 8 443 9 105 8 764 8 556 8 928 8 526 8 838 8 587 8 865Vehicle unladen ** (kg) 9 533 9 367 8 982 9 277 8 895 9 173 9 266 8 880 9 542 9 201 8 993 9 366 8 963 9 275 9 024 9 302Trailer unladen (kg) 9 760 9 760 9 760 9 760 9 760 9 760 9 760 9 760 9 760 9 700 9 700 9 700 9 700 9 700 9 700 9 700Combination unladen ** (kg) 19 293 19 127 18 742 19 037 18 655 18 933 19 026 18 640 19 302 18 901 18 693 19 066 18 663 18 975 18 724 19 002Payload (kg) 36 207 36 373 36 758 36 463 36 845 36 567 36 474 36 860 36 198 29 099 29 307 28 934 29 337 29 025 29 276 28 998Gross combination mass ** (kg) 55 500 55 500 55 500 55 500 55 500 55 500 55 500 55 500 55 500 48 000 48 000 48 000 48 000 48 000 48 000 48 000* Includes fifth wheel but excludes driver, fuel and spare wheel** Includes fifth wheel, 330 litres of fuel, driver and observerENGINEMake Iveco Volvo UD Trucks Paccar Hino Iveco MAN Cummins Scania Weichai Iveco Renault MAN Hino Mercedes-Benz Scania

Model Cursor 13 (VGT) D13A440 GH13MX340 (ECE

R24-03)E13C WJ Cursor 13 (VGT) D2676 LF03 ISX 500/6 IL DC16 04 500 WD615.38 Cursor 10 (VGT) DXi 11 D2676 LF04 E13C-WK OM 501 LA DC13 106

Capacity (cm3) 12 880 12 800 12 777 12 900 12 913 12 880 12 419 15 000 15 607 9 726 10 300 10 800 12 419 12 913 11 946 12 700Layout In-line 6 In-line 6 In-line 6 In-line 6 In-line 6 In-line 6 In-line 6 In-line 6 V8 In-line 6 In-line 6 In-line 6 In-line 6 In-line 6 V8 In-line 6

Fuel injection system 6 unit injectors 6 unit injectors 6 unit injectors6 electronic unit

pumpsCommon rail 6 unit injectors Common rail

Electronic unit injection

Unit injector PDEDirect injection

pump6 unit injectors 6 unit injectors Common rail Common rail

Electronic pump-line-nozzle

Unit injector PDE

Power @ r/min (kW)324 @

1 470 - 1 900324 @

1 400 - 1 800330 @

1 500 - 1 800340 @

1 500 - 1 900353 @ 1 800

354 @ 1 540 - 1 900

353 @ 1 700 - 1 900

373 @ 1 700 - 1 800

368 @ 1 900 280 @ 2 200316 @

1 590 - 2 100321 @ 1 900

324 @ 1 700 - 1 900

331 @ 1 800 335 @ 1 800 338 @ 1 900

Torque @ r/min (Nm)2 100 @

1 000 - 1 4702 200 @

1 050 - 1 4002 244 @

1 050 - 1 4002 300 @

1 000 - 1 4102 157 @ 1 100

2 200 @ 1 000 - 1 540

2 300 @ 1 000 - 1 400

2 237 @ 1 100 - 1 500

2 400 @ 1 100 - 1 300

1 463 @ 1 6001 900 @

1 050 - 1 5902 000 @

1 000 - 1 4002 100 @

1 000 - 1 4002 157 @ 1 100 2 200 @ 1 080

2 250 @ 1 000 - 1 350

R/min @ 80 km/h / 75 km/h in top gear (r/min)

1 304 / 1 223 1 252 / 1 174 1 379 / 1 293 1 252 / 1 174 1 307 / 1 226 1 378 / 1 292 1 062 / 996 1 349 / 1 265 1 393 / 1 301 1 666 / 1 562 1 378 / 1 292 1 252 / 1 174 1 170 / 1 097 1 307 / 1 226 1 247 / 1 169 1 248 / 1 174

Emissions standard Euro 3 Euro 3 Euro 3 Euro 3 Euro 4 Euro 3 Euro 2 Euro 3 Euro 3 Euro 2 Euro 3 Euro 3 Euro 2 Euro 4 Euro 3 Euro 3TRANSMISSIONMake ZF Volvo Escot ZF ZF ZF ZF Eaton Scania FAW ZF Renault ZF ZF Mercedes-Benz Scania

Model 12 AS 2330 TO AT2612DAO612D w/

ESCOT - V12 AS 2540 TD 16 AS 2630 TO 12 AS 2330 TD

12 AS 2331 OD TipMatic

FO-18E318B-MXP

GRS905R CA9T B160M 12 AS 1930 TDOptidriver AT 2612D TD


16 AS 2630 TO G281-12 GRS905R

Type Synchromesh Constantmesh Constantmesh Synchromesh Synchromesh Synchromesh Constantmesh Constantmesh Synchromesh Synchromesh Synchromesh Constantmesh Constantmesh Synchromesh Constantmesh Synchromesh

ShiftAutomated Mechanical

Automated Mechanical





Manual and Automated



ManualAutomated Mechanical






No. of forward gears 12 12 12 12 16 12 12 18 12 9 12 12 12 16 12 12First- / top-gear ratio (:1) 12,33 / 0,78 14,94 / 1,00 11,729 / 0,785 15,86 / 1 14,12 / 0,827 15,86 / 1 12,33 / 0,78 14,4 / 0,73 11,32 / 1 12,11 / 1 15,86 / 1 14,94 / 1 12,33 / 0,78 14,12 / 0,827 14,91 / 1 11,32 / 1DRIVE AXLEMake Meritor Volvo UD Trucks DAF Hino Meritor MAN Meritor Scania Not Specified Meritor Renault MAN Hino Mercedes-Benz ScaniaReduction type Single Single Single Single Single Single Single Single Single Single Single Single Single Single Single SingleFinal ratio (standard / tested) (:1)

4,125 / 4,125 3,09 / 3,09 4,333 / 4,333 3,09 / 3,09 3,9 / 3,9 3,4 / 3,4 4,11 / 3,36 4,56 / 4,56 3,07 / 3,42 4,111 / 4,111 3,4 / 3,4 3,09 / 3,09 4,11 / 3,7 3,9 / 3,9 3,077 / 3,077 3,07 / 3,07

BRAKES & TYRESExhaust brake No Standard No Standard No No Standard Standard Standard Standard No Standard Standard No Standard Standard

Engine brakeStandard 306 kW

Standard 300 kW

Standard Standard StandardStandard 306 kW

Standard 270 kW

Intebrake 336 kW

No NoStandard - 250 kW

StandardStandard 270 kW

Standard Standard No

Retarder / Intarder Intarder 500 kW Voith 3 250 NmA0612D

3 250 NmIntarder 500 kW Intarder 500 kW Intarder 500 kW Intarder 500 kW -

Retarder 500 kW

-Intarder 500 kW

Voith 3 250 NmIntarder 500 kW

Intarder 500 kW

Voith R 115 HV 3 500 Nm

Retarder 500 kW

Tyre make (standard / tested)Goodyear / Goodyear

Michelin / Michelin

Goodyear / Goodyear

Goodyear / Goodyear

Dunlop / DunlopMichelin / Michelin

Goodyear / Goodyear

Michelin / Michelin

Michelin / Michelin

Double Coin / Double Coin

Michelin / Michelin

Michelin / Michelin

Goodyear / Goodyear

Firestone / Firestone

Michelin / Michelin

Goodyear / Goodyear

Size and ply rating - front 315/80 R22.5 385/65 R22.5 315/80 R22.5 315/80 R22.5 315/80 R22.5 385/65 R22.5 385/65 R22.5 385/65 R22.5 385/65 R22.5 315/80 R22.5 385/65 R22.5 385/65 R22.5 385/65 R22.5 315/80 R22.5 315/80 R22.5 385/65 R22.5Size and ply rating - rear 315/80 R22.5 315/80 R22.5 315/80 R22.5 315/80 R22.5 315/80 R22.5 315/80 R22.5 315/80 R22.5 315/80 R22.5 315/80 R22.5 315/80 R22.5 315/80 R22.5 315/80 R22.5 315/80 R22.5 315/80 R22.5 315/80 R22.5 315/80 R22.5LIST PRICEList price (Excl. VAT) (R) 1 439 950 1 680 490 1 295 400 1 550 000 1 362 530 1 699 950 1 492 880 1 618 300 1 716 750 680 000 1 549 950 1 435 294 1 488 350 1 297 680 1 527 000 1 555 050

Effective date for price 1 April 201522 September

20141 April 2015 1 October 2014 1 July 2014 1 April 2015 1 October 2013 1 March 2015 1 May 2014 13 April 2015 1 April 2015

1 December 2014

1 October 2013 1 July 2014 1 April 2015 1 May 2014

TrUCKTeST 2015

NOTE: THE TWO MAN TRUCKS IN THIS TEST RAN NON-STANDARD AXLE RATIOS AND ARE THUS CONSIDERED TO BE PROTOTYPES.

May 2015 |FOCUS| 17

TRUCK TEST 2015 - TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS - TAUTLINER INTERLINKS TRUCK TEST 2015 - TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS - TRIDEM REEFERSMake Iveco Volvo UD Trucks DAF Hino Iveco MAN Freightliner Scania FAW Iveco Renault MAN Hino Mercedes-Benz ScaniaRange Trakker FH Quon XF 700 Pro 229 Stralis TGS Argosy R Series FAW Stralis C-RANGE TGS 700 Pro 229 Actros G Series

Model AT440T44TH SR440 TT Sin-R

I-Shift RetGW26 450 TT

ESCOT105.460 SR

13602848 3.9 Air

DSCAS750S48TZP

Hi-way27.480 6x4 BBS

(LX)CUM 500 - NG

R500 LA6x4 MSZ

28.380 FTAT700S43TZP

Hi-WayC 440HP 6x4

Road26.440 6x4 BLS

(LX)2845 3.9 Stl 2646LS-33 DD

G460 CA6x4 MSZ

Odometer at start (km) 18 203 35 137 54 179 119 132 55 304 3 309 4 320 91 625 70 095 3 457 2 869 12 292 2 732 14 835 2 752 27 932DIMENSIONSFifth wheel offset (mm) 400 510 565 260 450 450 470 506 470 370 400 410 470 450 520 425Overall combination length (mm) 22 240 22 080 22 060 22 320 22 075 22 120 22 170 22 100 21 980 18 765 18 695 18 600 18 600 18 560 18 720 18 610FUELFuel tank 1 capacity (l) 600 490 400 445 390 600 590 378 470 400 600 490 580 390 650 470Fuel tank 2 capacity (l) - 330 400 445 450 - 250 492 470 - - 210 450 450 280 470Fuel in tank 1 when weighed (l) 600 441 280 445 312 600 561 330 470 400 600 490 493 312 468 470MASS, CAB & EXTRASPermissible front axle mass (kg) 7 700 7 700 7 700 7 700 7 500 7 700 7 700 7 250 7 700 7 500 7 700 7 700 7 700 7 500 7 500 7 700

Rims (standard / tested) Steel / SteelAluminium / Aluminium

Steel / Aluminium

Steel / Aluminium

Steel / Aluminium


Steel / Aluminium





Steel / Aluminium


Steel / Steel

Rear suspension Parabolic springs Parabolic springsSemi-elliptic

multi leafAir Air Air Parabolic springs Air

Parabolic springs

Semi-elliptic springs

AirParabolic springs

AirSemi-elliptic

springsAir

Parabolic springs

Cab roof / No. of bunks High / 2 Medium / 2 Standard / 1 High / 2 High / 2 High / 2 High / 2 High / 2 High / 2 Low / 1 High / 2 High / 2 High / 2 Low / 1 High / 2 Standard / 2

Aerokit (standard / tested)None /

Aero TruckVolvo / Volvo

None / Aero Truck

None / Aero Truck

None / Aero Truck

None / Aero Truck

None / Aero Truck

Freightliner / Freightliner

Scania / ScaniaNone /

Aero TruckNone /

Aero TruckRenault / Renault

None / Aero Truck

None / Aero Truck

Mercedes-Benz / Mercedes-Benz

Scania / Scania

Tare (spec sheet) * (kg) 8 970 - 8 530 8 475 9 055 8 540 8 886 8 287 9 229 8 750 - 8 739 8 375 9 290 8 393 8 871

Tare (tested) * (kg) 9 096 8 930 8 545 8 840 8 458 8 736 8 829 8 443 9 105 8 764 8 556 8 928 8 526 8 838 8 587 8 865Vehicle unladen ** (kg) 9 533 9 367 8 982 9 277 8 895 9 173 9 266 8 880 9 542 9 201 8 993 9 366 8 963 9 275 9 024 9 302Trailer unladen (kg) 9 760 9 760 9 760 9 760 9 760 9 760 9 760 9 760 9 760 9 700 9 700 9 700 9 700 9 700 9 700 9 700Combination unladen ** (kg) 19 293 19 127 18 742 19 037 18 655 18 933 19 026 18 640 19 302 18 901 18 693 19 066 18 663 18 975 18 724 19 002Payload (kg) 36 207 36 373 36 758 36 463 36 845 36 567 36 474 36 860 36 198 29 099 29 307 28 934 29 337 29 025 29 276 28 998Gross combination mass ** (kg) 55 500 55 500 55 500 55 500 55 500 55 500 55 500 55 500 55 500 48 000 48 000 48 000 48 000 48 000 48 000 48 000* Includes fifth wheel but excludes driver, fuel and spare wheel** Includes fifth wheel, 330 litres of fuel, driver and observerENGINEMake Iveco Volvo UD Trucks Paccar Hino Iveco MAN Cummins Scania Weichai Iveco Renault MAN Hino Mercedes-Benz Scania

Model Cursor 13 (VGT) D13A440 GH13MX340 (ECE

R24-03)E13C WJ Cursor 13 (VGT) D2676 LF03 ISX 500/6 IL DC16 04 500 WD615.38 Cursor 10 (VGT) DXi 11 D2676 LF04 E13C-WK OM 501 LA DC13 106

Capacity (cm3) 12 880 12 800 12 777 12 900 12 913 12 880 12 419 15 000 15 607 9 726 10 300 10 800 12 419 12 913 11 946 12 700Layout In-line 6 In-line 6 In-line 6 In-line 6 In-line 6 In-line 6 In-line 6 In-line 6 V8 In-line 6 In-line 6 In-line 6 In-line 6 In-line 6 V8 In-line 6

Fuel injection system 6 unit injectors 6 unit injectors 6 unit injectors6 electronic unit

pumpsCommon rail 6 unit injectors Common rail

Electronic unit injection

Unit injector PDEDirect injection

pump6 unit injectors 6 unit injectors Common rail Common rail

Electronic pump-line-nozzle

Unit injector PDE

Power @ r/min (kW)324 @

1 470 - 1 900324 @

1 400 - 1 800330 @

1 500 - 1 800340 @

1 500 - 1 900353 @ 1 800

354 @ 1 540 - 1 900

353 @ 1 700 - 1 900

373 @ 1 700 - 1 800

368 @ 1 900 280 @ 2 200316 @

1 590 - 2 100321 @ 1 900

324 @ 1 700 - 1 900

331 @ 1 800 335 @ 1 800 338 @ 1 900

Torque @ r/min (Nm)2 100 @

1 000 - 1 4702 200 @

1 050 - 1 4002 244 @

1 050 - 1 4002 300 @

1 000 - 1 4102 157 @ 1 100

2 200 @ 1 000 - 1 540

2 300 @ 1 000 - 1 400

2 237 @ 1 100 - 1 500

2 400 @ 1 100 - 1 300

1 463 @ 1 6001 900 @

1 050 - 1 5902 000 @

1 000 - 1 4002 100 @

1 000 - 1 4002 157 @ 1 100 2 200 @ 1 080

2 250 @ 1 000 - 1 350

R/min @ 80 km/h / 75 km/h in top gear (r/min)

1 304 / 1 223 1 252 / 1 174 1 379 / 1 293 1 252 / 1 174 1 307 / 1 226 1 378 / 1 292 1 062 / 996 1 349 / 1 265 1 393 / 1 301 1 666 / 1 562 1 378 / 1 292 1 252 / 1 174 1 170 / 1 097 1 307 / 1 226 1 247 / 1 169 1 248 / 1 174

Emissions standard Euro 3 Euro 3 Euro 3 Euro 3 Euro 4 Euro 3 Euro 2 Euro 3 Euro 3 Euro 2 Euro 3 Euro 3 Euro 2 Euro 4 Euro 3 Euro 3TRANSMISSIONMake ZF Volvo Escot ZF ZF ZF ZF Eaton Scania FAW ZF Renault ZF ZF Mercedes-Benz Scania

Model 12 AS 2330 TO AT2612DAO612D w/

ESCOT - V12 AS 2540 TD 16 AS 2630 TO 12 AS 2330 TD


FO-18E318B-MXP

GRS905R CA9T B160M 12 AS 1930 TDOptidriver AT 2612D TD


16 AS 2630 TO G281-12 GRS905R

Type Synchromesh Constantmesh Constantmesh Synchromesh Synchromesh Synchromesh Constantmesh Constantmesh Synchromesh Synchromesh Synchromesh Constantmesh Constantmesh Synchromesh Constantmesh Synchromesh

ShiftAutomated Mechanical









ManualAutomated Mechanical






No. of forward gears 12 12 12 12 16 12 12 18 12 9 12 12 12 16 12 12First- / top-gear ratio (:1) 12,33 / 0,78 14,94 / 1,00 11,729 / 0,785 15,86 / 1 14,12 / 0,827 15,86 / 1 12,33 / 0,78 14,4 / 0,73 11,32 / 1 12,11 / 1 15,86 / 1 14,94 / 1 12,33 / 0,78 14,12 / 0,827 14,91 / 1 11,32 / 1DRIVE AXLEMake Meritor Volvo UD Trucks DAF Hino Meritor MAN Meritor Scania Not Specified Meritor Renault MAN Hino Mercedes-Benz ScaniaReduction type Single Single Single Single Single Single Single Single Single Single Single Single Single Single Single SingleFinal ratio (standard / tested) (:1)

4,125 / 4,125 3,09 / 3,09 4,333 / 4,333 3,09 / 3,09 3,9 / 3,9 3,4 / 3,4 4,11 / 3,36 4,56 / 4,56 3,07 / 3,42 4,111 / 4,111 3,4 / 3,4 3,09 / 3,09 4,11 / 3,7 3,9 / 3,9 3,077 / 3,077 3,07 / 3,07

BRAKES & TYRESExhaust brake No Standard No Standard No No Standard Standard Standard Standard No Standard Standard No Standard Standard

Engine brakeStandard 306 kW

Standard 300 kW

Standard Standard StandardStandard 306 kW

Standard 270 kW

Intebrake 336 kW

No NoStandard - 250 kW

StandardStandard 270 kW

Standard Standard No

Retarder / Intarder Intarder 500 kW Voith 3 250 NmA0612D

3 250 NmIntarder 500 kW Intarder 500 kW Intarder 500 kW Intarder 500 kW -

Retarder 500 kW

-Intarder 500 kW

Voith 3 250 NmIntarder 500 kW

Intarder 500 kW

Voith R 115 HV 3 500 Nm

Retarder 500 kW

Tyre make (standard / tested)Goodyear / Goodyear

Michelin / Michelin

Goodyear / Goodyear

Goodyear / Goodyear

Dunlop / DunlopMichelin / Michelin

Goodyear / Goodyear

Michelin / Michelin

Michelin / Michelin

Double Coin / Double Coin

Michelin / Michelin

Michelin / Michelin

Goodyear / Goodyear

Firestone / Firestone

Michelin / Michelin

Goodyear / Goodyear

Size and ply rating - front 315/80 R22.5 385/65 R22.5 315/80 R22.5 315/80 R22.5 315/80 R22.5 385/65 R22.5 385/65 R22.5 385/65 R22.5 385/65 R22.5 315/80 R22.5 385/65 R22.5 385/65 R22.5 385/65 R22.5 315/80 R22.5 315/80 R22.5 385/65 R22.5Size and ply rating - rear 315/80 R22.5 315/80 R22.5 315/80 R22.5 315/80 R22.5 315/80 R22.5 315/80 R22.5 315/80 R22.5 315/80 R22.5 315/80 R22.5 315/80 R22.5 315/80 R22.5 315/80 R22.5 315/80 R22.5 315/80 R22.5 315/80 R22.5 315/80 R22.5LIST PRICEList price (Excl. VAT) (R) 1 439 950 1 680 490 1 295 400 1 550 000 1 362 530 1 699 950 1 492 880 1 618 300 1 716 750 680 000 1 549 950 1 435 294 1 488 350 1 297 680 1 527 000 1 555 050

Effective date for price 1 April 201522 September

20141 April 2015 1 October 2014 1 July 2014 1 April 2015 1 October 2013 1 March 2015 1 May 2014 13 April 2015 1 April 2015

1 December 2014

1 October 2013 1 July 2014 1 April 2015 1 May 2014

TrUCKTeST 2015

18 |FOCUS| May 2015

TRUCK TEST 2015 - RESULTS - TAUTLINER INTERLINKSMake Iveco Volvo UD Trucks DAF Hino Iveco MAN Freightliner ScaniaRange Trakker FH Quon XF 700 Pro 229 Stralis TGS Argosy R SeriesModel AT440T44TH SR 440 TT Sin-R I-Shift Ret GW26 450 TT ESCOT 105.460 SR 1360 2848 3.9 Air DSC AS750S48TZP Hi-way 27.480 6x4 BBS (LX) CUM 500 - NG R500 LA6x4 MSZSimulated top speed (km/h) 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75JET PARK TO KOMATIPOORT (429,8 KM)Simulated Ø speed (km/h) 65,3 65,3 66,0 65,7 65,0 65,8 66,4 63,9 66,6Actual speed (km/h) 62,6 65,9 62,8 67,0 61,9 66,7 62,3 65,1 61,1Simulated Ø fuel consumption (l/100 km) 48,4 48,2 48,6 48,5 48,9 48,6 47,3 48,5 48,9Actual fuel consumption (l/100 km) 48,4 48,4 48,2 45,3 51,3 51,8 49,8 47,9 46,8KOMATIPOORT TO JET PARK (429,8 KM)Simulated speed (km/h) 62,9 63,2 64,0 64,3 62,8 63,6 64,4 62,8 64,8Actual speed (km/h) 60,9 61,4 60,8 63,7 58,7 63,4 60,6 62,7 56,8Simulated Ø fuel consumption (l/100 km) 66,2 66,8 66,3 66,4 66,5 66,4 64,9 65,6 66,9Actual fuel consumption (l/100 km) 64,7 64,5 65,4 63,5 67,9 65,6 62,1 63,3 63,6OVERALL RESULTS (859,5 KM)

