On the Cover: In an environment where margins continue to tumble, Vanedi Freight’s decision to swap its fleet of used trucks for new Scania G460 units is paying dividends. Company owner Freedom Khumbulani Vane tells Capital Equipment News that the Scania range has ushered in new levels of efficiency and uptime.
Transport operators in South Africa are facing some serious problems right now, notes Freedom Khumbulani Vane, owner of Midrand-based transport company, Vanedi Freight. Increasing fuel prices, a generally tough economy and a competitive business landscape are factors behind low margins in the transport business. To be able to run profitable operations in such a challenging environment, transport companies are looking for every opportunity to cut costs and improve efficiency and uptime.
That was key in Vanedi Freight’s decision to upgrade its fleet of used trucks with new Scania G460 units late last year. Having entered the transport industry in 2017 with a single used truck from one of the premium brands, the company soon added another used truck to its fleet as part of its expansion programme. It was not long before Vane realised that although the capital costs of a used truck were enticing, the maintenance costs were not sustainable, and therefore outweighed the lower capital outlay. Despite this realisation, Vane went on to replace the two trucks with a different premium brand, hoping for a different outcome. By 2019, the company was running four used trucks in the timber industry in a coastal region of South Africa.
Later that year, the decision was made to move the fleet to the inland market, operating mainly between the Mpumalanga, North West and Northern Cape provinces and the ports of Durban and Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth), as a subcontractor to some of the biggest names in the game. When COVID-19 hit at the beginning of 2020, Vane had a hard look at his business, which led to the decision to dispose all the four used trucks in his fleet, in search of better efficiency to survive the tough business conditions.
“We went into the market and our research showed that Scania could give us a better shot at success. After selling the four old trucks we had, we bought our first brand-new Scania G460 in October last year. We have been adding a new truck to our fleet after every two to three months since then. We are to date operating four new G460 units that we purchased from Scania Southern Africa,” he says.
The four Scania trucks have been deployed in the side tipping application, transporting chrome, manganese and other commodities from the mining provinces of North West and Northern Cape to the ports of Durban and Gqeberha.
Liebherr scales up sales and support capabilities with Kemach partnership
Having previously taken a direct route to market, Liebherr has adopted a dealership approach to its earthmoving equipment business in South Africa, following the appointment of renowned capital equipment supplier, Kemach Equipment. The new partnership – effective August 2021 – will scale up Liebherr’s sales and support footprint and enhance customer satisfaction in what is deemed to be the largest, yet competitive, yellow metal equipment market in Africa.
On the back of a competitive market landscape in the South African yellow metal equipment sector, Liebherr is leveraging the opportunity to scale up its aftermarket service capabilities with the appointment of Kemach Equipment as a sales and aftersales support partner in the country.
Speaking to Capital Equipment News, Tendayi Kudumba, GM Earthmoving at Liebherr-Africa, says the partnership will not only boost Liebherr’s sales and support footprint, but also enhance customer satisfaction through enhanced product uptime.
Liebherr-Africa has traditionally sold its products directly to market, except for the period between 2012 and 2017, when it had a local South African sales partner for excavators and dozers. “The change in strategy,” explains Kudumba, “was necessitated by the need to grow our market share and to better serve our customers in South Africa.” He, however, reiterates that, as part of the partnership, both Liebherr-Africa and Kemach will offer sales and aftersales support services across the country with no particular allocation of regions.
Terex Trucks rebrands as Rokbak
Articulated hauler specialist Terex Trucks has rebranded as Rokbak. The Scottish manufacturer unveiled the new brand at a digital launch event attended by Capital Equipment News on September 1.
Rokbak is the new name for Terex Trucks, with the new brand said to represent the continuation of the company’s “strong hauling heritage with a future-focused vision”. Throughout the past four decades, says MD Paul Douglas, the company has delivered its promise to deliver powerful and reliable articulated haulers – and that legacy remains front and centre within the new brand.
“At the same time,” he says, “the Rokbak name represents an exciting new future and reflects the significant advances the organisation has made in recent years as well as its new strategic priorities.”
“Our company has an incredible history and a proud heritage,” says Douglas. “Seven years ago, we became a member of the Volvo Group, which allowed us to make major improvements in every part of our business. Millions of pounds have been invested in improving our products, modernising our facilities, expanding our network and developing our people. It has been a process of continual evolution. That’s why we feel it’s right to recognise this evolution with a new brand name to launch an exciting new chapter in our history. And we’ll keep investing to further improve our machines for our customers.”
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