Payload (kg) 36 207 36 373 36 758 36 463 36 845 36 567 36 474 36 860 36 198

Simulated Ø speed km/h 64,4 64,7 65,4 65,3 64,2 65,0 65,7 63,7 66,0

Actual speed (km/h) 61,8 63,5 61,8 65,3 60,2 65,0 61,4 63,9 58,9

Simulated Ø fuel consumption (l/100 km) 57,2 57,0 57,4 57,4 57,7 57,4 56,1 57,0 57,8

(km/l) 1,75 1,75 1,74 1,74 1,73 1,74 1,78 1,75 1,73

Actual fuel consumption (l/100 km) 56,6 56,5 56,8 54,4 59,6 58,7 56,0 55,6 55,2

(km/l) 1,77 1,77 1,76 1,84 1,68 1,70 1,79 1,80 1,81

Simulated Payload Productivity 40,8 41,3 41,9 41,5 41,0 41,4 42,7 41,2 41,3

Actual Payload Productivity 39,5 40,9 40,0 43,8 37,2 40,5 40,0 42,3 38,6

* Payload Productivity Factor = Payload (tonnes) x Avg. speed (km/h) / Avg. fuel consumption (l/100 km)

ALTITUDe PrOFILe: JeT PArK TO KOMATIPOOrT rOUnD TrIP (859,5 KM)

TrUCKTeST 2015


Route Profile: Jet Park to Komatipoort Return Trip (859.5km)

Jet Park

Middelburg Weighbridge

Belfast

Schoemanskloof Pass

Komatipoort



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May 2015 |FOCUS| 19

TRUCK TEST 2015 - RESULTS - TAUTLINER INTERLINKSMake Iveco Volvo UD Trucks DAF Hino Iveco MAN Freightliner ScaniaRange Trakker FH Quon XF 700 Pro 229 Stralis TGS Argosy R SeriesModel AT440T44TH SR 440 TT Sin-R I-Shift Ret GW26 450 TT ESCOT 105.460 SR 1360 2848 3.9 Air DSC AS750S48TZP Hi-way 27.480 6x4 BBS (LX) CUM 500 - NG R500 LA6x4 MSZSimulated top speed (km/h) 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75JET PARK TO KOMATIPOORT (429,8 KM)Simulated Ø speed (km/h) 65,3 65,3 66,0 65,7 65,0 65,8 66,4 63,9 66,6Actual speed (km/h) 62,6 65,9 62,8 67,0 61,9 66,7 62,3 65,1 61,1Simulated Ø fuel consumption (l/100 km) 48,4 48,2 48,6 48,5 48,9 48,6 47,3 48,5 48,9Actual fuel consumption (l/100 km) 48,4 48,4 48,2 45,3 51,3 51,8 49,8 47,9 46,8KOMATIPOORT TO JET PARK (429,8 KM)Simulated speed (km/h) 62,9 63,2 64,0 64,3 62,8 63,6 64,4 62,8 64,8Actual speed (km/h) 60,9 61,4 60,8 63,7 58,7 63,4 60,6 62,7 56,8Simulated Ø fuel consumption (l/100 km) 66,2 66,8 66,3 66,4 66,5 66,4 64,9 65,6 66,9Actual fuel consumption (l/100 km) 64,7 64,5 65,4 63,5 67,9 65,6 62,1 63,3 63,6OVERALL RESULTS (859,5 KM)

Payload (kg) 36 207 36 373 36 758 36 463 36 845 36 567 36 474 36 860 36 198

Simulated Ø speed km/h 64,4 64,7 65,4 65,3 64,2 65,0 65,7 63,7 66,0

Actual speed (km/h) 61,8 63,5 61,8 65,3 60,2 65,0 61,4 63,9 58,9

Simulated Ø fuel consumption (l/100 km) 57,2 57,0 57,4 57,4 57,7 57,4 56,1 57,0 57,8

(km/l) 1,75 1,75 1,74 1,74 1,73 1,74 1,78 1,75 1,73

Actual fuel consumption (l/100 km) 56,6 56,5 56,8 54,4 59,6 58,7 56,0 55,6 55,2

(km/l) 1,77 1,77 1,76 1,84 1,68 1,70 1,79 1,80 1,81

Simulated Payload Productivity 40,8 41,3 41,9 41,5 41,0 41,4 42,7 41,2 41,3

Actual Payload Productivity 39,5 40,9 40,0 43,8 37,2 40,5 40,0 42,3 38,6


ALTITUDe PrOFILe: JeT PArK TO KOMATIPOOrT rOUnD TrIP (859,5 KM)

TrUCKTeST 2015


Altitude Profile: Jet Park to Komatipoort Return Trip (859.5km)

Jet Park

Schoemanskloof Pass

Belfast Jet Park Belfast

Schoemanskloof Pass

Komatipoort


Jet Park


Belfast

Schoemanskloof Pass

Komatipoort


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20 |FOCUS| May 2015


Jet Park


Belfast

Schoemanskloof Pass

Komatipoort

TrUCKTeST 2015

TRUCK TEST 2015 - RESULTS - TRIDEM REEFERSMake FAW Iveco Renault MAN Hino Mercedes-Benz ScaniaRange FAW Stralis C-RANGE TGS 700 Pro 229 Actros G SeriesModel 28.380 FT AT700S43TZP Hi-Way C 440HP 6x4 Road 26.440 6x4 BLS (LX) 2845 3.9 Stl 2646LS-33 DD G460 CA6x4 MSZSimulated top speed (km/h) 75 75 75 75 75 75 75JET PARK TO KOMATIPOORT (429,8KM)Simulated Ø speed (km/h) 62,1 65,9 66,4 66,4 66,5 67,0 66,8Actual speed (km/h) 63,8 64,5 64,4 67,4 62,6 64,3 62,2Simulated Ø fuel consumption (l /100 km) 42,9 41,9 42,2 41,6 42,9 42,1 42,0Actual fuel consumption (l /100 km) 46,3 41,2 40,4 40,9 41,2 40,3 39,4KOMATIPOORT TO JET PARK (429,8KM)Simulated speed (km/h) 59,6 63,8 64,7 64,6 64,9 65,8 65,2Actual speed (km/h) 59,0 61,4 64,0 64,0 63,8 62,0 61,2Simulated Ø fuel consumption (l /100 km) 58,3 57,3 57,4 56,9 58,5 57,6 57,4Actual fuel consumption (l /100 km) 58,2 54,5 54,0 51,6 60,1 53,7 51,6OVERALL RESULTS (859,5KM)

Payload (kg) 29 099 29 307 28 934 29 337 29 025 29 276 28 998

Simulated Ø speed (km/h) 61,1 65,2 65,9 65,8 66,0 66,7 66,3

Actual speed (km/h) 61,3 62,9 64,2 65,7 63,2 63,1 61,7

Simulated Ø fuel consumption (l /100 km) 50,6 49,6 49,8 49,2 50,6 49,8 49,7

(km/l) 1,98 2,02 2,01 2,03 1,98 2,01 2,01

Actual fuel consumption (l /100 km) 52,3 47,9 47,2 46,2 50,7 47,0 45,5

(km/l) 1,91 2,09 2,12 2,16 1,97 2,13 2,20

Simulated Payload Productivity 35,1 38,5 38,3 39,2 37,9 39,2 38,7

Actual Payload Productivity (factor) 34,1 38,5 39,4 41,7 36,2 39,3 39,3


ALTITUDe PrOFILe: JeT PArK TO KOMATIPOOrT rOUnD TrIP (859,5KM)




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May 2015 |FOCUS| 21

Altitude Profile: Jet Park to Komatipoort Return Trip (859.5km)

Jet Park

Schoemanskloof Pass

Belfast Jet Park Belfast

Schoemanskloof Pass

Komatipoort


Jet Park


Belfast

Schoemanskloof Pass

Komatipoort

TrUCKTeST 2015

TRUCK TEST 2015 - RESULTS - TRIDEM REEFERSMake FAW Iveco Renault MAN Hino Mercedes-Benz ScaniaRange FAW Stralis C-RANGE TGS 700 Pro 229 Actros G SeriesModel 28.380 FT AT700S43TZP Hi-Way C 440HP 6x4 Road 26.440 6x4 BLS (LX) 2845 3.9 Stl 2646LS-33 DD G460 CA6x4 MSZSimulated top speed (km/h) 75 75 75 75 75 75 75JET PARK TO KOMATIPOORT (429,8KM)Simulated Ø speed (km/h) 62,1 65,9 66,4 66,4 66,5 67,0 66,8Actual speed (km/h) 63,8 64,5 64,4 67,4 62,6 64,3 62,2Simulated Ø fuel consumption (l /100 km) 42,9 41,9 42,2 41,6 42,9 42,1 42,0Actual fuel consumption (l /100 km) 46,3 41,2 40,4 40,9 41,2 40,3 39,4KOMATIPOORT TO JET PARK (429,8KM)Simulated speed (km/h) 59,6 63,8 64,7 64,6 64,9 65,8 65,2Actual speed (km/h) 59,0 61,4 64,0 64,0 63,8 62,0 61,2Simulated Ø fuel consumption (l /100 km) 58,3 57,3 57,4 56,9 58,5 57,6 57,4Actual fuel consumption (l /100 km) 58,2 54,5 54,0 51,6 60,1 53,7 51,6OVERALL RESULTS (859,5KM)

Payload (kg) 29 099 29 307 28 934 29 337 29 025 29 276 28 998

Simulated Ø speed (km/h) 61,1 65,2 65,9 65,8 66,0 66,7 66,3

Actual speed (km/h) 61,3 62,9 64,2 65,7 63,2 63,1 61,7

Simulated Ø fuel consumption (l /100 km) 50,6 49,6 49,8 49,2 50,6 49,8 49,7

(km/l) 1,98 2,02 2,01 2,03 1,98 2,01 2,01

Actual fuel consumption (l /100 km) 52,3 47,9 47,2 46,2 50,7 47,0 45,5

(km/l) 1,91 2,09 2,12 2,16 1,97 2,13 2,20

Simulated Payload Productivity 35,1 38,5 38,3 39,2 37,9 39,2 38,7

Actual Payload Productivity (factor) 34,1 38,5 39,4 41,7 36,2 39,3 39,3


ALTITUDe PrOFILe: JeT PArK TO KOMATIPOOrT rOUnD TrIP (859,5KM)



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22 |FOCUS| May 2015

TrUCKTeST 2015

IveCO TrAKKer AT440T44TH Sr

vOLvO FH 440 TT SIn-r I-SHIFT reT

UD TrUCKS QUOn GW26 450 TT eSCOT

May 2015 |FOCUS| 23

TrUCKTeST 2015

DAF XF 105.460 Sr 1360

HInO 700 PrO 229 2848 3.9 AIr DSC

IveCO STrALIS AS750S48TZP HI-WAY

24 |FOCUS| May 2015

TrUCKTeST 2015

MAn TGS 27.480 6X4 BBS (LX)

FreIGHTLIner ArGOSY CUM 500 - nG

SCAnIA r SerIeS r500 LA6X4 MSZ

May 2015 |FOCUS| 25

TrUCKTeST 2015

ALL veHICLeS:

• Arrival and departure time at Komatipoort was taken at the N4

turn-off to eliminate the hold-ups when departing for the return trip,

and to get an accurate arrival time for the vehicles that passed the

turn-off on day one.

IveCO TrAKKer AT440T44TH Sr:

• Seven speed violations on outbound leg, three minutes 30 seconds

added.

• Ten speed violations on return leg, five minutes added.

vOLvO FH 440 TT SIn-r I-SHIFT reT:

• Took Jet Park Rd instead of Kraft Rd on outbound trip. This route is

0,7 km shorter but has more stops, therefore reduced the fuel used

by 0,5 l and the time by one minute as per the TransSolve simulation

difference.

• Took Jet Park Rd instead of Kraft Rd on return trip . This route is

one kilometre shorter but has more stops, therefore reduced the

fuel used by 0,4 l and the time by one minute as per the TransSolve

simulation difference.

• No speed violations.

UD QUOn GW26 450 TT eSCOT:

• No violations.

DAF XF 105.460 Sr 1360 :

• Deducted 66 kg from unladen combination for the Loadtech weighing

equipment.

• Three speed violations on return leg, one minute 30 seconds added.

HInO 700 PrO 229 2848 3.9 AIr DSC:

• Took Jet Park Rd instead of Kraft Rd on outbound trip. This route is

0,7 km shorter but has more stops, therefore reduced the fuel used

by 0,5 l and the time by one minute as per the TransSolve simulation

difference.

• No speed violations.

IveCO STrALIS AS750S48TZP HI-WAY:

• No violations .

MAn TGS 27.480 6X4 BBS (LX):

• Passed Engen Komatipoort turn-off on day one. The end time was

therefore taken at the Engen turn-off as with all the other vehicles and

the fuel used was reduced by 2,2 l, as per the TransSolve simulated

results, for the additional 3,1 km. One speed violation on return leg,

30 seconds added.

FreIGHTLIner ArGOSY CUM 500 - nG:

• Took Jet Park Rd instead of Kraft Rd on return trip . This route is

one kilometre shorter but has more stops, therefore reduced the

fuel used by 0,4 l and the time by one minute as per the TransSolve

simulation difference.

• Eleven speed violations on outbound leg, five minutes 30 seconds

added .

• Twelve speed violations on return leg, six minutes added.

SCAnIA r500 LA6X4 MSZ:

• Passed Engen Komatipoort turn-off on day one. The end time was

therefore taken at the Engen turn-off as with all the other vehicles and

the fuel used was reduced by 2,2 l, as per the TransSolve simulated

results, for the additional 3,1 km.

• Very slow on return trip between Komatipoort and Belfast, due to

“gear hunting” issues, no adjustment made as this was too difficult to

calculate fairly and would only have a marginal effect on the overall

results.

• Two speed violations on outbound leg, one minute added.

• Two speed violations on return leg, one minute added.

notes – tAUtLiner interLinks

26 |FOCUS| May 2015

TrUCKTeST 2015

renAULT C-rAnGe C 440HP 6X4 rOAD

IveCO STrALIS AT700S43TZP HI-WAY

FAW 28.380 FT

May 2015 |FOCUS| 27

TrUCKTeST 2015

MerCeDeS-BenZ ACTrOS 2646LS-33 DD

MAn TGS 26.440 6X4 BLS (LX)

HInO 700 PrO 229 2845 3.9 STL

28 |FOCUS| May 2015

TrUCKTeST 2015

ALL veHICLeS:

• Arrival and departure time at Komatipoort was taken at the N4

turn-off to eliminate the hold-ups when departing for the return trip,

and to get an accurate arrival time for the vehicles that passed the

turn-off on day one.

FAW 28.380 FT:

• Was involved in a small accident on the first morning which held it

up for about 40 minutes. This was excluded from the travelling time

and one minute and 0,5 l of fuel was deducted for the unnecessary

stop-start.

• Stopped for about 15 minutes near Nelspruit to repair damage

caused by accident. This time was excluded from the travelling time

and one minute and 0,5 l of fuel was deducted for the unnecessary

stop-start.

• One speed violation on outbound leg, 30 seconds added.

IveCO STrALIS AT700S43TZP HI-WAY:

• Did not switch off engine at Middelburg Weighbridge on day one, the

arrival and departure time was therefore used for accurate travel

time.

• Did not stop at Middelburg Weighbridge, however the driver did stop

the vehicle on the highway next to the weighbridge, therefore no

adjustment needed to be made.

• Six speed violations on outbound leg, three minutes added.

• Six speed violations on return leg, three minutes added.

renAULT C 440HP 6X4 rOAD:

• No violations .

MAn TGS 26.440 6X4 BLS (LX):

• Seven speed violations on outbound leg, three minutes 30 seconds

added.

• Four speed violations on return leg, two minutes added.

HInO 700 PrO 229 2845 3.9 STL:

• No violations.

MerCeDeS-BenZ ACTrOS 2646LS-33 DD :

• Took Barbara Rd all the way to Kraft Rd on day one . This route is

1,1 km longer, therefore reduced the fuel used by 1,5 l and the time

by one minute as per the TransSolve simulation difference.

• Did not top-up with fuel at Belfast, added 0,2 l for the fuel saved as a

result of carrying 100 kg less fuel as per the TransSolve simulation

difference. There was no measurable time advantage.

• One speed violation on return leg, 30 seconds added.

SCAnIA G460 CA6X4 MSZ:

• Overfilled with 13 l (17 mm on sight tube) at Komatipoort as the fuel

filter fitted to prevent dirt getting into the sight tube caus ed a small “

vacuum” delay when releasing the air as the fuel level rose. The 13 l

were deducted from the outbound run and added to the return leg to

produce a more accurate result for the individual legs. No adjustment

needed to be made to the overall fuel used as the fuel filter was

removed for the fill-up on the return leg to avoid any confusion. The

chance of an overfill at Jet Park on the day before the test was ruled

out as no fuel was added on that day and the fuel filter would have

had sufficient time to release the air whilst the fuel level was marked.

• No speed violations .

notes – tridem reeFers

SCAnIA G SerIeS G460 CA6X4 MSZ

??????????????

May 2015 |FOCUS| 29

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TrUCKTeST 2015

trAckingthe test

and beige colour scheme did wonders to lift

the interior ambiance, with the Vito’s interior

feeling a bit grim by comparison.

Again, due to the larger vehicle width

and height, the seats in the Tourneo are

slightly wider, offering a bit more shoulder

room. Despite being slightly narrower, the

Vito’s seats were, nonetheless, comfortable.

Occupants in both the Ford and Mercedes

are treated to a range of features including:

individual cup holders, 12-v power sockets,

side-window blinds (Tourneo) and rear-

compartment air-conditioning.

In view of safety, only the left-hand middle-

row seat can be folded forward for entry

to the rearmost row in both the Ford and

Mercedes.

On the road, the Mercedes tended to

waft along a bit more comfortably, which is

great for its passengers and, of course, us

photographers! The flip side of this is that, for

the driver, the Ford felt more connected to

the road and lighter on its feet.

Neither vehicle struggled to keep up with

traffic or move its occupants around when

at full capacity. Especially the Vito ... it was

the 122CDI; fitted with the 3,0-litre V6 diesel

that develops 165 kW and 440 Nm torque.

Coupled to Mercedes’s five-speed automatic

gearbox, progress in the Vito is best summed

up as swift and smooth. It was relatively

frugal, too, consuming 9,6 l/100 km.

Not that the Limited-spec Tourneos

struggled, mind you. Fitted with the high-

power version of Ford’s 2,2-litre Duratroq

diesel engine, 114 kW and 385 Nm torque

was at the drivers’ disposal. As opposed to

the Vito, the Tourneos’ engine is mated to

a six-speed manual. At the end of our trip,

both Fords consumed an average of 9,4 l/

100 km. This is a figure we expect to improve,

as they were both practically out-of-the-box

new with around 1 000 km under their

respective belts.

So, what was the verdict? Both vehicles

scored a resounding thumbs-up by our weary

passengers, as they were transported in

style and comfort between their participating

vehicles, the evening function and their

accommodation.

As crew vehicles, the abundance of space,

powerful engines and ease of drivability

meant that both the Tourneo and Vito will

definitely be at the top of our list if such an

intricate requirement needs to be met again

in the future. |FOCUS

The Truck Test spectacle does not just happen on its own – there is considerable behind-the-scenes

work to be done ... for that, the FocUs team enlists the expertise of the industry’s smaller (yet no less

significant) brethren, writes GAVIN MYERS

this year, the FOCUS team had

to add “shuttle service” to its

repertoire. It was Ford and

Mercedes-Benz that came

to our aid; as we enlisted the companies’

Tourneo Custom and Vito Crewbus Shuttle

people movers to serve as camera tracking

cars, support-team (and gear) transport, and

event shuttles.

It was the latter requirement that placed

these cars at the top of our list: eight seats

was a must. Of course, yours truly and

FOCUS journalist Jaco de Klerk needed to be

able to easily and safely stick our heads and

cameras out of the windows to snap all the

on-road action ...

The abundant space in the two Tourneos

and single Vito proved to be just what we

needed. What we were really interested to

find out, though, was how our passengers

would find the whole experience.

Both vehicles offer eight comfortable,

individual seats in a two/three/three

configuration. In both they are also

individually adjustable, but, being top-of-

the-range Limited spec, the seats in the

Tourneos were leather clad. It has to be

said, too, that their pleasing two-tone black

??????????????

May 2015 |FOCUS| 31

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32 |FOCUS| May 2015

TrUCKTeST 2015

According to Harrison, Truck

Test 2015 is the ideal platform

for an add-on supplier, such

as Loadtech, to introduce new

concepts and equipment. The company fitted

on-board weighing and tyre-inflation systems to

the Afrit trailers running in Truck Test 2015.

“Many companies do not have the

resources to do a proper analysis of their

needs and the results from the Truck Tests

help them to make informed decisions on what

to buy,” says Harrison.

“Loadtech started out in 1987

manufacturing weighing sensors (loadcells) for

the industrial weighing market. Early in 2000

it designed and introduced the truck/trailer-

mounted OnBoard weighing system. This was

in the early days of overloading problems and

Loadtech’s systems have made a significant

difference in assisting its customers to avoid

overload penalties, while still making a profit in

the face of reducing average payloads,” he says.

In Truck Test 2015, Loadtech showcased

two different, but equally important,

products for the extra-heavy market. The

first is the well-known Loadtech OnBoard

weighing system, while the second is the

Vigia OnBoard mounted tyre monitoring and

inflation system.

As far as the OnBoard weighing system is

concerned, Harrison explains that this is fitted

between the load and the chassis, on the truck

and the trailer. “We obviously can’t measure

beneath the wheels, like a normal platform

scale does, so we weigh between the load and

the chassis and add in the tare weight to get

the gross weight.”

A display in the cab alerts the driver to

the mass being loaded so that he can take

responsibility for the loading process.

Harrison explains that loading trucks

correctly, without some way of determining

the weight, is extremely difficult. “Many

remote operations do not have the luxury

of a weighbridge to check the load. In these

cases, it is a necessity to have a Loadtech

OnBoard weighing system fitted, so that the

load can be monitored during the loading

process. Our motto is ‘load correctly first

time, every time’.”

While this is, without doubt, a system any

operator wouldn’t want to be without, it is

the tyre inflation kits that will probably catch

the attention of most operators interested

in the test.

“This is a universal product in which

anyone doing long-haul transport could be

interested,” Harrison says. “The aim is for

vehicles to avoid getting stuck on the side of

the road in the event of a puncture, where

they will lose time and incur the costs of

roadside repair.”

According to Harrison, this system is

especially important for deliveries that are

time-sensitive. “If a delivery has a scheduled

offloading slot and the truck is delayed en

route with a flat tyre, the company has lost a

tyre, has to pay for a roadside repair, and has

lost the delivery slot. As a consequence, the

load may be rejected,” he illustrates.

The tyre inflation system sources air from

the trailer to maintain the preset pressure

in the tyres. If there’s a leak or puncture,

the pressure in the tyre starts to reduce. If

it reduces below the preset pressure, air is

continually pumped into the tyre in an attempt

to maintain the operating pressure. The driver

is alerted and he can make an informed

decision on whether to stop immediately or

continue on to his destination.

“In many other countries with long-distance

operations, it is common to see these systems

fitted. Why is it that our local operators do not

see the same benefit and fit the systems to

their vehicles?” Harrison muses.

Hopefully, Truck Test 2015 will go some

way to changing that. |FOCUS

The technical innovations highlighted

in Truck Test 2015 go beyond the

tracking and simulation software

we’ve become accustomed to seeing.

This year, Loadtech supplied some

fascinating gadgets … GAVIN MYERS

speaks to MD John Harrison

technology in

trAnsit

From left: Printouts from the on-board weighing system can be done in-cab. The tyre inflation regulator. Warning lights on either side of the trailer indicate a loss of pressure to the driver.

??????????????

May 2015 |FOCUS| 33

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34 |FOCUS| May 2015

since its establishment in

1996, GRW has grown into

a multi-tiered company that

designs and manufactures

a wide range of transport equipment in

various configurations. These are designed

and built to meet the customer’s exact

requirements.

The company’s product range serves a

variety of market sectors including: petroleum

and chemical; construction and mining; fast-

moving consumer goods; palletised and

break-bulk general cargo. It also provides

maintenance and repair services as well as

financial services to fleet operators.

GRW’s world-class products are sold

across southern Africa, the Middle East, the

United Kingdom and Australia – a perfect

partner for Truck Test 2015.

Why did you decide to get involved?

It was the first time that we participated in

a Truck Test event. The event offers good

exposure and a great marketing opportunity

for us. There are several units from different

companies that participated in Truck Test

2015, making it a good benchmarking

exercise.

What trailer units were used in the test

and why were these selected?

We provided seven identical 15,5 m,

tri-axle, refrigerated semi-trailers.

The organisers wanted to use interlink

and semi-trailers, so we opted to

supply the latter for this year’s event.

The tri-axle trailers were for vehicles with

smaller engines or less horsepower, and

the interlinks were for those units with

This might be the first Truck Test event for trailer manufacturing company GRW, but it has been an

industry player for nearly two decades. We talk to the company’s CEO, Gerhard van der Merwe, to find

out why GRW got involved, and showcase some new developments at its primary manufacturing plant in

Worcester, in the Western Cape

hot on the

of success trAiL(er)

TrUCKTeST 2015

May 2015 |FOCUS| 35

more power. This ensured continuity in

the test performance, as all the units

were identical.

How important is the Truck Test 2015

vehicle segment to GRW?

It’s very important. All our work comes from

the extra-heavy industry.

What benefits do the Truck Test events

deliver to the industry?

The tests provide a level playing field to

compare different truck brands and their

performance while towing the same trailers.

What did you look forward to the most in

Truck Test 2015?

To see a good representation of our units on

the road and the feedback from participants

on our trailers. I also enjoyed seeing the

latest technology that’s available for the

trucks and other trailers. Everyone certainly

entered their latest equipment.

Is there anything else that you would like

to add with regard to Truck Test 2015?

It would have been great if the event could

have run over more days – three, four or even

five … it was a short test in terms of distance.

Additional time would mean a longer route,

which would provide more accurate figures

under different topographies. It could then

include flat roads, mountainous terrain, and

so forth.

Perhaps future Truck Test events could

become a one-week affair … GRW would also

be able to add to the trailer selection, as it

has enhanced its product offering, adding

curtainsiders, flat decks and side-tipper units

to its production mix. |FOCUS

GrW On THe eXPAnSIOn TrAIL“Traditionally, we only built tankers. Then

we added refrigerated trailers and

bodies,” Van der Merwe explains. “We’ve

now expanded our product range to what

we call general freight, with the main

objective of building world-class products.

We realised that the market is hungry for

a real quality product and our aim was

to raise the bar. Time will tell if we have

succeeded in our goals.”

GRW began its research and

development work three years ago,

ensuring a firm manufacturing

foundation. “The construction work

started a year ago,” Van der Merwe

points out. The company added

13 000 m2 under-roof space to its

Worcester manufacturing plant, now

totalling 40 000 m², to handle these

new developments.

“The expansion cost around

R110 million. Part of this was for the

purchase of new robotic equipment,

an automated paint plant, laser cutters

and new bending breaks,” Van der

Merwe tells FOCUS. The factory isn’t

the only thing that grew, however, as

GRW added around 60 employees in

the new wing.

The first unit rolled out in March and

was delivered to Leon Van Vuuren Bulk

Carriers, based in the North West town

of Potchefstroom. “This was a high-spec

curtainsider with additional add-ons,” says

Van der Merwe, noting that the company

was very fortunate to have received an

order from such a prominent tautliner

operator early in its production start-up.

“It tested our ability to meet high

expectations and I am proud that we

passed the test with flying colours. We

are blessed to have customers like Leon

Van Vuuren Bulk Carriers and thankful

for the opportunity. We are extremely

proud to now be associated with the

company.”

Van der Merwe continues: “This is

the first of many. We have a wonderful,

full order book for new products and look

forward to delivering these units to our

customers.”

TrUCKTeST 2015

Leon Van Vuuren Bulk Carriers received the first curtainsiders produced in GRW’s new manufacturing plant.

36 |FOCUS| May 2015

do you have insurance? The

one question that always pops

up as soon as things go pear-

shaped …

This is often followed with critique on

organisations that provide it and their service

delivery. Insurance, however, is a necessary

evil that can’t be ignored – especially in an

industry fraught with risks, from hijackings to

road accidents.

Sid Beeton, divisional manager for

transport-based insurance at ONE Insurance,

explains that this is exactly why ONE joined

Truck Test 2015. “With any commercial

vehicle enterprise there are certain risk

exposures.” He adds that ONE receives good

support from Phoenix Risk Solutions, which is

one of the insurance brokers for AfriSam –

and both were involved with Truck Test 2015.

“Phoenix approached us when they

decided to become involved with Truck Test

2015, as the event kicked off from AfriSam’s

offices and the company provided the loads,”

Beeton tells FOCUS – adding that Phoenix

asked if ONE would insure the loads, free of

charge, for the test.

“It was unlikely that the participants would

be hijacked; it was quite a convoy – so theft

and hijacking weren’t a risk,” Beeton points

out. “The vehicles could have overturned,

however, or it could have rained during the

testing days and the cement could have got

wet … there were risk exposures and we

agreed to cover that risk, free of excess and

free of premium.”

It is about more than just keeping the

loads safe, however … the transport industry

is vital to ONE. “Our company generates over

R1 billion in premium income per annum

and, of that, 40 percent comes from the

transport industry,” says Beeton. “Most of

our clients own commercial vehicles; it really

is our bread and butter. We insure the

trucks, the load, the trailers and liability to

other road users.”

It’s no wonder that ONE’s risks are so

narrowly aligned to those of the transport

industry. “As we align to the transport

industry, we face the same challenges

that it faces. These include: crime and

the manner in which you manage it; the

increase in the number of inexperienced

and unlicensed drivers; unlicensed vehicles;

and an ever-increasing number of uninsured

motorists on our roads. “

He continues: “When I started in transport

insurance in 1984 there were probably five

players at most.”

All of these challenges necessitate

that insurance providers have to provide

value-add products, which have to be funded

from what they can collect from clients. “In

order to remain competitive and to provide

protection against the risks associated with

commercial vehicles, insurance providers

are looking for ways to add value for their

customers, but we have to show some profit,

out of the premium base, for our shareholders.”

This couldn’t be that hard if you get

R400 million a year, right? Well, not quite.

“We are placing more focus on procurement

… our goal is to run below 65 percent. Many

companies are running over that,” Beeton

emphasises.

He continues: “Our transport based

insurance business is worth R400 million,

of which we pay out as claims some R250

million a year. In that amount there is a

lot of wastage. We are addressing the

procurement issues as one of the main

segments where we can reduce our claims

outlay and, therefore, offer more value and

competitive pricing.”

Most people have mixed feelings about insurance … it isn’t referred to as “a necessary evil” for no

reason. One Financial Services Holdings (ONE), through its Truck Test 2015 participation, is proving this

statement wrong

to count onthe one

TrUCKTeST 2015

May 2015 |FOCUS| 37

Beeton provides an example: “The

same windscreen replaced by an unvetted

supplier could cost a client R10 000 while

through procurement initiatives, we can

replace it (without compromising on quality)

at R2 500 and provide an excess-free

transaction.”

Another challenge is the extended

warranties that original equipment

manufacturers (OEMs) are offering.

“We understand that the drivetrain and

mechanical parts can’t be compromised

and that the warranty has to be protected

and honoured when these components are

involved, but second-hand or alternative parts

do have their merits,” Beeton explains.

A perfect example is replacement cabs.

“It might be economically viable to use a

reconditioned cab, for example, when a

vehicle – with a five-year warranty – is

involved in a major accident in its fourth

year,” Beeton points out. “It doesn’t

compromise the performance of the truck

and it can save a lot of money. A brand

new cab, on the other hand, could make it

uneconomical to repair the vehicle, which

is then written off instead of being repaired

and kept on the road.

“We are meeting with the OEMs to

ensure that they aren’t unreasonable

with the enforcement of their

warranties,” he reassures.

Despite all the challenges,

ONE is managing to offer

more than just vehicle

insurance as it is moving

towards, what it calls, the

transport solution. “We

offer value-add products,

such as tracking

devices, through our

joint venture with Autotrak – which trades as

ONETrak,” Beeton tells FOCUS. “Hijacking is

a very real risk in the industry, both for loads

and for trucks.”

He adds that ONE has a joint venture with

an incident risk management company Truck

Assist. “They can be contacted anytime for

any roadside event or emergency, not only

for accidents; for example, if a client runs

out of petrol, or has a blowout or if his tyres

are stolen and he is stuck on the side of the

road. Truck Assist will put them in touch with

a service provider who will get them moving

again.”

ONE Insurance is broadening its

horizons. “We are in the process

of rebranding from ABSA to Mutual &

Federal, which is going to open up exciting

opportunities for us,” Beeton points out.

Mutual & Federal will become ONE’s new

risk carrier, so to speak.

“We were previously writing business

through an ABSA licence and, although

ABSA has been a fantastic partner, the new

structure with Mutual & Federal will bring

additional brokers into the market,” Beeton

explains. “There was some reluctance of

other bank-focused insurance brokers to

deal with a company that operates under the

ABSA Group.

“The Old Mutual Group is expanding into

Africa at quite a rapid rate and we plan to

be part of that expansion, and to have new

horizons across border into Africa,” Beeton

adds. “We’re seeing new ventures happening

and we are very excited about expansion

opportunities into Africa.”

It’s clear that insurance can be much

more than “a necessary evil”. It can be a

value-adding partner that works with you to

overcome common challenges … |FOCUS

TrUCKTeST 2015

“In order to remain competitive and to provide protection against the risks associated with

commercial vehicles, insurance providers are looking for ways to add value for their

customers …”

38 |FOCUS| May 2015

TrUCKTeST 2015

Long points out that there are

two reasons why Hino has been

involved with the Truck Test

events since 2012: “The first is

to show the market how competitive our

products are, and the second is to learn

more about how our trucks perform on South

African roads.” He emphasises that it isn’t

only an exercise in marketing, but also one in

product development and planning.

Agenbag adds: “I think the test has

become more professional, more accurate

and more user friendly for us as competitors

– comparing it to the first year in 2012, where

the same type of vehicles participated. I really

think that there have been huge improvements

– hats off to the organisers.”

This year the company entered two

vehicles; the Hino 700 450, and the 700 480.

“We entered the two models in our range that

are most suited to the trailer configurations

that were used in this year’s test,” Long

explains. “The 450 is suited to the reefer

application, and the 480 to the interlinks.”

Agenbag continues: “Those applications

are quite significant, as they represent the two

main categories in the extra-heavy segment.

To enter only one doesn’t make sense. When

you participate, you might as well go all in.”

He recounts a conversation that he had

with Long: “I told Leslie that, in this type of test,

we would be sending the wrong message if we

didn’t enter all the vehicles we have in a certain

range. It might come across that we don’t

want to highlight a vehicle’s performance, or

that it can’t handle the application.”

Agenbag emphasises that if a particular

vehicle isn’t entered into a specific category, it

could indicate a weakness. “In the first year’s

test we entered only one vehicle, last year we

had three and, to be honest, going forward,

I don’t think Hino will not take part in any

category. We are an all-inclusive type of brand.

We don’t just sell one type of truck.”

He adds that it is important to participate

to the fullest. “If there is a range, you might as

well enter all of them. What message are you

sending to your customers if you don’t?”

Long commends the organisers of this

year’s event (specifically Adrian van Tonder,

senior manager of RTMS and PBS at

Barloworld Logistics) for the fact that the

progress of the vehicles was kept a secret

during the test. “It added to the excitement of

According to Hino South Africa’s Gert Agenbag, senior manager for sales, and Leslie Long, senior

manager for marketing and demand planning, companies would be daft not to enter what they can in

the Truck Test events … this isn’t only a marketing exercise, but a product development and planning

opportunity as well

more than just

A test!

May 2015 |FOCUS| 39

TrUCKTeST 2015

it all,” he tells FOCUS. “Last year’s Truck Test

was a different story … everybody knew how

everyone else was doing, and exactly where

their truck lay – there weren’t really any

surprises when the results were announced.”

This had another drawback, apart

from removing all suspense. Agenbag

explains: “While the knowledge of how other

manufacturers were doing helped with some

rivalry, it added some unpleasantness as well.

“It is better to keep everyone in the dark, as

this eliminates altering of strategies, resulting

in a better representation of normal operations

and a better atmosphere during the test.”

Agenbag is also glad that the Gerotek

track day wasn’t part of this year’s test. “The

track day doesn’t really show anything, other

than what skills your drivers have,” he tells

FOCUS. “I have always maintained that, as far

as I’m concerned, the whole day at Gerotek is

a waste of time. I want to see trucks operating

in normal conditions on the road, and that is

what we did this year.”

Another benefit was staying over for the

night and then driving back the next morning.

“It is less tiring for us,” says Agenbag. “It is

also less stressful to stay over, and move and

operate as a team.”

Agenbag continues: “I really hope that, in

the future, the organisers stick to this format;

where you drive out on the first day and you

drive back the next day, in real conditions.

“It is also great to see other industry

players and to talk to people that you don’t get

to see every day. It really is a good experience.”

The duo also have an interesting suggestion

for a future event … “It would be great if a

future Truck Test could be devised where only

some parameters are provided – a starting

point, an end point and a load. Then the

manufacturer should decide which category

of truck, which body and what configuration

to use to move that load,” Long relates with

excitement.

“It is more a simulation of actual business,”

Agenbag adds. “What Leslie is saying is such

a valuable suggestion. We can continue to

keep running these tests, but, at some point, it

is going to become irrelevant. In South Africa,

the average lifespan of a truck is between 12

and 16 years, so how many times can we test

the same vehicles over and over again?”

Long gives an example to prove why he

thinks an operational test would work better:

“Sugar cane could be transported using one

of two options; you can either go the truck

tractor/interlink route, or you can use a

freight carrier with a drawbar … Both of

them work, but, in some operations, your

truck tractor option is more effective, and,

in another, a freight carrier is the answer.

There is always more than one solution for any

transport job.”

Agenbag concludes: “Business isn’t just

about the trucks that you put out there, it is

about providing solutions … All the original

equipment manufacturers see themselves

as partners to business. We don’t only want

to come up with a steel and rubber solution,

we want to provide a tool that can make our

customers money. That is what we are all

trying to do. So why not test that ability and not

only our ability to bend and weld steel?”

Could this be the beginning of Truck Test

2016?

Watch this space. |FOCUS

Left and below: Hino’s 700 2848, one of two vehicles the company entered in this year’s Truck Test.Bottom: The smaller 2845 made light work of moving the reefer around.

40 |FOCUS| May 2015

resplendent in livery celebrating

100 years of MAN Truck &

Bus, the TGS 26.440 and TGS

27.480 certainly garnered

their fair share of attention during Truck Test

2015. Was the company’s bold celebration

of its heritage a warning shot of the expected

performance of its vehicles?

Geoff du Plessis, MD of MAN Truck &

Bus SA, was quietly confident when he met

the convoy at the brunch stop and fuel top-up

at Engen Belfast. “The proof of the pudding

is in the eating and we’ll look at the results

with great interest. I think we’ll better the

simulated results – the vehicles are running

a very efficient set-up, so they’ll do well.”

Dave van Graan, head of truck sales at

MAN Truck & Bus SA, discussed the vehicles

in more detail when he met the convoy at

the same venue on the way back: “These two

6x4 prime movers are our most commonly

chosen units for their respective applications.

We decided to select vehicles that we would

advise our customers to use for this route.”

The vehicles’ spec was impressive. The

TGS 26.440 (26 t, 440 hp), while pulling

the GRW tri-axle refrigerated unit, ran a tall

rear-axle ratio to optimise fuel consumption.

It also featured a fully automatic transmission

and speed control to make it easy to operate.

The TGS 27.480 hauled the Afrit interlink.

While it featured the same basic chassis as

its smaller brother, it could gross 55 t. “The

drivers will notice the additional power when

hauling from the Lowveld to the Highveld,”

noted Du Plessis.

Both vehicles featured sleeper cabs and

air suspension. Locally manufactured Aero

Truck aerokits were fitted to both, in an effort

to further optimise their performance.

“Where a vehicle has a high frontal

area, and where a more aerodynamic rig is

needed, we would advise our customers to fit

either the standard, imported MAN kit, or the

local aerokits,” explained Van Graan. “Here

we’ve chosen the local kits, as the trailers

are locally manufactured. It’s a product that’s

very well liked by our customer base.”

While both men were, understandably,

interested in their own vehicles’ performance,

they are also fans of the Truck Test format.

“It’s always good to have a well-controlled

competitive test – it would be foolish for any

operator to not look at these results before

making a choice,” said Du Plessis. “It’s always

great to be where the rubber meets the road

– if we don’t take part in these tests, how can

we expect to support our own operators?”

“It’s an absolute necessity to be here,”

noted Van Graan. “These tests allow us to

make sure the advice we’re giving customers

has a good sounding board. It’s also helps us

tweak our product spec and simulation tools

to make sure what we offer is correct for the

marketplace. It’s all about optimising total

operating costs.”

With MAN Profidrive driver trainer Eddie

Williams behind the wheel of the big interlink,

and product engineer Dean Temlett driving

the reefer, the overall feedback from the

MAN team was that Truck Test 2015 was a

really fun exercise, yet was challenging in that

it featured varying altitudes.

Van Graan probably summed it up best:

“While the work we do here is fun, it’s

also serious and adds a lot of value to our

industry.”

We couldn’t agree more. |FOCUS

With their view of Truck Test as a fun, yet professionally run (and

ultimately necessary) event, two of MAN Truck & Bus SA’s top

executives joined the action

finding real

vALUe

TrUCKTeST 2015

According to Du Plessis, Truck Test holds great value for manufacturers and operators alike.

??????????????

May 2015 |FOCUS| 41

www.udtrucks.co.za

42 |FOCUS| May 2015

TrUCKTeST 2015

Aero Truck has become a regular

feature of the Truck Test series,

supplying its aerodynamic wind

management systems, cab

extenders and side skirts to participating

original equipment manufacturers (OEMs)

seeking to maximise their vehicles’ results.

This year saw the premiere of the company’s

new Dolphin range of kits, which borrow heavily

from the aviation industry.

To fully understand the advantages of the

Dolphin kit, one needs to understand the basic

concept of the aerokit. These are custom

designed to smooth the airflow around the

vehicle and thereby significantly reduce its

coefficient of drag. Fuel consumption is,

therefore, improved by around eight to ten

percent, which represents a significant cost

saving for a comparatively minor investment.

“The rationale and need behind this aim

is that a truck uses 40 percent of its engine

power to overcome wind resistance when

travelling at 80 km/h. This contributes to over

50 percent of the operating costs of a truck,

which obviously creates a strong incentive to

save on fuel usage,” says Dudley-Owen.

The Dolphin Range takes the concept

a step further, seeking a way to reduce

turbulence and the effect of crosswinds. More

rounded and similar in shape to the nose

of a jumbo jet, the free-flow design of the kit

ensures that the wind is channelled smoothly

over and around the truck body, minimising

the airflow separation from the surface of the

kit and the truck body. Air turbulence caused

by the forward movement of the vehicle is,

therefore, significantly reduced.

Further, the Dolphin cab extenders are

considerably larger than those on conventional

kits, reducing the gap between cab and

body, and the trailing edges now have vortex

generators moulded into the panels.

Dudley-Owen elaborates: “The gap between

cab and trailer is a major source of wind

turbulence, causing drag on the vehicle. These

Aero Truck is a proudly South African company that designs and develops cutting-edge wind-management

systems for the local truck market, which are equal to the best in the world. GAVIN MYERS speaks

to Cameron Dudley-Owen, owner of Aero Truck, about the company’s latest designs that featured in

Truck Test 2015

enter the

doLphin

May 2015 |FOCUS| 43

extenders help to channel the wind, which

further reduces turbulence as the wind flows

off the cab and onto the trailer. The conical

shape also reduces the yaw, or cross-wind

effect, if the wind is not coming directly from the

front. This significantly improves truck stability.”

The benefit of these custom-designed kits

is that they are matched to specific vehicles

and trailers, and are not a compromise, as are

many factory-fitted units. Dudley-Owen quotes

a study by Cranfield University in the United

Kingdom: “In conjunction with Mercedes-Benz

and Hatcher Components, custom-designed

kits claim to have achieved a three-percent

fuel saving over generic factory fitted units.”

Further, says Dudley-Owen, the extra effort

involved in fitting a bespoke (custom designed),

rather than a generic, kit would reward the

operator with significantly better returns over

the life of the vehicle.

He is proud to note that, locally, Iveco and

MAN have replaced their own imported kits

with Aero Truck’s designs, while Hino has

also substituted the previous-generation Aero

Truck kits with the new Dolphin range.

DAF, FAW, Hino, Iveco, MAN and UD

ran a total of ten aerokits in Truck Test

2015. “The test showcases the most

up-to-date products available to the South

African truck industry and, as such, is

the ideal platform to demonstrate the

effectiveness of our products in reducing

the running costs of the vehicles,” says

Dudley-Owen.

“The Truck Test has become more

professionally run over the years, with the

criteria being more specific,” he adds.

Dudley-Owen should know. Besides having

been involved in Truck Test since the first

event in 2012, the company is also a familiar

name in the South African commercial vehicle

industry. “We have been in business for over

30 years and, we are an equal-opportunity

company, employing 60 people. We have

probably saved the South African economy

millions of litres of fuel over the years.

“The continued support from the OEMs is

essential to our growth and success and must

be applauded. In particular, Mercedes-Benz,

Hino, UD, Isuzu, MAN and, more recently, DAF,

FAW and Iveco, have mentored us and allowed

us to develop kits for their vehicles,” Dudley-

Owen continues.

“We would also like to acknowledge

the many partners in the trucking industry

that have bought our products, and whose

feedback and advice has led to the continuous

improvement of the effectiveness in the

design and quality of our products over the

years.” |FOCUS

doLphin

TrUCKTeST 2015

From left: William Dudley-Owen, Stuart Janssen and Cameron Dudley-Owen at Truck Test 2015.Right: The DAF XF shows off Aero Truck’s new Dolphin kit.

44 |FOCUS| May 2015

“The trucking industry has become

extremely competitive and we, as Bridgestone

Commercial, need to ensure that our products

and services are top of mind,” Roux continues.

“It is also important for Bridgestone

Commercial to visually demonstrate the

performance of our products and services.

This is the ideal opportunity to stay on top of

the trends and developments with regard to

our competitors. It is also an ideal opportunity

to measure ourselves against them,” he says.

Bridgestone Commercial is the all-new

entity recently created within the Bridgestone

Group to specifically handle the sales and

distribution of all new and retreaded truck,

bus and earth-mover tyres.

The launch of Bridgestone Commercial

has also seen selected Supa Quick

outlets offer commercial vehicle tyres

and services, which has resulted in closer

ties with commercial customers. Further,

the accredited outlets are also able to

supply commercial tyre retreads that are

manufactured according to South African

Bureau of Standards (SABS) specifications.

“Bridgestone Commercial ensures our

customers have the peace of mind of knowing

they are dealing directly with Bridgestone. It

will also allow us to consolidate our branding

position and provide closer customer

support, as well as position us for growth in

the commercial market,” says Bridgestone

SA CEO, Mike Halforty.

“The time is right to ramp up our

commercial operation to a new level, and I’m

certain that Bridgestone Commercial is going

to set ever-higher standards in this segment,”

Halforty adds.

Involvement in leading industry initiatives,

such as Truck Test and the FOCUS

Conference will surely help the company

achieve this goal! |FOCUS

Following the launch of a new entity to cater to its commercial vehicle tyre clientele, the Bridgestone

Group used it’s involvement in the Truck Test 2015 spectacle to show how serious it is about serving

the industry

what they can doto show

TrUCKTeST 2015

there’s a lot going on with the

Bridgestone Group at the

moment, and the company

used the opportunity provided

by Truck Test 2015 to showcase its new

direction.

“We have been part of the Truck Test,

in some shape or form, for some time now

and this year was no different. Involvement

in the Truck Test gives us a good opportunity

to build on the Bridgestone brand and

become the brand of choice,” says business

development manager, Walter Roux.

With this in mind, the company

committed to ensuring its support vehicles

were on call in case anything went wrong

en route (thankfully they were not needed).

Bridgestone is also a part sponsor of the

lunch at the FOCUS Conference to be held at

Automechanika on May 8 – when the Truck

Test results will officially be announced.

May 2015 |FOCUS| 45what they can do

TrUCKTeST 2015

Bridgestone South Africa announces changes to its commercial tyre operations.

Sales and distribution of all new and retreaded truck, bus and earth

mover tyres will be spearheaded by a newly- formed company within

the Bridgestone Group, Bridgestone South Africa Commercial (Pty)

Ltd. Part of the change is the introduction of accrediting selected

Supa Quick branches as Bridgestone Commercial accredited

dealers. Allowing customers to access Bridgestone Commercial

products through Bridgestone Commercial service centres or

accredited Supa Quick dealers.

Available at selected Supa Quick outlets

Tel: 011 387 2000 www.bridgestone.co.za

Sales and distribution of all new and retreaded truck, bus and earth

mover tyres will be spearheaded by a newly- formed company within

the Bridgestone Group, Bridgestone South Africa Commercial (Pty)

Ltd. Part of the change is the introduction of accrediting selected

Supa Quick branches as Bridgestone Commercial accredited

dealers. Allowing customers to access Bridgestone Commercial

products through Bridgestone Commercial service centres or

DWFC

OL 51

8530

www.bridgestone.co.za

46 |FOCUS| May 2015

van Eyslend explains: “We offered

to insure the loads for the

duration of Truck Test 2015.

Together with our insurer

partner, One Insurance, we were able to

sponsor the total cost of this insurance. PRS

has designed several custom-made transport

insurance solutions across various industry

segments. We consider our involvement in

Truck Test to be very valuable to our future

strategy and focus.”

He goes on to say: “The test provided

us with the opportunity to network with the

wider transport industry, while, at the same

time, gaining meaningful insights regarding

worthwhile product information. PRS will

definitely be at the FOCUS conference to

continue this networking process, and, of

course, to hear the results of the test.”

PRS was established in 2003. Today,

it manages in excess of R400 million in

premiums annually, and transacts with all

major insurance companies and underwriting

managers. It is authorised to conduct all

aspects of short-term insurance. This

includes a full insurance broking and risk

management service in respect of all

corporate, commercial and domestic

insurance, as well as self-funding alternatives.

“Choosing an insurance company should

be a positive experience, not a grudge

purchase, based on scare tactics and ‘what

if’ scenarios,” says Van Eyslend. “Our role as

a broker is to assist companies to proactively

take responsibility for their assets as part of

an overall financial management plan.”

With more than 100 years of combined

experience in the insurance industry, the

Phoenix team provides its clients with

competitive insurance or self-funding

solutions, and can design an insurance

programme to suit a company’s specific

needs.

The company’s vision of complete

customer focus remains of paramount

importance. PRS is totally independent and is

80 percent management owned. Its success

is determined by its ability to satisfy its clients’

needs.

PRS is an authorised financial services

provider and a member of the South African

Financial Intermediaries Association (FIA).

Furthermore, the company is committed

to developing people from disadvantaged

backgrounds, while not compromising its

client service. PRS carries a level-three BEE

verification.

“We have a special affinity for, and

in-depth understanding of, the small business

operator, who does not necessarily have a

culture of insuring against unforeseen risks.

At the same time, we are able to guide

corporate entities towards cost-effective

risk transfer or self-funding alternatives,”

concludes Van Eyslend. |FOCUS

Phoenix Risk Solutions (PRS), insurance broker to AfriSam Contractors, insured the loads – bags of

AfriSam cement – that were carried by the trailers during Truck Test 2015. CLAIRE RENCKEN speaks to

PRS director, Steve van Eyslend, about the company and its involvement in the event

TrUCKTeST 2015

rises... to the challengephoenix

Around 500 t of cement was insured for Truck Test 2015.

May 2015 |FOCUS| 47

TrUCKTeST 2015

“not only are we

producing our entire

local offering of FAW

trucks right here in

South Africa, but we’re doing so at the best

quality levels, comparable to – if not better

than – our FAW parent company in China,”

says Yusheng Zhang, CEO of FAW Vehicle

Manufacturers SA. “The range, consisting of

11 models, is being built in a plant, which came

on stream only in July last year.”

Zhang adds: “Since the opening of the

Coega plant, we officially started building our

own tipper bodies at our bodybuilding facility,

which became operational in January this year,

and is situated adjacent to our manufacturing

plant. This allows our customers to buy from

one source – simplifying warranties and

maintenance.”

The FAW local truck line-up includes the

ever-popular FAW 28.380 FT 6x4 truck

tractor, popularly called the FAW J5.

Many satisfied FAW customers swear by

this workhorse. One such happy customer

is Buks van Rensburg, managing director of

Buks Haulage Limited (BHL). These FAW units

are used in his 130-vehicle fleet. Last year he

ordered 100 of these units. Van Rensburg

sings the praises of the FAW 28.380 FT: “For

me there is only one truck that works in Africa

– that’s the J5.”

Asked about why he chose the FAW brand,

and the FAW 28.380 FT in particular, Van

Rensburg quickly dons the business executive

hat. “It’s simple – FAW provides cost-effective

ownership, together with a dependable and

easy-to-operate product and great after-sales

support. FAW’s products are easy to service

and maintain at our self-service depots in

Ndola and Solwezi, Zambia. Our drivers love

them and BHL gets optimul fleet efficiency.”

“Who can argue with 2,1 km per litre on

a side-tipper and 2,5 km per litre on a tri-axle

flat deck? Since I have incorporated the FAW

vehicles into my fleet, I have realised a ten

percent saving on fuel alone. On fleet utilisation

I have increased my uptime from 65 to 95

percent,” says a very satisfied Van Rensburg.

Late last year, FAW SA sprang into action to

assist Harrismith farmers after a devastating

fire in the region, which left livestock without

natural feed. “There are more FAW owners,

per capita, in the Harrismith area than in any

other municipal district,” says Zhang.

FAW SA purchased a large load of livestock

feed and had it delivered, by an impressive-

looking FAW 28.380 FT truck tractor, to

representatives of Free State Agriculture and

the Harrismith Disaster Relief Fund.

The FAW 28.380 6x4 truck tractor

was the perfect choice to run with the load

of emergency feed. It is a popular choice

among the farming community, because of its

durability and reliability, and the fact that it is

simple to maintain.

In its favour, it has a permissible gross

combination mass (GCM) of 56 t, which

is powered by the proven Weichai engine

(Euro 2) delivering a smooth 280 kW at

2 200 r/min and a torque rating of

1 460 Nm between 1 400 and 1 600 r/min.

The FAW 28.380 is fitted with a FAW nine-

speed synchromesh manual transmission with

high/low range split. The safety of the vehicle

is boosted with full air dual-circuit brakes.

This model carries the standard two-year/

200 000 km warranty, supported by over

30 sales or service outlets across southern

Africa.

“We’ve had a presence in South Africa

since 1994 – so this year marks our ‘rite

of passage’. Throughout this period, we

have demonstrated our commitment to this

country, our sales and service partners, and,

most importantly, to our loyal customers,”

says Zhang.

“The latest investment we are making

– to bring in an all-new medium-sized truck

range to the southern Africa customers – is

testament to our commitment. Over the last

four years, we have spent in excess of R800

million in this region – and our investment will

be ongoing.

“One of the reasons for our success has

been our relationships with many other world-

class partners. We take our partnerships

very seriously and we see our business

relationships within Africa as most important.

“Our fundamental vision for this region,

using South Africa as a base, is to ensure that

the FAW brand becomes a household name

across the length and breadth of this great

continent. In so doing, we hope to significantly

contribute to job creation and the general

stimulation of the local and African economies.

“The FAW 28.380 FT truck tractor is

helping us achieve this vision. Priced at a very

favourable R680 000 (excluding VAT) for the

FAW 28.380 FT chassis cab, FAW, will surely

make inroads into the local market,” concludes

Zhang. |FOCUS

FAW continues its trendsetting path in local truck manufacture. The company’s

local truck line-up includes the ever-popular FAW 28.380 FT 6x4 truck tractor

built locally with south african

pride

??????????

48 |FOCUS| May 2015

FOCUS OnFOreSTrY

Highly specialised and rugged equipment is used

in forestry operations. CLAIRE RENCKEN

takes a look at how Matriarch Equipment

came into being and what it has to offer

this sector

timber!

May 2015 |FOCUS| 49

in 2009, the Bell brothers – Justin

and Ashley – identified a gap in the

marketplace for high-quality, locally

produced handling equipment for the

timber industry, and so Matriarch Equipment

was born. The brothers set out with a vision of

developing loading and extraction machinery,

but decided that timber grapples were a good

product on which to “cut their teeth” in the

manufacturing game.

“We started from scratch and needed to

establish certain systems and processes within

the business in order to lay the foundation for

the development, manufacture and support of

our products going forward,” explains Ashley.

That turned out to be a good move ... In a short

time, their grapples have become a common

sight at timber harvesting sites and loading

depots around the country.

The initial plan was to develop only two

sizes – a 0,35 m² version and 0,41 m² version

– as these are commonly used in the timber

industry on tri-wheel loggers and trailer- or

truck-mounted cranes.

The MT360 (0,35 m²) and MT420

(0,41 m²) grapples were accepted so well

by the market that, soon after their launch in

February 2010, requests for larger capacity

grapples came pouring in.

“Grapples are high-wearing components

within a timber harvesting operation and should

be viewed as such,” says Justin. “There comes

a time when repairing an old grapple is not

financially viable in the short to medium term.”

Matriarch Equipment now produces nine

different models of timber grapples, from the

MT360 (0,35 m²) to the much larger MT1800

(1,8 m²). The company supplies grapples mostly

to the southern African market, but has, in the

past, also supplied to markets abroad, such as

Malaysia, Indonesia and South America.

Justin explains: “Matriarch grapples feature

a high-wear-resistant plate on the grapple jaws

and a top rotator mount plate, as well as

gussets on the grapple carrier. In addition, a

twin-link arm and central cylinder more evenly

distributes forces through the grapple carrier.

This superior geometry helps to reduce the

twisting force to prevent fatigue failure of pivot

bosses and uneven wear on pins and bushes.”

All pivoting components are secured by a

50 mm pin with taper locks. Taper caps expand

over the tapered ends of the pin and lock into the

bore of the plate. “Provided these pins remain

torqued up, as per our recommendation in

our installation/maintenance manual, minimal

wear will occur,” he adds. While greasing is

recommended at every shift, the grapples also

have perforated bushes to help to retain grease

in the pivot joints where it is required.

In 2012, the company outgrew its factory

in Richards Bay and moved into a new facility

on a farm near Empangeni. Then, a year ago,

Bell Equipment partnered with Matriarch

Equipment and the latter’s grapples are now

produced in Bell Equipment’s manufacturing

facility in Richards Bay. Matriarch grapples are

now being offered by Bell as an option in its

range of loggers.

Bell Equipment product marketing manager:

sugar, forestry and agriculture, Tim Beningfield,

says: “Matriarch’s compatible design philosophy

combined with Bell Equipment’s manufacturing

capability is a winning formula. While our

customers benefit from a modernised design

with important features, we are able to add a

superior product to our offering that has been

designed with the customer’s input provided

directly to the design engineers.”

At the same time, Matriarch’s slew loaders

were also added to Bell Equipment’s agricultural

offering. Back in 2011, Matriarch Equipment

built its first two prototype slew loaders, one of

which was converted for timber. It was tested

for loading timber at railway sidings and was

also used to do in-field loading of timber, proving

the machine’s versatility.

The original idea was to design the slew

loaders from scratch, but, in the end, the

Matriarch team decided to use an excavator

upper structure, coupled with a four-wheel-

drive undercarriage and 0,5 m2 timber grab

designed and built by Matriarch, which was

optimised for loading operations.

“The big advantage of our slew loaders is

that they are highly mobile, and can be used

at a depot or in the field, and they don’t need

a low-bed trailer to be moved from one site to

another,” explains Justin. The maximum travel

speed of the loader is 20 km/h.

In addition to the development and

manufacture of products, Matriarch Equipment

is also an importer and distributor of Indexator

Rotators from Sweden. Various heavy-duty

rotator models are offered by the company,

which also holds a comprehensive stock of

Indexator spare parts to ensure adequate

support of the product in the field.

Research and development (R&D) play a

major role in day-to-day operations at Matriarch

Equipment. “Without R&D we’re at risk of falling

behind the curve, so a great deal of emphasis

is placed on this area of the business,” says

Justin. The Bell brothers view innovation as the

key to the survival of the business in the long

term. |FOCUS

FOCUS OnFOreSTrY

50 |FOCUS| May 2015

River North Carriers is delighted with how John William’s Commercial Vehicles honours its agreements.

ServICeDeLIverY

John William’s Commercial VehiclesJohn William’s Commercial Vehicles

270 Church Street, Hamilton, Bloemfontein, 9300 | Tel: +27 51 409 3700 FSP License Number: 11338 | Level 3 BBBEE Contributor270 Church Street, Hamilton, Bloemfontein, 9300 | Tel: +27 51 409 3700 FSP License Number: 11338 | Level 3 BBBEE Contributor

fleet,” he points out. “The

transaction consisted of

trade-ins and a few new

purchases.”

De Bruin says that

he bought some vehicles

from a different brand as well; one which he

has been supporting for many years. “My loyalty

was met with poor service however,” he tells

FOCUS. “It was as if they got used to me and

didn’t want to bother.”

The transaction comprised specific

conditions on when the vehicles should be

delivered and how they should be painted,

amongst other things. “There were a lot of

criteria that they had to meet,” De Bruin

emphasises, adding that John William’s met

these ‘to the T’. “That really impressed me. The

other dealer delivered the units two weeks after

the deadline, however.”

He adds that John William’s, actually,

started on the back foot … “I had a bad

experience with a Mercedes-Benz dealer a few

years back, so I was rather sceptical at first –

John William’s had to work harder to persuade

me, given the background.”

It delivered stellar service, however, which

led to De Bruin adding nine Actros 2644s and

13 Axor 3340s to his fleet. Here there were

also some hurdles to overcome … ”The previous

batch that I bought, although they worked very

well, had a few problems – mainly on the fuel

consumption side.

“That was the only factor that made me

consider going with the other brand,” De

Bruin points out. “I went with Mercedes-Benz,

however, and was pleasantly surprised. The

problems were resolved in the new vehicles

and the fuel consumption is much better than

that of the old units.” He explains that these

deliver almost a 14 percent improvement on

fuel usage. “It has made a big difference and

I’m very glad that things worked out the way

they did.” |FOCUS

As any operator could testify, the transport

industry is filled with many hardships and narrow

profit margins … who you partner with could make

all the difference

going the extra mile …

no, reALLy!

“the customer is king”, and

“we go the extra mile” –

phrases that consumers

hear everyday … but how

many really deliver on these promises?

“Everyone says that they’re willing to go the

extra mile, but seldom do,” says Flip de Bruin,

owner of River North Carriers – an operator

that specialises in bulk transport of various

agricultural produce, such as potatoes, grain

and animal feed, countrywide. “Mercedes-Benz,

on the other hand, is different – it actually

delivers on this promise.”

He adds that he is absolutely delighted with

the service he received from the Mercedes-

Benz dealer in Bloemfontein; John William’s

Commercial Vehicles. “It’s really the first time

that I met a dealer that honours an agreement

and all special requests completely – from the

time of purchase to delivery.”

De Bruin’s fleet consists of products

from three different original equipment

manufacturers (OEMs), which he approached.

“I wanted to expand and went to all three

manufacturers that are represented in my

www.jwcommercialvehicles.co.za

May 2015 |FOCUS| 51

ServICeDeLIverY

John William’s Commercial VehiclesJohn William’s Commercial Vehicles

270 Church Street, Hamilton, Bloemfontein, 9300 | Tel: +27 51 409 3700 FSP License Number: 11338 | Level 3 BBBEE Contributor270 Church Street, Hamilton, Bloemfontein, 9300 | Tel: +27 51 409 3700 FSP License Number: 11338 | Level 3 BBBEE Contributor

Each original equipment manufacturer’s vehicles deliver some pros and cons … but, according to Sallie

Buonadonna, from the Buonadonna Group, after-sales service is king – it is even more important than

the unit itself

aftersales serVice

no, reALLy! is king!

“i personally believe that

after-sales service is more

important than the actual

vehicle,” Buonadonna

emphasises. “The vehicle is important, but

it’s useless if it isn’t running … you have to

keep it on the road, which is where after-sales

service comes into play.”

He continues: “We have a fleet of

Freightliners, which is the perfect truck for our

application. It delivers good fuel consumption

and has great after-sales service – the most

important factor of all.”

The Buonadonna Group specialises in

the tanker industry, transporting bulk flour

to various bakeries. “It’s a very specialised

transport service, but we also have flat-decks,

tautliners and tipper trucks that we use for

normal applications,” Buonadonna points out.

The company bought 11 new

Freightliners from John William’s

Commercial Vehicles when it expanded

its fleet. “I prefer vehicle uniformity,”

Buonadonna explains. “This enables the

technicians to familiarise themselves with

a specific vehicle, making servicing and

repairs much easier.”

He add that you really have to form a

partnership with the company from which

you buy your trucks. “The dealer can make

or break your business – your relationship

and after-sales service should really be

great.”

Buonadonna adds that the team at

John William’s have always treated him in

a professional manner and are there if he

needs them. “I also believe that they sell great

products.

“If I had to summarise my relationship

with this dealership in one phrase, it would

definitely be ‘peace of mind’.” |FOCUS

www.jwcommercialvehicles.co.za

52 |FOCUS| May 2015

the

milegreen

road transport is doing its

part to curb this trend by

implementing “cleaner”

technologies that run

on alternative fuels. This is not a new

development as Anthony King, key account

manager: alternative fuels at Scania South

Africa, explains.

“In terms of development, Scania’s

historical data of sustainable energy goes all

the way back to 1916, when we developed

our first ethanol engine. In 1929, Scania

developed its first gas engines …”

There are also ample examples of engines

that ran on steam and paraffin throughout

the ages. Unfortunately, fossil fuels won

the mobility war and development of these

“alternative” engines took a back seat –

until people realised that, although machines

running on fossil fuels ain’t broke, they do

need fixing …

“Looking at the future, climate change is

one of the main criteria pushing the need

for alternative fuel technology,” says King.

“We’re all occupying one planet and climate

change has an effect on all of us.”

It’s no wonder that improved engines

running on alternatives re-entered the

spotlight … “Scania’s biofuel technology is

available here and now,” King points out. “It is,

however, fairly new in South Africa and on the

African continent.”

Scania is changing this, however. “We

offer engines that run on 100 percent

bioethanol, biodiesel and biogas to reduce

greenhouse gases and running costs,” King

tells FOCUS. “Basically, we take our diesel

engine and, through our modular system,

ensure that it complies.”

He continues: “We offer two engines

in the gas department; one that runs

on compressed natural gas (CNG) or

biogas, which is normally used for inner-

city operations; and another that runs on

liquefied natural gas, which is used for longer

distances.”

The gas derivatives are also available in

Euro-6 specifications. These will be gracing

the South African transport scene from this

May onwards … “This month we will receive

the first ten Euro-6 CNG buses for Unitrans,

which has seen the need for vehicles that run

on alternative fuels and partnered with us,”

says King.

The vehicles, sporting Scania’s nine-

litre, 208 kW (280 hp) Euro-6 gas engine,

will be used in Virginia, in the Free State,

to transport workers to and from a mine.

“These vehicles are very significant to the

South African transport industry, as they will

create awareness and show government and

other industry players that this can be done,”

King emphasises.

These vehicles also need to have the

right standard of fuel … “One needs to make

sure that you develop the standard,” King

points out. “At the end of the day, that’s

what everyone is looking for – to ensure

that vehicles are operating and can be

fuelled with the appropriate fuel. They will

also look at how the service intervals are

managed.”

King continues: “Regarding

infrastructure development, Molopo

Exploration will be supplying us with the gas

and it is also looking at putting in a filling

facility in Bloemfontein.” The company will

expand these facilities to other cities in

Human-induced greenhouse gases are pushing our planet to its breaking point … The transport industry

has stepped up to the plate, however, and is doing its part to mitigate this, with South Africa now getting

onto the Euro-6 gas-powered (power)train

ALTernATIveFUeLS

»

May 2015 |FOCUS| 53

mile

ALTernATIveFUeLS

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54 |FOCUS| May 2015

ALTernATIveFUeLS

the country as soon as vehicle numbers

justify it.

“There is a definite mind shift taking

place in the South African transport industry,

especially on the bus tender side. People are

now asking for alternative fuels,” King points

out. “Scania is also receiving requests for

vehicles running on alternative fuel from the

waste management segment.”

This technology is available here

and now. More industry players need to

step up and embrace it. “We need to

partner with like-minded people looking for

sustainable solutions and, obviously, enter

into discussions with government about

how support for these types of fuels will be

implemented,” says King. “It is about looking

at these sustainable solutions and making

sure that – for South Africa – there is an

alternative in place.”

He continues: “When one looks

at alternative technology, it is not about

saying that you must have all the vehicles

on sustainable or green technology – that

would be utopia for sure – but it will definitely

make a difference if there is a percentage of

vehicles, or a small requirement in tenders,

which can grow over time.”

Scania is also continually progressing

with its green developments. “Looking

at future technology, from a European

perspective, we have driverless vehicles

and we’re looking at platooning – where

you can reduce drag as vehicles operate

very close to each other. We are also

busy with inductive wireless technology

in ‘electrified roads’, where the vehicles

can be charged by driving over a wireless

pad.”

King adds that these developments

are taking place in Sweden, and will then

be expanded into other areas. “We’re not

sitting still; we are definitely looking at all

the options that we can utilise for a greener

tomorrow.” |FOCUS

Gas buses, such as this one, will now be gracing the South African transport scene thanks to Unitrans and Scania.

??????????????

May 2015 |FOCUS| 55

Connecting Rod BearingsVery good shape showing minimal overlay removal and no copper underlay showing.

Delo® Testimonial:Freestate Petroleum DistributorsAchieves 1,000,000+ kilometres in a Freightliner® Truck using Delo® family of products.

Freestate Petroleum Transportation has been hauling petroleum products for over 20 years in the South African market and has grown to over 40 trucks in their fleet. They operate under severe conditions in the South African market with Freightliner trucks and Cummins ISX 500 engines burning 500ppm low sulphur diesel fuel under heavy loads of 56,000kg. They recently achieved 1,000,000+ km of total mileage in one of their trucks and wanted to see how the Delo® family of products protected the engine since its first use over 8 years ago.

Chevron and Freestate Petroleum personnel agreed to conduct an engine teardown and inspection of the Cummins ISX 500 engine in Bloemfontein, South Africa at the local OE Dealer. The engine burns diesel with sulphur content up to 500 parts per million and uses Caltex Delo® 400 Multigrade SAE 15W-40 and Delo® XLC Extended Life Coolant.

“We’re very excited about the performance of this truck. It was the first truck in our fleet that we acquired about 8 years back and it’s done about a million km and on the performance of this truck we acquired additional trucks. All our trucks run on Delo® 400 and their family of products,” says Jean Snyman, owner of Freestate Petroleum Distributors.

The final inspection overall showed a clean engine with minimal deposits and wear on the key engine components. The pistons showed minimal deposit buildup on the crown and top ring land zone. The camshaft lobes showed excellent wear protection and no visible wear scars on rollers or rocker arms. Bearings also were in very good shape with only small amounts of overlay removal – excellent for an engine with this many kilometres at high load.

“It’s hard to believe that this has been a vehicle that has gone over a million km with loads up to 56,000kg. There is minimal removal of overlay and just a couple of scratches where debris has gotten into the oil. This is reflective of the performance of Delo® 400,” says John Green – Chevron Technical Specialist.

Delo® XLC Extended Life Coolant also helps protect the engine cooling system on this truck. Inspection of the cooling system revealed that Delo® XLC prevented cavitation pitting on the liners and water pump impeller. The engine cooling system showed no signs of deposit buildup or corrosion on key metal parts.

“We’ve seen the condition of the million km engine only running on Delo® 400 and Delo® XLC Extended Life Coolant. The way they protected the engine, it would be hard not to recommend these products to any other customer,” says Johan Liebenberg, Sales Manager OE Dealer.

To learn how Delo’s family of products can help you go further, visit CaltexDelo.com.

Delo/5486/FOCUST&L

GLE 6413 (s&s 5486) Chevron Delo Fleet Testimonial Print 2015 Focus.indd 1 2015/04/15 9:58 AMProcess CyanProcess MagentaProcess YellowProcess Black

www.CaltexDelo.com

56 |FOCUS| May 2015

TrAILerS

“Essentially, any market sector involved

in the loading and unloading of machines or

transport of goods will have a demand for these

loading ramps. This includes, but is definitely

not limited to, industries such as construction

equipment and mining as well as logistics and

machine rental companies,” he notes.

In addition to minimal impact on payload,

the light weight of the ramps means they can

be manually lifted onto and off the carrier and

easily placed into position, eliminating the need

for special lifting equipment.

The design of the ramps features an

exclusive double T-section – a unique feature

that creates a very small surface, which

guarantees the highest bending strength from

the least weight.

The comprehensive Aluminium Loading

There is much happening in the trailer industry at the moment, specifically regarding the ability to load

them. FocUs explores

not

behindtrAiLing

Systems portfolio comprises more than 300

standard design types. All CLM products have

a one-year warranty.

Moving on to the lifting arena, Skyjacks

Tailifts and Ratcliff Tailifts recently announced

they have entered into a joint venture, which will

effectively combine 60 years of tailift knowledge,

research and development, and manufacture.

Warwick van Breda, MD at Skyjacks Tailifts,

says the companies’ directors believe this joint

venture will ensure the survival and growth

of the South African-manufactured tailift.

“Our combined existing customer bases, as

well as potential new customers, will benefit

significantly from the pooled customer support

that will provide both on- and off-site support for

all brands of tailift.”

A single manufacturing facility at SkyPark,

the first quarter of the year

has seen new entrants to the

trailer market, the formation of

joint ventures and more happy

customers taking to the streets with their

shiny new vehicles.

Entering the market is Modena-based

Italian aluminium ramp manufacturer CLM. The

company has appointed Johannesburg-based

Aluminium Loading Systems as its importer

and distributor for the sub-Saharan African

region.

Aluminium Loading Systems director,

Deryck Jordan, says that the ramps are

made of exceptionally high-strength and light-

weight aluminium. “This is a very important

consideration in the transport industry,

because of its influence on a carrier’s payload.

SPECIALIST MANUFACTURERS OF: Truck bodies and trailers that are relied upon by leading transport operators • Fibreglass dry freight and refrigerated

vehicles offering superior strength and corrosion resistant panels • New generation ‘Super Reefer Lite’ which offers a substantial weight reduction

Durban: 031 508 1000 I Johannesburg: 011 397 8993 I Cape Town: 021 959 7660Email: [email protected] I Website: www.serco.co.za

Supported by national manufacturing and after-sales repair service 36-month warranty.

30KEEP

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Durban: 031 508 1000 I Johannesburg: 011 397 8993 I Cape Town: 021 959 7660Durban: 031 508 1000 I Johannesburg: 011 397 8993 I Cape Town: 021 959 7660Durban: 031 508 1000 I Johannesburg: 011 397 8993 I Cape Town: 021 959 7660Durban: 031 508 1000 I Johannesburg: 011 397 8993 I Cape Town: 021 959 7660Supported by national

serco_ad_74x210.indd 1 2012/11/29 10:19 AM

Above: Serco and Imperial Logistics Refrigerated Services are continuing their 15-year relationship.

www.serco.co.za

??????????????

May 2015 |FOCUS| 57

SPECIALIST MANUFACTURERS OF: Truck bodies and trailers that are relied upon by leading transport operators • Fibreglass dry freight and refrigerated

vehicles offering superior strength and corrosion resistant panels • New generation ‘Super Reefer Lite’ which offers a substantial weight reduction

Durban: 031 508 1000 I Johannesburg: 011 397 8993 I Cape Town: 021 959 7660Email: [email protected] I Website: www.serco.co.za

Supported by national manufacturing and after-sales repair service 36-month warranty.

30KEEP

IN

G YOU COOL FOR 30 YEARSKEEPING YOU COOL FOR 30 Y

EARS

Durban: 031 508 1000 I Johannesburg: 011 397 8993 I Cape Town: 021 959 7660Durban: 031 508 1000 I Johannesburg: 011 397 8993 I Cape Town: 021 959 7660Durban: 031 508 1000 I Johannesburg: 011 397 8993 I Cape Town: 021 959 7660Durban: 031 508 1000 I Johannesburg: 011 397 8993 I Cape Town: 021 959 7660Supported by national

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in Anderbolt Extension, Boksburg, has been

purpose-built for the companies’ manufacture,

servicing and fitment of tailifts.

Imperial Logistics Refrigerated Services

(ILRS) recently took delivery of 35 Serco

refrigerated semi-trailers, the bulk of which will

be used to service a large deal recently won

with a frozen vegetable producer, while three

will operate in Namibia to distribute goods to

new food stores recently opened in the country

by Woolworths.

With a 15-year relationship between the

two companies, this order was only confirmed

during the middle of November 2014, thus

requiring intensive planning and commitment

from Serco to deliver as required.

“That we were awarded the entire order

and Imperial didn’t split it between two or

three suppliers was a huge coup for us,” says

Serco MD, Clinton Holcroft. “Our relationship

goes back a long way and we are proud

to be Imperial’s preferred supplier for new

refrigerated trailer requirements.”

All of the trailers are fitted with aluminium

rims, Electronic Braking Systems, stainless-

steel lockable door gears, and air-ride

suspension. Four of the trailers are fitted with

Thermo King multi-temperature units that

enable goods to be transported in different

compartments at different temperatures. The

balance of the trailers are standard single-

temperature cooling units.

In a bid to reduce its carbon footprint,

Imperial has had two of the trailers fitted

with Serco’s aerodynamic side skirts. It

will monitor the fuel consumption on these

vehicles and compare it with that of the

others in the fleet. |FOCUS

WHAT’S HAPPenInG In eUrOPe?

With 77 percent of all goods in Europe

moved by road (and most of it transported

on a trailer), automotive and transport

consulting group Clear International

has issued a new report forecasting

the demand for heavy-goods trailers in

Western Europe for the next few years.

In 2014, the Western European

trailer market saw an increase of

14,8 percent over the previous year.

The United Kingdom (UK) and Germany

both saw their markets increase by

5 000 units. Demand in Spain, France

and the Netherlands was up by more than

2 000 units.

Clear cites the UK as being interesting

– its trailer market increased by

27 percent to an all-time record level,

but its market for heavy trucks fell by

29 percent. “This can be explained by

the gross indulgence in Euro-5 trucks

at the end of 2013 leading to a loss of

truck appetite in 2014. In 2015 we can

expect the UK trailer market to fall as the

demand for trucks revives,” the agency

notes.

Clear’s theory is that the gloom

and doom of recent months has been

overdone and that confidence in the

European economy will return in 2015,

leading to substantial growth in the trailer

market in 2016.

Gary Beecroft, managing director of

Clear, says: “Trailer production, having

fallen by 8,7 percent from the 2011

level, increased by 12,9 percent in

2014. However, 10 000 trailers have

been wiped from the forecast, mainly

as a consequence of the conflict in

Ukraine.”

Light and strong, CLM aluminium ramps are now available locally.

www.hulamin.co.za

58 |FOCUS| May 2015

MArKeTrevIeW

QUArTerLY revIeW

This commentary reflects the state of

the South African truck market for all

commercial vehicles with gross vehicle

mass (GVM) ratings above 3 500 kg, as

reported to the National Association of

Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa

(Naamsa). In line with the current reporting

regime of that organisation, the market has

been divided into the following segments:

MCV – medium commercial vehicles,

3 501 to 8 500 kg GVM

HCV – heavy commercial vehicles, 8 501

to 16 500 kg GVM

EHCV – extra-heavy commercial vehicles,

16 501 kg GVM and above.

Buses – passenger vehicles, 8 501 kg

GVM and above.

The review period for this commentary is

the first quarter of 2015, i.e. January to

March, 2015 inclusive.

These reviews are presented on a

quarterly timescale, in order to reduce the

impact of short-term market distortions,

which are often created by specific bulk-

buy deliveries, the launch of new products,

and/or the run-out of obsolete product

ranges.

The year has kicked off on a relatively high note, says FRANK BEETON,

in his report on commercial vehicle sales in the first quarter of 2015

it was noted, with considerable regret,

that Mercedes-Benz South Africa has

continued the practice of reporting only

aggregated monthly sales data, for its

Mercedes-Benz, Freightliner and Mitsubishi

Fuso commercial vehicle brands, to the national

Department of Trade and Industry through the

first quarter of 2015.

Consequently, the National Association

of Automobile Manufacturers (Naamsa) has

estimated the breakdown of these aggregated

sales to individual model and variant levels.

The following analysis has processed the

resulting data recognising that it is the

most accurate reflection of the true market

composition available at this point in time.

Readers should please bear this situation in

mind when comparing this qualified analysis

and its conclusions with previous articles in

FOCUS on Transport and Logistics’ series of

market reviews.

The published results indicated that the

market had absorbed a total volume of 7 213

units during the first quarter of 2015, which

were 12,3 percent fewer than the sales

recorded in the final quarter of 2014, but only

0,7 percent less than the equivalent outcome in

the initial quarter of 2014.

During January and February, 2015, the

market had been characterised by relatively

poor deliveries, but this was largely the result

of UD Trucks’ progressive delivery run-out of its

U41 Series over this period.

Initially, it appeared that the remaining

suppliers had not been able to fill the vacuum,

but, by March, matters had stabilised

somewhat, and the total market sales volume of

3 055 units for that month was the best single

month outcome recorded since July 2008,

when sales of 3 227 units were reported.

In fact, the performance of the aggregated

segments above 8 500 kg gross vehicle mass

(GVM) for the January to March period revealed

year-on-year growth of 3,7 percent, when

compared to the same group of segments’

equivalent first quarter performance in 2014.

The market outcome for the first quarter

of 2015 has been, to some extent, surprisingly

strong, given the generally subdued mood in the

local manufacturing community, as reflected in

the most recent report and outlook published

by the Kagiso Purchasing Manager’s Index.

However, anecdotal evidence suggests that

local businesses are currently holding significant

cash reserves, and the truck market may well

be benefiting from a tendency for operators

negatiVe mood,

market?positive

May 2015 |FOCUS| 59

to utilise this cash for fleet replacement and

acquisition activities, rather than investments

in bricks and mortar.

Rand exchange rate deterioration against

the United States dollar has not been mirrored

by similar losses against other truck-sourcing

currencies, and interest rates have been

holding steady at historically low levels, making

vehicle acquisition an attractive proposition.

The EHCV and bus segments have

continued to perform well, with the former

1,4 percent ahead of its equivalent first

quarter 2014 volume by the end of March,

and the latter 3,7 percent ahead in the same

comparison.

The EHCV outcome is surprisingly positive,

given stated concerns by some suppliers that

the recent drop in global commodity prices

has impacted on the export volumes moving

out of South African mines, which, in turn, has

necessitated some diversion of truck tractors

normally engaged in mineral transportation to

other work.

However, increasing evidence of shortened

replacement cycles – to take advantage of

the predictable operating overheads provided

by maintenance contracts and buyback

arrangements – has been evident. This factor

should continue to add some impetus to the

EHCV segment, in particular, until it becomes

standard practice in the industry.

The bus situation has continued to benefit

from ongoing deliveries of large-scale orders

to local authorities rolling out integrated

transport networks and bus rapid transit (BRT)

operations.

SeGMenTATIOn DYnAMICSThe premium-payload EHCV segment has

maintained its position as the market leader

during the first quarter of 2015, having

improved its share of the total market from

40,4 percent in the preceding quarter to

43,5 percent in this review period.

Conversely, the entry-level MCV segment

fell away slightly, from the 36,8 percent level of

market share recorded in the last three months

of 2014, to 34,9 percent in the January to

March 2015 period. This was mainly due to

the supply constraint situation described in the

previous section.

There was some evidence that the

cruiserweight HCV segment had benefited

slightly from reduced product availability in

the adjacent MCV grouping, in that it grew in

volume terms by 9,8 percent, over its equivalent

first quarter 2014 performance. This was,

however, not sufficient to arrest a slight decline

in market share from 18,5 percent in the final

quarter of 2014, to 18,1percent in this review

period.

The passenger bus segment, at 3,9

percent total market penetration in the most

recent three-month period, was slightly off the

4,3 percent recorded in the final quarter of

2014, but this grouping has continued to run

at levels typical of its performance since early

2012.

The first quarter review of application

performance levels within the MCV segment

has freight carriers at 56,8 percent, integral

vans at 37,2 percent, tippers at 4,1 percent

and buses at 1,9 percent.

This outcome reflects a further weakening

of the freight-carrier share, down from just

under 70 percent in the third quarter of 2014,

and 63,7 percent in the fourth quarter of

that year. It is notable that this is the area of

the segment where the withdrawal of the UD

product has had the greatest impact.

Inevitably, a reduction in freight-carrier

segment share will create a mirror-image

increase for integral vans, which increased

their penetration from 31,4 percent in the final

quarter of 2014, to the level indicated above.

The results for the bus and tipper categories

are still subject to the less than perfect

market reporting, which does not reflect the

aftermarket conversion of integral van units

into ambulances and midibuses, or the bodying

of freight-carrier chassis/cab units as tippers,

or commuter buses. These conversions are,

therefore, not evident in this analysis.

MAnUFACTUrer PerFOrMAnCePlease refer to the accompanying chart, which

illustrates the relative market performance and

ranking of each participating manufacturer in

the quarter just completed, as compared to the

returns for the immediately preceding quarter.

The groupings contained in this section

of the report are based on the rule that, if »

MArKeTrevIeW

MANUFACTURER QUARTERLY PERFORMANCE 2015

Manufacturer MCV Units HCV UnitsEHCV Units

Bus Units Total UnitsMarket Share Market Position

This Quarter Last Quarter This Quarter Last QuarterMercedes-Benz SA 574 160 1 026 63 1 823 25,27 21,22 1 1Change 4,05 0Volvo Group SA 51 282 694 17 1 044 14,47 18,08 2 2Change -3,61 0Toyota/Hino 601 291 114 0 1 006 13,95 12,5 3 4Change 1,45 1Isuzu/GMSA 372 304 120 5 801 11,10 15,57 4 3Change -4,47 -1Scania 0 0 520 51 571 7,92 5,64 5 6Change 2,28 1MAN Group 0 23 278 129 430 5,96 6,98 6 5Change -1,02 -1Iveco 262 11 95 3 371 5,14 4,68 7 8Change 0,46 1Tata 102 131 78 11 322 4,46 3,81 8 7Change 0,65 -1Volkswagen Comm 291 0 0 0 291 4,03 4,55 9 8Change -0,52 -1FAW 0 95 64 0 159 2,20 1,64 10 10Change 0,56 0Ever Star 0 0 122 0 122 1,69 1,09 11 12Change 0,60 1AMH/AAD 73 0 0 0 73 1,01 1,41 12 11Change -0,40 -1JMC 72 0 0 0 72 1,00 0,83 13 13Change 0,17 0Ford 56 0 0 0 56 0,78 0,64 14 15Change 0,14 1Babcock/DAF 0 0 34 0 34 0,47 0,68 15 14Change -0,21 -1Fiat 24 0 0 0 24 0,33 0,35 16 16Change -0,02 0Peugeot 10 0 0 0 10 0,14 0,27 17 17Change -0,13 0VDL 0 0 0 4 4 0,06 0,05 18 18Change 0,01 0Citroën 0 0 0 0 0 0,00 0,00 n/a n/aChange 0,00 n/aTotals 2 488 1 297 3 145 283 7 213 n/a 100

60 |FOCUS| May 2015

MArKeTrevIeW

a manufacturer/group sells more than one

brand through its distribution channels, then all

sales for those brands will be consolidated in

the result for the manufacturer/group.

Thus, Mercedes-Benz SA (MBSA) includes

Freightliner and Fuso. Toyota/Hino contains

both brands. MAN includes Volkswagen

(VW) (Constellation) trucks and Volksbus

passenger units, but not VW commercial

vans (listed separately). Volvo Trucks includes

Volvo Buses, UD Trucks, and Renault Trucks,

and, starting with this review, Ever Star

groups together Powerstar and Powerland

products.

Please note that, owing to Naamsa’s

estimation of Mercedes-Benz, Freightliner and

Fuso sales, as well as the resulting total market

and individual segment volumes, we have not

commented on supplier market shares, as

these are factually unknown. The market shares

listed in the chart are, therefore, not necessarily

accurate, but included only for continuity. Our

comments below will, therefore, concentrate

only on absolute sales volumes and overall

market positions for each individual supplier.

Mercedes-Benz SA (MBSA)

Within the limitations just explained, we have

concluded that the Mercedes-Benz family has

maintained its long-running market leadership

position into the first quarter of 2015, with an

estimated volume increase of 4,5 percent over

its final quarter 2015 performance.

It is also still not possible to comment

accurately on the individual market

performances of the constituent Mercedes-

Benz, Freightliner and Fuso brands. MBSA

is introducing a new Actros 2646LS/33

variant to the EHCV segment. It has also

recently launched new midibus/commuter bus

chassis sourced from Fuso and Daimler India

Commercial Vehicles.

The arrival of the latter, designated

OF 917RF, raises the possibility that

some BharatBenz products may be under

consideration for the local market, given

continuing frustrations over future clean fuel

availability.

A total of 64 new city buses were scheduled

for delivery to George by February, and MBSA

is planning to bring CNG and dual-fuel buses to

the South African market.

Volvo Group Southern Africa

As noted previously, the UD Trucks component

of the Volvo Group has been running out its

U41 MCV range during the review period,

while stablemate Renault was simultaneously

switching from broad EHCV segment coverage

to a more application-specific line-up.

The timing of these strategic actions has

resulted in a 30 percent reduction in the

Group’s sales volume in the first quarter of

2015, when compared to its result in the

immediately preceding quarter. This has left

the Group with a rather tenuous hold on the

runners-up position in the market, which it has

consistently held since consolidated reporting

of Volvo, Renault and UD sales began in 2013.

The initial quarter of 2015 has, therefore,

witnessed the first tangible outcomes of Volvo

Group constituent brand repositioning, with

Renault now specialising in the construction,

and long-haul sectors with its K and C-ranges,

while UD Trucks has exited the MCV segment

without the immediate availability of a successor

product.

During this period, UD Trucks launched

its Thai-sourced Quester “emerging markets”

EHCV range at an impressive event in the

Waterberg, marking this brand’s initial entry to

the 8x4 and 6x2 categories within the EHCV

segment.

The Volvo Group also opened its impressive

regional parts distribution centre located in

Ekhuruleni, during March, as part of its policy of

combining back-office functions for all members

of its family. Its Durban plant was also upgraded

to assemble the latest-generation Renault

trucks.

There has been much talk of a local market

entry by the Group’s Indian operation, Volvo

Eicher, later this year, although no specific

details have yet been revealed.

Hino/Toyota

Toyota SA’s truck specialist division suffered a

2,1 percent decline in reported volumes in the

comparison between this review period and the

preceding quarter, but nevertheless achieved

promotion in the overall market rankings from

fourth to third position.

Notably, the combination of Toyota Dyna

and Hino 300 Series products managed to

achieve overall leadership of the MCV segment

during the quarter just completed, and the

planned introduction of additional automatic

transmission and crew-cab variants to this

range should strengthen its position even

further.

Hino’s push for greater penetration of

the EHCV segment with its 700 Series has

been underpinned by the deployment of EHCV

specialist salesmen in dealerships, together

with the promotion of maintenance plans, a

used-truck programme and a buyback facility.

Isuzu Truck SA (ITSA)

ITSA was relegated from third to fourth position

in the first quarter 2015 market rankings,

on the back of a 37,4 percent reduction in

absolute sales volume when compared to its

Tata officially introduced its Prima during the first quarter.

May 2015 |FOCUS| 61

MArKeTrevIeW

performance in the final quarter of 2014. This

was caused almost entirely by a more than

50 percent reduction in MCV category

N-Series deliveries, which had been bolstered,

in late 2014, by large-scale deliveries to a major

bakery group.

In sharp contrast, Isuzu’s HCV and EHCV

volumes held steady in the review period, to the

extent that the Japanese brand was the overall

leader of the former category over the January

to March period.

Scania

Scania’s success story in the South African

truck market continued unabated into the

initial quarter of 2015, when the Swedish

brand was promoted from sixth to fifth position

in the market standings, having achieved a

23 percent increase in reported volume sales

over its fourth quarter 2014 outcome.

Scania is currently placing considerable

emphasis on driver education in its promotional

activities, and is deploying industry-specific

specialists within its sales force. The

manufacturer is also launching an optimised

construction range made up of 6x4 and 8x4

tippers/mixers during 2015.

MAN Group

The MAN Group’s first quarter 2015 sales

volume finished a very substantial 25 percent

off its final quarter 2015 level, due primarily to

a 34 percent reduction in EHCV deliveries, with

HCV and bus volumes remaining steady. This

resulted in demotion from fifth to sixth position

in the market standings.

Most of the volume reduction was suffered

by the parent MAN brand, but it was notable

that subsidiary marque, Volkswagen, was able

to achieve a 22,6 percent volume improvement

in comparison with its previous quarter result,

mainly due to the more than doubling of its

bus deliveries. However, the performance

of its Constellation truck range was very

disappointing, with only seven EHCV units sold,

and no units reported in the HCV segment.

The Group recently opened a new truck

and bus dealer outlet, for both MAN and

Volkswagen products, to the east of Tshwane,

and Imperial Cargo announced the purchase of

60 TGS 26.440 truck tractors on a 36-month/

600 000 km rental agreement.

MAN is launching a new 500+ hp (373 kW)

TGX tractor variant during 2015, together with

its RR9 rear-engined high-floor bus chassis.

Iveco

Iveco’s volume performance fell away slightly

during the first quarter, when compared to

its result in the preceding review period, with

3,6 percent fewer reported deliveries,

although it was able to achieve an

improvement from eighth to seventh position

in the overall market rankings.

Iveco’s recent promotional activities have

been centred mainly on the manufacturer’s

participation in the 2015 Dakar rally, and the

ramping up of production at its recently opened

Rosslyn joint-venture facility.

Tata

Tata’s first quarter 2015 performance

included sales volume growth of 2,9 percent

over its October to December 2014 outcome,

but also the giving up of one market ranking

position from seventh to eighth place. Tata

has been progressively fleshing out its local

product range to obtain more comprehensive

market coverage. It is evident that its Prima

“World Truck” series has played an increasingly

important role in the marque’s EHCV sales

reporting since the first examples were retailed

in May, 2014.

FAW

Chinese manufacturer FAW recorded an

impressive 17,8 percent gain in sales volume

in the comparison between the first quarter

of 2015, and the final quarter of 2014, thus

consolidating the tenth position in the market

rankings that the brand held throughout 2014.

FAW, which is currently celebrating the

21st anniversary of its presence in the South

African market, recently brought the truck

bodybuilding shop at its Coega, Eastern Cape,

plant into operation.

Ever Star

With the first retail reporting of Powerland

branded products during the month of

February, 2015, it has become appropriate to

create a profile for the Ever Star group in this

review, as it now distributes both the Powerstar

(Bei Ben) and Powerland (Shaanxi) brands in

this market.

Overall, the new group improved on

the stand-alone Powerstar fourth quarter

2014 volume performance by a margin of

35,6 percent, and has moved from 12th to

11th position in the market standings.

With the introduction of the Powerland

range, and increasing emphasis being

placed on Powerstar’s premium V3 2646

in the local market, it is evident that this

Group is now broadening its focus outside

of its traditional participation (mainly in the

construction and mining sectors) to include

the targeting of medium and long-distance

haulage applications.

AMH/AAD

The Imperial Group’s commercial vehicle

operation recorded 37 percent fewer deliveries

during the review quarter, than had been the

case during the final three months of 2014.

This resulted in a fall from 11th to12th position

in the market rankings.

During the first quarter, the group initiated

local assembly of the Hyundai H100 pickup at

its Apex assembly facility, and announced that

it was planning to bring the H350 range of

MCV segment panel vans, chassis-cabs and

midibuses to the local market.

JMC

JMC retained its 13th position in the market

rankings during the review quarter, having

improved its volume performance by a margin

of 5,9 percent over its fourth quarter, 2014,

outcome. This Chinese brand continues to be

represented only in the MCV segment of the

local market.

Babcock/DAF

With reported sales of 34 units in the January

to March 2015 period, Babcock/DAF fell

39 percent short of its previous quarter

performance, and was relegated from 14th to

15th position in the overall market rankings. It

has been reported that Babcock plans to hold

built-up stock of mixer and tipper models to

encourage construction sector sales, and has

recently added a 4x2 truck-tractor derivative to

its local product line-up. »

62 |FOCUS| May 2015

MArKeTrevIeW

VDL

Bus chassis specialist supplier VDL recently

announced product enhancements to its front-

engined bus chassis range, while recording first

quarter 2015 sales of four units; this being

equal to its performance during the preceding

quarter.

European van manufacturers

Of the five vehicle manufacturers that have

regularly participated in the MCV segment of

this market with European-sourced integral

vans and their spun-off derivatives, only Citroën

has not recorded any sales during the past two

quarters, and the French concern appears to

have terminated its local participation in the

category.

Of the remaining four participants, only

Ford, with its Transit/Tourneo family of vans

and people movers, recorded an improved

performance in the first quarter of 2015 over

the preceding review period, with a 5,7 percent

increase in absolute volume, and promotion

from 15th to 14th position in the rankings.

All of Volkswagen Commercials, Peugeot,

and Fiat suffered quarter-on-quarter volume

losses, to the tune of 22,2 percent, 55 percent

and 17,2 percent respectively. In the process,

Volkswagen gave up one market ranking

position to end the first quarter in ninth position,

while Peugeot and Fiat held on to their final

quarter 2014 rankings of 17th and 16th,

respectively.

Non-reporting manufacturers

Readers should note that local sales volumes

of several commercial vehicle brands, including

Dong Feng, Yutong, Foton and Ashok Leyland,

are not yet reported to Naamsa, and are,

therefore, excluded from the comments and

data contained in this report.

GenerAL MArKeT COMMenTSPublished comments by supply industry

management have generally included

predictions for a flat year in the 2015 truck

market, with some outlooks of negative

outcomes for individual segments.

The general business mood in the country,

at present, is not particularly positive. There

is much focus on the inability of Eskom to

provide continuous and reliable power supply,

while the unstable situation in the trade union

environment, typified by in-fighting and position

taking, suggests that the threat of prolonged

and disruptive strike action in the private and

public sectors is very real.

However, as noted previously, those

portions of the market that have not been

fettered by availability issues are showing year-

on-year growth of just less than four percent at

the end of the first quarter. It can be rationally

expected that the remaining participants in

the MCV segment will take urgent steps to

fill any gaps left by withdrawals. It can also be

expected that the Volvo Group will take action

to restore its broad market coverage, and this

will lead to increased levels of competition for

MCV sales.

If the current level of cumulative growth

in the segments over 8 500 kg GVM

is maintained, and the MCV category regains

its momentum, a final full-year 2015 market

outcome totalling some 32 500 units will

become a realistic expectation. |FOCUS

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May 2015 |FOCUS| 63

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64 |FOCUS| May 2015

nAMPOPrevIeW

if you haven’t done it already, set aside

May 12 to 15, for South Africa’s

premiere agricultural trade show – the

Nampo Harvest Day. Like every Nampo

show before it – since its inception in 1967 –

the 2015 instalment promises to be bigger

and better than ever.

Nampo Park, located just outside the Free

State town of Bothaville, is again expected

to host in the region of 70 000 visitors (last

year’s show attracted 69 644) and upwards

of 650 exhibitors on its 187 690 m2 of

exhibition space.

For exhibitors – of which the transport

and commercial vehicle industry makes up

a considerable percentage – the benefits

are clear … Statistics provided by Nampo

organiser Grain SA show that 88 percent

of visitors say they attend to view new

products, 61 percent to actually buy products,

52 percent to make buying decisions and

52 percent to build networks.

And don’t think it’s just a few farm animals

and tractors on display either … exhibitors

include our industry’s own commercial

vehicle original equipment manufacturers,

the aforementioned agricultural machinery,

banking and financial institutions and

information technology providers.

One such company is Babcock, the

exclusive distributor of Volvo and SDLG

construction equipment in southern Africa. It

will be exhibiting a range of machinery at its

900 m2 stand including the Volvo EC300DL

tracked excavator, Volvo backhoe and wheel

loaders, as well as SLDG wheel loaders and

graders.

“We were very excited about the response

we received from visitors to Nampo last year,

and, based on this success, we’ve invested

even more into the displays on our 2015

stand,” says David Vaughan, sales director,

equipment. “In this area, our main customer

sectors are agriculture and diamond mining,

and we’re focusing on providing them with a

wider range of choices.”

Exhibitors from Argentina, America, Israel,

France, Italy, Brazil, Denmark and China (60

exhibitors at this stage) will also show off their

wares.

The show will also provide a full array of

entertaining activities, including: interactive

tractor and implement demonstrations,

a plough competition, judging of farmer’s

patents and 4x4 vehicle demonstrations.

According to Wim Venter, Nampo Harvest

Day administration officer, the success of the

event can be attributed to the networking

opportunities it provides and the platform it

creates for new and improved technology in

the agricultural market.

“And, we mustn’t forget the fact that

agriculture is, after almost 50 years, still the

main focus of the show,” he boasts.

That doesn’t mean it’s the same thing year

after year, either ... “For the first time, we will

have seed plots on the terrain where seed

exhibitors have an extension of their product,”

Venter explains.

Getting around the venue will also be made

easier this year as a transport system will be

available for the public. “We are looking at

three routes on the terrain with two trailers

on each route,” Venter explains.

As usual, gates open at 07:00 and close

at 17:00, while tickets will cost R90 on

the Tuesday and Friday and R100 on the

Wednesday and Thursday. For the first time,

exhibitors and the public can also buy tickets

online through TicketPro. |FOCUS

The annual Nampo Harvest Day is one of the biggest agricultural

shows in the world. It’s one that should never be missed – and this

year will be no different

extraordinaireFArming

May 2015 |FOCUS| 65

nAMPOPrevIeWMArKeTrevIeW

• Green tyres showed a 7,93 percent fuel saving over the Black tyres• Green tyres showed a 5,12 percent fuel saving over the

Re-grooved tyres• Re-grooved tyres showed a 3,03 percent fuel saving over the Black

truck tyres

According to Jim Campbell, technical management consultant at Road Transport and Logistics, “The tests were conducted in such a manner that the results generated can be considered correct within acceptable levels of accuracy, and the final fuel-consumption figures can be considered as true reflection of the performance of the tyres for the duration of the tests.”

The tyres on your truck can have an enormous effect on the amount of fuel the truck consumes, and by choosing Green tyres you can reduce your fuel bill. To calculate the rand value of the saving, we look at a transport company with a fleet of 100 trucks:

• Distance covered by fleet: 14 400 000 km per year• Fuel consumption: 1,6 litres per km• Fuel price: R11,29 per litre*• Fuel bill: R260 121 600 (distance x consumption x fuel price)• Fuel saving using Green tyres: 7,93 percent • Rand value of total fuel saved: R20 627 643**

Michelin is committed to ongoing research and development to produce the best quality tyres that will give you the best performance and will be more cost effective in the long run.

*Based on the price of diesel on April 1, 2015.

**Calculated on the above simulated transport company. Figures will vary.

Please contact Michelin Tyre Company South Africa for more information. Customer Service: 0860 100 480.

Michelin Tyre Company SA conducted a fuel consumption test from June 30, 2014 to July 2, 2014 to prove that one’s fuel bill can be reduced by using Michelin “Green” tyres.

To ensure that the fuel consumption test was conducted accurately, three identical trucks were used: The Mercedes Benz Actros 2644/S33 truck tractors; each pulling identical two-axle interlink curtainside trailers carrying identical payloads.

For the pre-test, all vehicles were fitted with Michelin XZ All Road tyres as the baseline. These were used to eliminate any variances the trucks might have had.

The tyres on all three vehicles were the same size and dimensions (315/80 R22.5) and had the same pressure per position. Each set of tyres was rotated between the trucks at the turnaround depot. The three sets of tyres used to conduct the test were: XZ All Road and XDE2+ (Black), X Line Energy Z& D (Green) and, XZ All Road (New) and XDE2+ (Re-grooved).

Each truck travelled an identical route three times, using each set of tyres once. Each truck was equipped with a GPS and a fuel flow meter to measure fuel consumption. These instruments were used to provide accurate information on the total fuel used, as well as the speed and distance covered for the duration of the test.

Of a truck’s total fuel usage, 50 percent is used to power the truck and 20 percent is used to overcome the mechanical and aerodynamic forces, while 30 percent is used to overcome rolling resistance of the tyres.

Rolling resistance can’t be eliminated, but, depending on the tyres used, it can be reduced. The results of the fuel tests proved that the “Green” Michelin X-Line energy range is the most fuel-efficient of the Michelin tyre ranges.

How fuel efficient are your tyres?

Tyres Services Batteries Shock-absorbers Brakes WheelsAccessories

66 |FOCUS| May 2015

ITOYeXCLUSIve

in Finland, the total timber truck

market ranges between 150 and 250

new trucks per year. On average, these

trucks are changed every five years,

and reach a total mileage of 150 000 to

250 000 km per year. In 2013 the Finnish

Government approved the new weight limit

on the basis of a proposal of the Ministry of

Transportation. These are the details of two

of the biggest and baddest ...

vOLvO TrUCKS FH 16-750 rAnGeThe FH 16 combination is made up of a four-

axle truck – with a 16,1-litre D16K 558 kW

(750 hp), 3 550 Nm peak torque engine

– and a five-axle trailer. According to Finnish

regulation, the 76 t GCW is allowed for (at

least) a nine-axle combination, provided that at

least 65 percent of the mass of the trailer is

on axles fitted with twin tyres.

The FH 16-750 is fitted with several

timber-truck-specific technical features. It’s

a full-pneumatic suspension 8x4 rigid, with

second liftable axle. The full-pneumatic solution,

which is gaining more and more success

among Volvo timber trucks, now accounts for

85 percent of Volvo timber trucks sale

volumes in Finland (where Volvo has about

50 percent of the total market in this segment).

Five years ago, the percentage of full-

pneumatic suspension was no more than five

percent. The full-pneumatic solution allows

the driver to lift an axle to increase the grip of

driven axles. In addition, the driver can dump

air from the suspension of one of the driven

axles to increase the grip of the other.

Other technical features of the FH 16-750

timber truck include special software for

Volvo’s I-shift automated transmission, to cope

with the extremely demanding conditions of

timber transport along narrow and sometimes

inadequate forest roads. Moreover, the truck

is fitted with a hill-holder system, differential

lock, sand splitter device (to increase the grip

of driven axles) and a timber crane.

Another key feature of the FH 16-750

timber truck is Volvo’s dynamic steering, which

automatically dampens the irregularities of

road surfaces, such as compacted snow or

ice slabs. This decreases the driver’s workload,

because he does not have to compensate for

such irregularities.

Along public and narrow forest roads

Dynamic steering really makes the difference.

Despite the longer dimension (24 m long)

and higher centre of gravity (4,4 m maximum

height), the nine-axle truck-trailer combination

proved to be easy to drive and stable, because

the five-axle, twin-tyre trailer followed the truck

smoothly, without any problem.

In Finland, nine-axle, 76-t GCW, longer truck-trailer combinations are becoming increasingly popular.

This is the story of two such monster trucks: a Volvo Trucks FH 16-750 timber truck and

a Sisu Polar gravel dump truck

“monster”trucks in the arctic

May 2015 |FOCUS| 67

As regular readers of FOCUS know, this magazine has been appointed an associate member of the International Truck of the Year (IToY)! FOCUS is the sole South African magazine to have joined this prestigious body. One of the advantages of this association is access to exclusive articles, specially written for FOCUS by ITOY jury members. This is one such article.

2014

In Finland, we experienced a standard

working day of a timber truck from Kontio – a

world market leader, loghouse production HQ

in Pudasjärvi, 700 km north of Helsinki – to an

Arctic pine forest and back. Climate conditions

were pretty good, because of the sun and a

relatively mild temperature by Finnish winter

standards (-17° C).

According to experienced timber truck

drivers, the most demanding conditions

occur on icy and slippery surfaces when the

temperature is around zero and in deep-frozen

conditions, when temperature drops to -35

or even -40° C. In those circumstances, the

natural rubber of Scandinavian winter tyres

becomes tougher and friction on slippery

surfaces becomes more problematic.

During the empty trip, from Kontio HQ

to the Arctic pine forest, we got stuck in the

soft snow of a narrow forest road. We tried –

without any result – to lift an axle to increase

the grip of the driven axles of our 8x4 timber

truck. Then, we tried to clear the snow from

driven axles using a shovel. We also tried to

reposition the trailer, using the timber crane

fitted on the truck. Since we achieved no

result, we asked for help ... a snowplough finally

solved our problem.

Loading cut-to-length tree trunks,

prepared by a harvester, takes about 30

minutes in standard operating conditions.

Roundwoods trucks are typically owned by

family enterprises situated in the countryside,

where the entrepreneur actively participates.

According to 2010 statistics, there are

about 900 timber trucking entrepreneurs,

employing 2 600 truck drivers, with a fleet of

1 700 trucks. The average number of trucks

per enterprise is less than two.

SISU POLAr eUrO-6 rAnGeThe second 76-t nine-axle combination tested

in Finland was a Sisu Polar Rock gravel truck-

trailer, 21,89 m in length. The 10x4 rigid

was fitted with a Euro-6, six-in-line, 15,6-litre

Mercedes-Benz OM 473 engine. It is rated at

465 kW (625 hp) and 3 000 Nm peak torque,

and features a high-performance engine brake.

Engine power is transmitted to rear axles

by a Mercedes-Benz Powershift 3,16-speed

automated transmission – as in the vehicle

under test – or by an optional Eaton Fuller

RTLO22198B 18-speed unsynchronised

manual gearbox.

The Sisu Polar 10x4 proved to be easy

to manoeuvre, thanks to its three steering

axles. The first axle can be steered by 30°,

the second by 16°, while the fifth can be

counter-steered by 13°. In this configuration,

the turning radius of the entire 21,89 m

combination is 12,5 m.

On uneven surfaces, such as compacted

snow and/or ice slabs, or during tight

manoeuvres with a 76 t GCW, the Servotwin

steering system with electronic power steering

makes the difference in terms of comfort

for the driver (because less corrections of

the steering wheel are needed) and vehicle

handling. The OM 473 engine brake, with a

maximum braking power of 475 kW, can

substitute foundation brakes in 90 percent of

the operating conditions.

Despite the full-mechanical suspension

system, driving comfort in on-road applications

proved to be quite high. Sisu Polar features

two frame heights: 300 mm U-profile with

inner reinforcement, and 460 mm C-profile for

heavy-duty tasks.

Cab, engine, transmission and core

electrical/electronic systems of the Sisu

Polar are based on Mercedes-Benz Arocs

technology. The Sisu Polar line-up includes

Sisu Rock dump trucks, Sisu Works road

maintenance trucks, Sisu Timber timber

trucks, Sisu Roll demountable trucks and

Sisu Carrier machine transport trucks. In

addition to these models, Sisu Work plus is

now available, which features a combination

of road maintenance and demountable

applications. |FOCUS

“monster”

HeAvIer COMBInATIOnS In FInLAnD

The 76-t nine-axle combinations are not

the heaviest in Finland. Five special permits

for 33-m, 80-t truck-combinations have been

granted, so far, to Speed to run on six different

road channels, and one 31-m, 94-t permit

to Orpe. Some 10 to 15 more applications

by three other companies have been handed

to the road safety authority, Trafi, and to the

Ministry of Transport.

Orpe is the only transport company with

a permit to run with a 31-m (94-t 12-axle

timber truck on specified conditions. The trial

period runs until December 31, 2019. The

application was originally for 102 t according

to axle weights of 12 axles.

Only specially trained drivers are accepted

and the vehicles can only run on roads and

routes approved by the ministry. All brakes

have to be electric EBS. Operation is forbidden

when weather conditions and/or forecasts

by the Meteorological Institute are declared

“very bad”. The behaviour of the whole vehicle

combination has to be continuously controlled

by cameras on the vehicle. A report of the

routes driven and the behaviour of the

vehicle and of road conditions have to be

delivered monthly to Trafi, and the entire

vehicle combination has to be passed on to

the authorities for testing, for no longer than

three days, whenever Trafi or the ministry

gives notice.

ITOYeXCLUSIve

Left: The truck-mounted crane was used in vain to help manoeuvre the truck tractor out of deep snow.

??????????

68 |FOCUS| May 2015

WHEELSWOrLD On

The London metro covers an area of

8 382 km2 (by comparison, the Johannesburg

metro covers just 1 644,96 km2, while

that of New York City covers a whopping

34 490 km2) so, naturally, one would expect

its public transport system to be up to the

task. This responsibility falls to Transport

for London (TfL), the local government

organisation responsible for most aspects of

the city’s transport system.

The organisation’s website states that

it is responsible for all the surface forms

of transport in the city including cycles,

buses, taxis, river transport, rail and the

Underground (including the city’s “Tube”

system and tramways) as well as Crossrail (a

joint venture between TfL and the Department

for Transport to build a new railway linking

Maidenhead and Heathrow in the west, to

Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east).

London’s public transport system is said

to be one of the most extensive in the world.

In addition to private transport – and

walking – London commuters have seven

Public transport in the United Kingdom (UK) and in London, in particular, is often heralded as safe, reliable

and integrated. GAVIN MYERS explores what makes it tick

transportsymboLic

there is perhaps no other city in

the world that is symbolised by

its public transport system like

London is. And that’s perhaps with

good reason … The United Kingdom’s capital

city is consistently ranked within the world’s top

ten for public transport systems. From having

the third-busiest international airport in the

world, to the oldest underground commuter

railway system and one of the largest bus

networks, the city presents commuters with a

truly integrated means of getting around.

??????????????

May 2015 |FOCUS| 69

WO R L D O N W H E E L

S

WORLD ON WHEE

LS

individual, integrated forms of transport to

use to get around the city. Each of these has

different aspects that make it special.

For example, in terms of air travel, the

city is served by eight (yes, eight) airports.

Chief among these is London Heathrow, which

the Airports Council International, in Geneva,

Switzerland, states is the world’s busiest in

terms of international passengers annually (as

mentioned previously, it is the third-busiest for

total passenger traffic). Of course, international

aviation doesn’t fall within TfL’s portfolio, but a

different type of air travel does …

The Emirates Air Line (sponsored by airline

operator Emirates and also known as the

Thames cable car) has been operational since

June 2012. It is a one-kilometre cable car

that crosses the River Thames from the

Greenwich Peninsula in the west to the Royal

Docks in the east at a height of 90 m.

With 34 cars in operation at any one time,

Emirates Air Line provides a crossing every

15 seconds, with a maximum capacity of

2 500 passengers per hour in each direction

– the equivalent of about 50 busloads. The

Air Line is also bicycle friendly – a good thing,

as cycling is a very popular way for people to

get around the city …

Daily cycle journeys in the city were said to

have doubled between 2000 and 2012. Cycle

lanes and paths are provided around the city

and folding bicycles can be carried onto most

forms of public transport. You may also hire a

bicycle from the Barclays Cycle Hire scheme,

which allows regular and casual users to

rent a bicycle, pick it up from one of the 720

docking stations and use it to get around …

It’s interesting to note, however, that these

newfangled forms of public transport haven’t

taken much away from their more traditional

counterparts. London’s iconic red buses – all

6 800 of them, operating on 700 different

routes – conduct two-billion commuter

trips per annum and collect £850 million

(R15,3 trillion) revenue each year. Of course,

there is that other icon of London road

transport – the black cab, of which there are

about 21 000 in the city.

Yet another symbol of London is to be

found underneath the city – the London

Underground, which is also known as the

Tube. This system comprises 402 km of

track (of which, contrary to the system’s

name, 52 percent is above ground) and 270

stations. It incorporates the

world’s oldest underground

railway, which was opened

in 1863. In 2012/13, the

system carried 1,23 billion

passengers, making it only the

twelfth-busiest transit system …

What makes London’s

commuter transport system

special, however, is the

convenience with which users can

move from one form of transport

to the next. With the exception

of the black cabs and the Barclays

Cycle Hire scheme, commuters can make

use of the city’s Air Line, buses and the

Underground, as well as trams, London

Overground (a suburban rail network with

83 stations and six lines), national rail

services that pass through the city and the

London river services – all with a simple

electronic smartcard.

Known as the Oyster card, this pre-paid

smartcard features an embedded contactless

radio-frequency identification (RFID) chip, the

same as the one Gautrain or MyCiti users are

required to have to access those systems.

Users can load the card with pay-as-you-

go credit, a Travelcard and/or bus and tram

passes. When the user “touches in” and

“touches out” of the system, it automatically

decides which fare system to use to ensure

that no double-billing occurs.

The Oyster card is designed to reduce the

number of transactions at ticket offices and the

number of paper tickets, as the acceptance of

cash within the London transport system is

being phased out (cash is no longer accepted

on London buses, for example). Oyster fares

are also cheaper than cash fares.

Originally launched in 2003, over

43 million Oyster cards had been issued

by June 2012, and over 80 percent of all

journeys on London’s public transport were

made using the card.

Could the Oyster card one day become

a symbol of London, to be seen ubiquitously

in movies and TV series based in the city?

Maybe. What it should definitely be, though,

is a symbol of ease of movement on one of

the world’s most extensive public transport

systems. |FOCUS

??????????

70 |FOCUS| May 2015

MAnUFACTUrerFOCUS

since opening its assembly

plant at Port Elizabeth’s Coega

Industrial Development Zone in

July 2014, FAW is proud to

state that it is the only original equipment

manufacturer (OEM) in South Africa to locally

build its entire range of commercial vehicles

that are sold here.

The US$ 60-million investment allowed the

company to engineer capacity for 5 000 units

per annum, with an eye on supplying African

and export markets.

Earlier this year, the company shipped

its first batch of five 55-t J5P 6x4 truck

tractor units to Transafrica Motors Limited in

Mombasa, Kenya. The company reports that

African dealers, who traditionally placed their

orders on FAW China, are moving their orders

to South Africa, owing to the shorter lead time

for delivery, the high levels of quality and the

reduced cost of sourcing FAW vehicles on the

same continent.

Says Yusheng Zhang, CEO of FAW

Vehicle Manufacturers SA: “We are already

working on a special order for the FAW

Tanzania dealership. What is significant is

that the export destinations can more readily

adjust some specifications to accommodate

customers’ requirements specific to their

markets.”

The company has also added tipper bodies

to its Coega repertoire. Built from SKD packs

imported from the FAW parent plant in China,

approximately 100 tipper bodies came off the

line in the first quarter of the year.

The company is assessing the viability of

producing drop-side bodies in the near future

and other bodies, such as mixer drums, may

eventually follow.

In assembling its vehicles and new bodies,

FAW places safety, health, environment and

quality (SHEQ) considerations as matters of

prime consideration. “Keeping our employees

safe and comfortable are key to our retention

programme and important as we invest in

their training and up-skilling,” says Zhang.

This continual up-skilling is assured as the

company is ramping up for the introduction

of its new Tiger medium commercial vehicle

(MCV). The Tiger is due to be introduced to

the local and southern African markets in May,

with a five tonne payload dropside body, which

FAW says will provide for the lowest cost per

tonne on the market.

“The FAW Tiger will be a ‘true-blood’ South

African, built locally and uniquely engineered

for the African environment,” Zhang says. “The

Tiger will carry all the hallmarks that FAW

trucks stand for – strength, reliability, easy

operation and, most importantly, delivering on

the promise of a ‘truck built for Africa, in Africa’.”

FAW says that the rationale for introducing

a MCV range is to satisfy customer demand

for smaller-sized vehicles as durable and

rugged as its heavy and extra-heavy trucks.

“We believe this segment of the market has

great potential and opportunity for growth,”

says Zhang.

FAW is not divulging too much about the

new vehicle ahead of its official launch, but it has

alluded that the Tiger will include componentry

from the United States and Europe.

The already energized activity at the FAW

Coega assembly plant is definitely about to kick

up a few notches. |FOCUS

A new, in-house bodyshop, shipping of the first batch of export units and preparation for an all-new range

of vehicles has made up the story of FAW Vehicle Manufacturers SA (FAW) so far this year. And it all

stems from the company’s Coega assembly plant

taking

giAntsteps

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giAnt Shell Lubricants

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72 |FOCUS| May 2015

GLOBALFOCUS

UD Trucks’ Quester is a very

topical subject at the moment,

with this range having entered

the South African market via a

spectacular launch in the Waterberg during

March (see last month’s edition for Jaco de

Klerk’s report).

As announced, the local line-up consists

of 13 models, in 4x2, 6x2, 6x4 and 8x4

configurations, covering the gross vehicle

mass (GVM) spectrum from 20 000 to

41 000 kg, and with gross combination

mass (GCM) ratings of up to 60 t. These

ratings position the Quester firmly in the

extra-heavy category of the South African

truck market.

The more basic specification of the

Quester model range suggests that it is

aimed at distribution, construction and mining

sectors, but it is notable that illustrations

of refuse compactors are also included,

although there is no automatic or automated

transmission option at present. There is also

a possibility that this range may find some

local support from the forestry industry.

In our original coverage of the international

Quester launch in August last year, we noted

that it was to be built for emerging markets in

Thailand at the Volvo Group’s Samat Prakarn

facility, and also in China and India. Unlike the

current European practice of specialisation,

the Quester was positioned as a versatile

vehicle platform, with variants suitable for a

wide range of employment in areas including

long haul, distribution, construction and

mining.

The absence of a double-sleeper cab

option and the lack of emphasis on long-haul

applications in the South African context

is clear recognition of Quon’s established

successful participation in that sector.

Subsequent to the international launch,

UD Trucks has now released details of some

enhancements that it has made to the

international Quester range, in response to

customer feedback. These include an easier

gearshift action, adjustment of the “Extra

Engine Brake” featured on the 11-litre engine

to operate at a lower engine rotational speed,

and approval for operation in the dangerous

goods category.

In his monthly review of global news for local truckers, FRANK BEETON brings the UD Quester story up to

date, tracks new developments at the related Volvo Eicher operation, describes a “different” promotional

exercise from Ford, looks at Mercedes-Benz’s two-pronged advance on the American van market, and

reports on the 2014 implosion of truck sales in the United Kingdom (UK)

QUesterenhanced

May 2015 |FOCUS| 73

GLOBALFOCUS

It has also been noted that the Quester

family has made its appearance in the Indian

market as the EicherPro 8000 range, with a

product line-up that consists of 6x2, 6x4, 8x2

and 8x4 models, powered by the eight-litre

engine with outputs of 186 kW (250 hp) or

210 kW (280 hp) – these being, in typical

Indian fashion, somewhat lower than power

levels offered in other markets. The range

is equipped with a nine-speed direct-drive

transmission, and is available with an option

of single or hub-reduction drive axles, and low-

or high-roof sleeper cabs.

In our view, the Quester range is of

particular significance to the future success

of UD Trucks outside of its domestic

Japanese market. The decision to base

primary manufacture of this product in

Thailand is noteworthy, and a departure from

normal UD practice. This move was clearly

intended to provide viable competition to

emerging truck manufacturers in various

Asian countries, and it will be very interesting

to see how Quester fits into the extremely

important global relationship between the

Volvo Group and Dongfeng that we covered

last month.

As the Quester range is developed, we

would expect to see increasing levels of power

and sophistication being introduced as the

targeted emerging markets move closer

to First World standards of environmental

protection, and operators demand higher levels

of comfort, connectivity and performance.

vOLvO eICHer rAnGe eXPAnSIOn

In addition to the Quester-based Pro 8000

range, Volvo Eicher Commercial Vehicles

(VECV) Limited, the joint venture between

Eicher Motors Limited and the Volvo

Group, has announced further additions to

its domestic Indian product range, which

are scheduled to appear during the 2015

calendar year.

These include additions to the Eicher

Pro 1000 Series, which participates in the

five to 14 t GVM category. It carries what

appears to be a heavily facelifted version of

the Mitsubishi Canter-derived cab inherited

from Eicher’s earlier cooperation with that

Japanese manufacturer (see table at the

end), the ten to 15 t gross vehicle mass

(GVM) Pro 3000 Series, and the 16 to 40 t

GVM/GCM Pro 6000 Series. Both of these

use cab designs derived from UD Trucks’

mid-range vehicles currently sold in the South

African market.

The new VECV Pro 1000 Series model has

a 14 t GVM rating, and is powered by Eicher’s

3,3-litre E483 engine, which is built at the new

Volvo Eicher Powertrain Pithampur plant, but

still retains a mechanical fuel injection system.

The 10,5 t addition to the Pro 3000 Series

line-up, on the other hand, utilises the new

3,8-litre E494 power unit, developed from the

four-cylinder E483 design, but incorporating

electronic engine management and with

available outputs ranging from 90 to 112 kW

(120 to 150 hp).

In the heavier Pro 6000 Series, additional

25 t GVM 6x2 haulage and 6x4 tipper

models are in the offing. These will use

Volvo Eicher’s four-cylinder, five-litre VEDX5,

or six-cylinder, eight-litre VEDX8 engines, both

employing electronically controlled common-

rail fuel injection systems, and offering Bharat

Stage III (Euro-3 equivalent) outputs of up to

150 kW (200 hp).

Eicher’s use of four-cylinder engines in

vehicles up to 25 t GVM is noteworthy, and

reinforces our opinion that smaller and lower-

powered engines are the norm in India, in

comparison to those generally accepted in

other markets. The Pro 6000 series also

incorporates the fuel coaching and cruise

control features that are available in the

Pro 8000 (Quester-derived) Series models.

VECV has also launched a new lightweight

bus model carrying Skyline Pro branding,

under the designation 10.90 L. This fully

built bus complies with the AIS school bus

body norms that came into force in India on

April 1, 2015, and is built at the joint-venture

company’s Pithampur plant.

It has a wheelbase of 5 165 mm, seats

39 passengers, and measures slightly more

than 9,3 m in overall length. It is equipped

with parabolic suspension and radial tyres,

and is offered with Eicher’s E483 engine in

compressed natural gas or diesel-fuelled

forms with outputs of 62 kW (83 hp) and

70 kW (94 hp), respectively. There can be

no doubt that the name Eicher is to feature

prominently in the Volvo Group’s activities

going forward.

In the meantime, parent company Eicher

Motors Limited’s longer-term plans include

extending its market coverage to the light

commercial category, below three tonne

GVM, with a range of vehicles developed in

a joint venture with American manufacturer

Polaris Industries.

This will include a double-cab micro pickup

and a multi-purpose van, suitable for both

on- and off-road use, and powered by a

600 cm³ diesel engine manufactured by

Greaves Cotton Limited in Mumbai.

The joint venture, Eicher Polaris Pvt

Limited, will operate out of a new facility

in Jaipur scheduled to come on stream

in May 2015, with an eventual planned

capacity of 100 000 units per annum. This

range is intended for “last mile distribution”

duties within India’s developing hub and

spoke logistics scenario, and is expected to

compete with Tata’s Ace and Mahindra &

Mahindra’s Maxximo Plus models.

GeT YOUr (BIG) TOnKA TOY FrOM

FOrD!

Most of us played with toy vehicles when we

were children. I am sure that the big red and

green metal van with opening rear doors »

74 |FOCUS| May 2015

GLOBALFOCUS

that I pushed around in pre-school days was

at least partly responsible for my ultimate

choice of a career in the commercial vehicle

industry, as were the long-suffering Dinky

Toys that followed, despite being subject

to my messy efforts with enamel paint to

recreate the trucks and buses that passed

regularly in front of our Bluff, Durban, house

in the very early 1960s.

Most of these models were based on

real-world prototypes, at least when they

were initially purchased, no matter what

modifications they may have been subjected

to later in life.

Many readers will remember Tonka Toys

as big yellow metal or plastic reproductions of

construction vehicles and earthmoving plant.

No doubt many were put to work reshaping

back-yard gardens, possibly to the detriment

of parents’ prized flowerbeds. The combination

of one of these and a pile of building sand

would have provided endless hours of fun to

any budding civil engineer.

Recognising the wealth of nostalgia

potentially attached by its customers to

Tonka Toys, and its potential benefit to their

marketing efforts, the Ford Motor Company

in North America created its own full-size

Tonka Toy dump truck, in collaboration with

Funrise Toy Corporation, present owners of

the Tonka brand, for display at the National

Truck Equipment Association’s Work Truck

Show held in Indianapolis early in March.

Built on Ford’s all-new 2016 F-750

platform, the Tonka truck was painted in

signature Tonka yellow with black nostril

grille, and fitted with a fully functional dumper

body by Truck Tech Engineers. The F750 is

rated at 15 t GVM, suitable for a payload of

approximately 7,7 t, and is powered by Ford’s

6,7-litre Power Stroke V8 diesel engine

developing up to 246 kW (330 hp), driving

through a TorqShift HD six-speed automatic

transmission. This unique Tonka-branded

vehicle is intended for display at numerous

other work truck, commercial and vocational

trade shows in North America throughout

2015.

The F-750 Tonka is not the only

creation linking Ford products and Tonka

Toys. Tuscany Motor Company, a custom

truck shop based in Elkhart, Indiana, first

built a small run of Tonka F-150 pickup

conversions in 2013, and followed up with a

similar version of the new aluminium-bodied

F-150 the following year. This conversion,

officially licensed by Ford, is based on the

F-150 Lariat derivative, powered by a

5,0-litre V8 engine, and features a six-inch

body lift, 20-inch alloy wheels, Quiet Tone

exhaust, chunky bumpers, side cladding, step

bars, and redesigned Tonka-logo tailgate.

There’s also a bonnet with prominent ram-

air intakes. The Tonka F-150 is available in

any colour as long as it is yellow! Only 500 of

these conversions will be built.

Just the thing for some lucky dad’s 2015

Christmas stocking!

MerCeDeS-BenZ InTenSIFIeS

ATTACK On US vAn MArKeT

This column has devoted considerable

attention, over a number of years, to the

migration of European integral vans across

the Atlantic to become a substantial force in

the North American market. Recently, much

of our focus has rested on the Fiat Chrysler

family, which has translated the Fiat Ducato

into the Ram ProMaster to suit American

tastes as a “purpose-built, full-size van”.

However, the movement was initiated

by the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, which

was introduced to the American market

as early as 2001, and has subsequently

also been marketed with Dodge (during

the DaimlerChrysler era) and Freightliner

branding. Up until now, assembly of knocked-

down Sprinter component kits imported from

Germany has been carried out in Charleston,

South Carolina, to supply local demand for

van, bus and chassis/cab models. However,

this solution necessitated the payment of

substantial import duties, and a more cost-

effective strategy was clearly a Mercedes-

Benz priority.

Early in March, parent company

Daimler Trucks announced that a new

van manufacturing plant, incorporating

an assembly line, body shop and paint

shop, was to be erected in Charleston

to build the next generation Sprinter. The

plant will require an investment of some

US$ 500 million (R6 billion), create 1 300

additional job opportunities, and cover a

total area of more than 800 000 m².

This will allow the manufacturer to improve

the economics of its North American van

business, and shorten delivery times.

Globally, more than 2,8 million Sprinters

have been sold since its initial introduction

in 1995, and in 2014, the United States

(US) was Mercedes-Benz’s second largest

Volvo Eicher’s new Pro series shows definite signs of kinship with some familiar UD models.

May 2015 |FOCUS| 75

GLOBALFOCUS

individual market for this product after

Germany, with around 26 000 units delivered.

At the same time, Mercedes-Benz

announced the launch of a further midsize

van model into the US market. Dubbed

Metris, this is a dedicated version of the

European Vito range, tailored to suit local

market requirements and preferences.

Powered by a 155 kW (211 hp), 1,9-litre

four-cylinder M274 petrol engine, the Metris

is to be made available in cargo van and

passenger versions, and is equipped with

airbags, a seatbelt warning system, tyre

pressure monitoring system, and Crosswind

Assist. The Metris launch took place at the

NTEA Work Truck Show in Indianapolis.

UK TrUCK MArKeT TAKeS A DUMP

In 2014

When the final 2014 results for the UK’s

truck and van market over 3,5 t GVM were

released, it was noted that sales volumes

had taken a massive 26,2 percent drop when

compared to the previous year’s outcome.

The absolute total annual volumes for 2014

and 2013 were 41 469 units and 56 218

units respectively.

This was in stark contrast to our own

South African market, where positive market

growth of slightly more than two percent had

been experienced in the same year-on-year

comparison. Year-on-year comparisons for

all of the constituent UK market segments

revealed varying degrees of contraction, with

the notable exception being the four-axle

rigid truck category with GVM ratings above

15,1 t, where positive year-on-year growth of

4,6 percent was returned.

In the overall market, DAF retained its

leadership position, albeit with a reduced

market penetration of 20,8 percent, after

having achieved 25 percent market share in

2013, while Mercedes-Benz occupied second

position, having increased its penetration

level from 18,3 percent in 2013 to

20,2 percent in 2014.

The two market leaders were followed

by Scania (11,5 percent vs 12,2 percent),

Volvo (9,8 percent vs 9,8 percent),

MAN (8,2 percent vs 8,8 percent), Iveco

(7,9 percent vs 7,5 percent) and Renault

Trucks (4,9 percent vs 4,5 percent), with

all ratios reflecting the 2014 and 2013

outcomes, respectively. The market leaders

in each of the segments, together with

the comparison of their 2014 and 2013

segment share performances, are reflected

in the table below. |FOCUS

Global FOCUS is a monthly update of international news relating to the commercial vehicle industry. It is compiled exclusively for FOCUS by Frank Beeton of Econometrix. Do you have a comment or thought you would like to share based on this column? Visit www.focusontransport.co.za and have your say.

Market Segment Leading Supplier Segment Share 2014 vs 2013

Vans 3,5 t – 7 t GVM Mercedes-Benz 25,3 percent vs 19,9 percent

2-axle Rigid Trucks 7,4 t – 7,5 t GVM DAF 28,2 percent vs 39,1 percent

2-axle Rigid Trucks 7,5 t – 12 t GVM DAF 49,3 percent vs 53,2 percent

2-axle Rigid Trucks 12 t – 15 t GVM DAF 64,9 percent vs 58,4 percent

2-axle Rigid Trucks over 15 t GVM DAF 45,1 percent vs 40,2 percent

3-axle 6x2 Rigid Trucks over 15 t GVM

DAF 23,0 percent vs 24,9 percent

3-axle 6x4/6x6 Rigid Trucks over 15 t GVM

Mercedes-Benz 34,1 percent vs 23,7 percent

4-axle Rigid Trucks over 15 t GVM Scania 28,9 percent vs 29,8 percent

2-axle Truck Tractors over 32 t GCM


3-axle Truck Tractors over 32 t GCM


Ford’s full-size Tonka Toy is intended to stir memories of boyhood backyard civil engineering.

76 |FOCUS| May 2015

HAULSSHOrT

DeALInG WITH CHAnGe In THe SUPPLY CHAInBarloworld Logistics has released its 12th annual supplychainforesight

report, and the outcome is that most organisations are poorly equipped

to anticipate major market shifts and adapt accordingly. Only 42 percent

of respondents said their organisations are constantly in touch with

anticipated shifts in the market and predicting game-changing trends.

“One of the most important findings was an impending shortage of

leadership, visionary and change management skills within organisations,”

explains Kate Stubbs, executive: marketing and communications at

Barloworld Logistics.

The report surveyed over 370 professionals representing companies

across South Africa, with more than two thirds of the respondents holding

a director-level position.

“While in all the previous supplychainforesight surveys the lack or

shortage of skills has been viewed as a major business constraint, it is the

first time that a lack of necessary leadership and visionary skills has been

identified as a skills gap at managerial level,” said Stubbs.

The top-ranking strategic business objective this year is identifying

and managing change. Growth and expansion into new markets ranked

second, as opportunities in Africa and abroad become potentially more

lucrative and diversification becomes more of a priority.

The cost of doing business is the top ranked constraint by respondents,

up from second place in last year’s survey.

Supply chain objectives over the next five to ten years ranked

improvement of service levels foremost with integration of technology,

improving the flow of business intelligence, lowering procurement costs,

and reducing order lead times following.

According to Stubbs, seven out of the top ten ranked supply

chain challenges relate to people. “Visionary leadership and change-

management skills will be key to navigating and succeeding in a dynamic

business environment in the coming years,” she concludes.

BAKKIe WITH A THree-POInTeD STArEver wished Mercedes-Benz would build a bakkie? Well,

that wish is soon to come true! In collaboration with the

Renault-Nissan Alliance, Daimler AG will enter into the one-

tonne pickup arena.

While the new vehicle shares some of architecture with

the all-new Nissan NP300 and a similar Renault model,

Mercedes-Benz has engineered and designed its version

to meet the specific needs of its customers.

Mercedes-Benz says it will feature a double cab and will

be aimed both at personal-use and commercial customers.

The best news, though, is that South Africa is one of its

primary target markets.

“Entering the rapidly growing segment of midsize

pickups is an important step in continuing our global

growth path. Thanks to our well-established partnership

with the Renault-Nissan Alliance, we are able to drastically

reduce the time and cost to enter this key segment,” says

Dieter Zetsche, chairman of the board of management of

Daimler AG and head of Mercedes-Benz Cars.

Amarok Double Cab 2.0 BiTDI 132kW Highline 4Motion AutoPrice Deposit Monthly Period Interest Rate Balloon Total Cost

R518 000 10% R5 399 72 months 4.8% linked 35% R570 040

Amarok 148x105.indd 1 2015/04/14 7:24 AM

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For more information, visit www.mixtelematics.co.za

Currently, MiX Telematics monitors over 500,000 vehi-cles – including trucks, buses and trailers – and records in excess of 800-million kilometres per month.

With that kind of power linked to your mobile assets, you too could benefit from optimised driver and vehicle management.

Partner with a true global leader

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www.alpinemotors.co.za

??????????????

May 2015 |FOCUS| 77

SHOrTHAULS

www.mixtelematics.com.au

Improve driver behaviour

Reduce fuel consumption

Enhance efficiency and service levels

For more information, visit www.mixtelematics.co.za

Currently, MiX Telematics monitors over 500,000 vehi-cles – including trucks, buses and trailers – and records in excess of 800-million kilometres per month.

With that kind of power linked to your mobile assets, you too could benefit from optimised driver and vehicle management.

Partner with a true global leader

C

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FocusTandL.pdf 1 2015/04/16 10:42 AM

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78 |FOCUS| May 2015

SHOrTHAULS

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rOUGHer, TOUGHer rAnGerFord’s new Ranger has been unveiled, and it’s even bolder and packed

with more tech than before. Designed to take on more than 180 world

markets, the new Ranger will be launched in South Africa towards the

end of the year.

The most noticeable aspect of the refreshed package is the

redesigned front end. This is combined with a refreshed, modernised

interior that includes a central eight-inch (20 cm) touchscreen and a new

dual-TFT instrument cluster.

An array of driver-assist technologies is offered, including Lane

Keeping Alert and Lane Keeping Aid; Adaptive Cruise Control with

Forward Alert; Front and Rear Park Assist and a Driver Impairment

Monitor.

The 2,2 and 3,2-litre diesel, as well as the 2,5-litre petrol, engines are

retained; with minor revisions to aid fuel efficiency and refinement by up

to 22 percent.

“When we set out to improve the Ford Ranger, we knew we had

our work cut out for us: the current Ranger is one of the toughest,

most capable trucks out there,” says Richard Tilley, vehicle line

director, Ford Asia Pacific. “But, thanks to our proud truck heritage

and global expertise in the utility segment, we’ve made what was

great even better, with a bold new look, improved efficiency and a new

level of refinement.”

BMW In On Cv ACTIOn, TOO?It may be renowned for its driver-focused

sports cars and executive sedans, maybe even

for its motorcycles, but BMW is entering into

a partnership with logistics company Schrem

Group to deploy a 40-t pure-electric truck onto

the streets of Munich.

The truck will be used for just-in-time

material transport between the Schrem Group

and the BMW Group Plant in Munich, covering

a distance of almost two kilometres each way,

eight times a day.

“After a long search, we have found an

electro-mobility solution for the transport

sector,” explains Rainer Zoellner, “e-truck”

project manager at Schrem Group. “We are

certain to gain valuable experience with the

BMW Group from this pilot project.”

The electric truck is quiet and generates

virtually no particulate emissions. It will generate

11,8 t less CO2 per year compared to a diesel-

engined truck – the equivalent of a BMW 320d

Efficient Dynamics driving almost three times

around the world.

“This pure electric truck signals that we are

constantly working on innovative solutions and

tackling logistics challenges,” says Hermann

Bohrer, director of BMW Group Plant Munich.

Could this be the beginning of a modern line

of BMW commercial vehicles?

??????????????

May 2015 |FOCUS| 79

All aboard the green bus.The new Euro 5 engine comes with greater fuel efficiency and lower emissions.

The City of George is the first to introduce a variety of Mercedes-Benz buses with the new Euro 5 engine – and it’s easy to see why. Not only does the state-of-the-art engine deliver a smoother ride, it’s also designed to make the most out of fuel, allowing it to be more affordable while lowering the emissions released by them. There are also safety features that include a self-diagnosis system and emergency engine protection to help ensure you always keep your fleet moving forward. So now cities can enjoy cleaner, healthier air.

Call 0861 133 355 or visit www.mercedes-benz.co.za/bus for more information.

MBSA

/206

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2067 MBSA George Bus Adv WIP2.indd 1 2015/04/14 2:45 PM

www.mercedes-benz.co.za/bus

80 |FOCUS| May 2015

BUS AnDCOACH

many of the challenges that

South Africa’s bus industry

faces were highlighted

in last month’s report

back on this year’s Southern African Bus

Operators Association (Saboa) conference

and exhibition, with short-term service

contracts and funding problems being the

biggest culprits …

MD of Buscor, Norah Fakude, said it best:

“The longest contract we’ve had since 2007

was 12 months. You can’t even finance a

small car over that period, let alone a bus,

yet we are expected to provide service. I don’t

think our input is taken seriously. If it were,

we would be given the comfort of longer-term

contracts.”

She added: “Where do we get money

to even maintain what we have? There

is demand for extended services, but

the subsidies don’t cover that. They are

based on the kilometres we have signed

for. Government doesn’t understand what

operators are going through.”

Yet criticism arises quickly and fingers

are pointed when accidents happen. “Half of

the world’s road traffic deaths occur among

motorcyclists (23 percent), pedestrians (22

percent) and cyclists (five percent) – thus

“vulnerable road users” – with 31 percent

of deaths among car occupants and the

remaining 19 percent among unspecified

road users,” said Carina Gauché during her

presentation at this year’s event entitled:

Establishing a Driver Training Academy for

the Bus Industry.

Gauché is the organisational development

manager at the Larimar Group, a diversified

group of companies with interests in the

passenger transport, freight transport,

vehicle manufacturing, vehicle retail,

engineering, manufacturing, financial services

and property sectors.

So the bus industry isn’t the biggest

culprit when it comes to these horrifying

accident figures. “According to the World

Health Organisation, road-traffic injuries

caused an estimated 1,24 million deaths

worldwide in the year 2010, slightly down

from 1,26 million in 2000,” Gauché related.

“That means one person is killed every

25 seconds. Only 28 countries, representing

seven percent of the world’s population,

have adequate laws that address all five risk

factors (speed, drink–driving, helmets, seat-

belts and child restraints).”

She continued: “Over a third of road traffic

deaths in low- and middle-income countries

are among pedestrians and cyclists.

However, less than 35 percent of low- and

“woman killed, ten hurt in n1 bus crash” and “dad, daughters die in johannesburg crash”

– headlines like these add to the horrifying death toll figures on south african roads.

we take a look at how training within the bus industry can help to tackle this blight

tackling road deaths through

trAining?

May 2015 |FOCUS| 81

BUS AnDCOACH

middle-income countries have policies in

place to protect these road users.

“Middle-income countries have the

highest annual road traffic fatality rates,

at 20,1 per 100 000, while the rate in

high-income countries is lowest, at 8,7 per

100 000.”

Gauché added that 80 percent of

road-traffic deaths occur in middle-

income countries, which account for 72

percent of the world’s population, but only

52 percent of the world’s registered vehicles.

“This indicates that these countries bear a

disproportionately high burden of road-traffic

deaths relative to their level of motorisation,”

she emphasised.

“There are large disparities in road-traffic

death rates between regions. The risk of

dying as a result of a road-traffic injury

is highest in the African region (24,1 per

100 000 population), and lowest in the

European region (10,3 per 100 000).”

The South African figures are devastating,

as our country has 31,9 road fatalities per

100 000 inhabitants per year. When you

look at road fatalities per 100 000 motor

vehicles, this number rises to 156,4.

She said that Rob Handfield-Jones, MD

of www.driving.co.za, ascribes South Africa’s

high death toll to the failure of government to

provide road safety leadership. “People only

drive as badly as their governments allow

them to. In countries such as the United

States and the United Kingdom, it is socially

unacceptable to be a bad driver. Government

road safety systems in these countries are

aimed at improving competence. South

Africa, he believed, was the opposite.”

Handfield-Jones also said that as long as

the key priority of law enforcers is revenue

generation, rather than safety, South Africa’s

road deaths will continue to mount. It added

that licensing is a corrupt mess with probably

half of all licences being issued fraudulently.

“This creates a culture of bribery among

drivers who forget that, when it comes to

driving, a fake licence acquired by bribery can

be deadly.”

Gauché added that Transport Minister

Dipuo Peters has said: “Bribing traffic officers

contributes to the lawlessness on South

Africa’s roads. We are appealing to the moral

conscience of our society. You contribute,

through bribery, to allowing vehicles, that are

supposed to transport people, to become

weapons. You also contribute to allowing

people to become murderers.”

Gauché looked at some of Australia’s

initiatives (the country has 7,6 road fatalities

per 100 000 motor vehicles) as examples of

what we can do to change these behaviours.

“Since record keeping commenced in 1925,

there have been over 180 000 deaths on

Australia’s roads,” she pointed out.

“However, road trauma levels have

declined substantially over the last four

decades, despite considerable population

growth and a threefold increase in registered

motor vehicles. During this period, the

number of road deaths per year has fallen

from 3 798 in 1970 to 1 153 in 2014.”

She continued: “Australia embarked

on various road safety programmes. For

example: from October 1, 2014, anyone

losing their licence due to drunk driving will

have an alcohol interlock fitted to any vehicle

they drive.”

The Transport Accident Commission

(TAC) – a Victorian government-owned

organisation set up to pay for treatment

and benefits for people injured in transport

accidents, promote road safety and improve

Victoria’s trauma system – also runs

various awareness campaigns focusing on

problematic driving behaviour.

“The footage used in these awareness

campaigns is vivid and whenever crashes

caused by the various behaviours/aspects

increase, these short movies are aired on

TV,” Gauché related. “Short movies are

aired regularly to act as reminders and

have a direct impact on reducing wrong

behaviours among motorists, cyclists and

pedestrians.”

She added: “Putco used some of these

short movies a while ago in an accident

awareness campaign. The number of crashes

at one of its depots decreased notably. In

order to remain effective, these short movies

need to be aired regularly and content should

be updated frequently.”

A driver training academy, within the bus

industry, could make a world of difference.

“Training is defined as teaching, or developing,

in oneself or others, any skills and knowledge

that relate to specific useful competencies,”

Gauché emphasised.

“Training has specific goals of improving

one’s capability, capacity, productivity and

performance. In addition to the basic training

required for a trade, occupation or profession,

observers of the labour market recognise

the need to continue training beyond initial

qualifications: to maintain, upgrade and update

skills throughout working life,” she added.

Internationally accredited training

academies also hold various benefits:

“Training is standardised across provinces

and we can work towards a nationally

accredited and accepted driver training

standard,” said Gauché. “When a driver

applicant presents a certificate from an

accredited training academy, the employer

will know that it is of a good standard and

quality.”

Such institutions would also allow the

industry to learn from other companies, and

even countries, which methods work most

effectively in training of drivers. “Considering

the accident statistics across the various

countries, we definitely need to consider

South African drivers’ attitudes and

typical driving behaviour when presenting

training.” |FOCUS

trAining?

82 |FOCUS| May 2015

GLOBALBUS

regular readers will be well

aware of our often-stated

opinion that the public

transport environment is

the ideal place to apply alternative driveline

technology. Buses, trams and light railways

work on fixed routes, usually through urban

or well-populated areas, where technical

support of the vehicles and regular monitoring

of the advancing technology is relatively easy

to accomplish and any emerging snags can

be swiftly dealt with.

Try doing that with trucks or coaches

running off to distant destinations every other

day or week!

Inevitably, much of the new technology

is first put to work in locations close to

the manufacturers’ home base. Volvo, for

instance, is testing the inductive charging

technique – probably the most advanced

form of battery replenishment yet proposed

– in its home town of Gothenburg, Sweden,

for exactly the reasons mentioned.

However, once any new technology

direction has been proved to be viable, it

needs to be applied farther afield, to establish

and grow consumer confidence. This

imperative makes the recent news that the

public transport authority in Stockholm has

commenced in-service operations with eight

Volvo electric hybrids, on its route 73, very

meaningful.

Route 73 is slightly more than eight

kilometres in length, which is significant. The

operating range of Volvo’s 7900 Electric

Hybrid on lithium battery power alone is

seven kilometres, which means that these

vehicles need to use their on-board diesel

engines on every trip. This makes it a “real

world” operational situation, and not one

tailored to suit the limitations of the available

technology.

To minimise emissions, these engines are

fuelled with biodiesel, and when the buses

reach the termini at each end of the route,

they use their roof-mounted collectors to

connect with Siemens 300 kW overhead

power rails for a six- to ten-minute battery

recharge.

So, during the course of each trip, the

vehicle will fully exhaust its batteries, bring in

its on-board engine to complete the task, and

deploy its charging equipment, providing a

thorough test of all these systems.

This project is part of the Zero Emission

Urban Bus System programme that is

co-financed by the European Union, and

is to be supported by Volvo, electricity

authority Vattenfall, Siemens and several

other partners over two years. After this,

the buses, which are now the only vehicles

operating this particular service, will be

expected to continue as part of regular

operations.

Route 73 runs through central Stockholm

from Ropsten to Tomteboda/Karolinska, so

the emission-free and quiet (65 dB) operation

of these vehicles under battery power should

be greatly appreciated. |FOCUS

FRANK BEETON reports on important on-the-job testing being undertaken by Volvo

electric hybrids clean up stockholm

voLvo

This makes it a “real world” operational situation, and not one tailored to suit

the limitations of the available technology.

May 2015 |FOCUS| 83

STOPSBUS

MYCITI PHASe 2 A GO!Cape Town’s MyCiTi integrated rapid transit

(IRT) system is on the expansion trail – with

development, and soon construction, of

Phase 2 underway. Phase 2 of the system will

service communities across the south east with

a network of multiple corridors with main and

feeder routes.

Phase 2A – the Lansdowne-Wetton Corridor,

which will connect Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain

with Claremont and Wynberg – is expected to

begin operating by 2020, at a cost of more than

R4 billion.

These routes operate along roads that

are heavily congested during peak times, and

it is hoped that the corridor will bring a high-

quality, efficient, scheduled public transport

service to more than 1,4 million people in 35

communities.

As with Phase 1 of the MyCiTi IRT network,

the Phase 2A corridor will include cycle paths,

pedestrian footpaths, road and signalling

upgrades, signage and way-finding, good lighting,

public art, street furniture and attractive

landscaping.

“Together these features will transform the

urban landscape and improve the quality of daily

transport for many residents, while making local

areas safer,” notes the City.

LeAP InTO THe FUTUre

Commuter travel through a city should be practical, but who

says it can’t be luxurious? Leap, an American start-up in San

Francisco, holds this very sentiment.

“Urban transportation is an area of extreme impact that

still desperately needs fresh ideas,” says Scott Banister, an

early investor in Leap.

Thus, the company has designed five buses to include

amenities such as comfortable seats; healthy, organic

food and drinks that can be ordered via the company’s

smartphone app and brought to you by a waiter; USB ports;

and WiFi.

All the buses are fuelled by natural gas, meaning that,

while they are kind to their passengers, they are also kind

to the environment. Passengers can also track buses via

the Leap app and, when boarding, check in automatically via

Bluetooth.

“During peak hours, it can be difficult to find a seat on

public transport, and private car services are expensive and

increasingly unpredictable. So we decided to go back to the

drawing board and create a service that helps you start the

day feeling comfortable and relaxed, instead of anxious and

stressed out,” says Kyle Kirchho, founder and CEO of Leap.

The buses feature three unique seating areas, including

a social area, spacious front-facing seats for reading and a

laptop bar for getting a jump start on work.

Currently the service only runs one 25-minute express

route through the city at peak morning and afternoon times.

The cost of this luxury is US$ 6 (R71) for a single trip, as

opposed to US$ 2,25 (R26,67) for normal buses.

84 |FOCUS| May 2015

VIC’SVIEW

HOPPInGOFF

it’s good to see that Go!George has

at last come on stream. Its website

shows that a rudimentary service

has been introduced on a three-route

“network”. The service runs seven days a

week, starting at 06:00 and continuing until

23:00. Considering the problems that have

been experienced, including at least one taxi-

related killing, this is a reasonable start.

It needs to expand quickly, however,

including routes to Knysna, Oudtshoorn and

Mossel Bay, as originally planned. (We need

to roll out the concept all over the country.) It’s

also good to see that the headway has been

improved from 60 to 30 minutes at certain

times. Between one town and another 60

minutes may be OK, but ten to 15 minutes is

essential for urban areas.

So, good luck George – as I pointed out way

back in November 2013, you must succeed.

Which brings us to the Gautrain – another

“solution” to public transport problems which,

unlike George, has had five years to prove

its worth, but its performance so far can

only be described as dismal. It has become

an international case study in how not to

improve public transport. What must be

done?

Before we try to answer that question, let’s

go back 13 years, to an exchange of views

between Romano del Mistro, then a professor

of civil engineering at the University of Pretoria,

and the long-serving Jack van der Merwe, then

promoter-in-chief of the Gautrain and currently

head of the Gautrain Management Authority

(GMA).

Van der Merwe has also chaired the

committee responsible for the Gauteng 25-year

integrated transport plan (the bus component

of this plan was recently criticised in the March

Hopping Off column).

In the July 2002 issue of Civil Engineering,

the magazine of the South African Institute

of Civil Engineers, Del Mistro queried several

aspects of the Gautrain. Space allows us to

consider only two of the professor’s concerns:

first, the promised capacity; second, whether

the civil engineering profession was merely

collecting fees for doing construction projects,

instead of doing things that would produce real

value for money and which would serve the

entire community.

Predictably, on both counts, Van der Merwe

disagreed with Del Mistro. He said: “The

capacity of the Gautrain system, as currently

specified, is 48 000 passengers per hour and

can increase to 72 000 passengers per hour if

the headway is reduced to three minutes from

ten minutes”.

That was before financial and time

constraints forced the project to settle for

a single-track tunnel between Sandton and

Johannesburg Park Station. This has limited

the train’s capacity on that section to less than

20 000 passengers per hour (assuming

packed eight-coach trains in both directions).

Currently the service runs every 12 minutes

(nowhere close to three minutes). So much

then for “as currently specified”.

Van der Merwe’s response to Del Mistro’s

second point was similarly dismissive: “It is a

sad day for the engineering profession in our

country if a professor of civil engineering implies

that civil engineers (…) are interested only in

consultancy fees and engineering work”.

The latest judgment of the Supreme Court

of Appeal on the South African National Roads

Agency Limited (Sanral) issue in Cape Town

underscores just how “sad” the situation

has become. As Dave Marrs, a Cape Town

journalist puts it: “We were way too complacent

all those years ago when Sanral was cooking up

its urban toll plans”.

Let’s not be too hard on civil engineers

only, though, as several other “professions”

– including accountants, economists, lawyers,

sociologists and town planners – must also

share responsibility for the existing mess in

public transport.

So, if George must succeed, what is to be

done with the Gautrain? Here are some ideas.

First, dissolve the Gautrain Management

Agency and incorporate it into the Passenger

Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa). Neither of

these two organisations has much of a track

(sorry!) record, so we may as well have one

layer of management to run the whole show.

Then, charge a fare based on Metroplus

Express class plus 50 percent. The resulting

increase in demand will require some Gautrain

coaches to have all their seats removed. That

shouldn’t be a problem though – a recent

complaint on the Hellopeter website referred

to passengers being “squashed like potatoes”

in any event.

Then get the feeder buses to do some real

work. Start with some of the 164 routes in the

25-year plan. |FOCUS

Let’s talk about two “Gs” this month. They are Go!George and the Gautrain. Both of them have crucial

implications for public transport in South Africa

the story of the two

“gs”

Vaughan Mostert developed a love for public transport early in life, which led to a lifelong academic interest in the subject. He recently retired as a senior lecturer from the Department of Transport and Supply Chain Management at the University of Johannesburg. Through Hopping Off, Mostert leaves readers with some parting food for thought as he continues his push for change in the local public transport industry.

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May 2015 |FOCUS| 85

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