Capital Equipment News July 2019

TRANSPORT

New FAW 6.130 FL impresses Careful Carriers

Leading South African logistics company, Careful Carriers has been using a FAW 6.130 FL freight carrier truck since the latter part of 2018 to transport full and part loads across South Africa and into Botswana and Lesotho, racking up over 40 000 km in the process.

Braam Lottering of Careful Carriers with the new FAW 6.130 FL.

T he FAW 6.130 FL is a brand new medium commercial vehicle from FAW South Africa. Like the successful FAW 8.140 range from which it is derived, the FAW 6.130 FL is also equipped with a Cummins ISF engine, although in this instance it has a reduced maximum payload of 4,6 t. The truck was provided to Careful Carriers in Lanseria by FAW Isando, with dealer principle Johan du Plessis and sales executive, Christopher Naidoo, ex- pertly handling the logistics and delivery of the test vehicle. Fitting the needs “The FAW 6.130 FL has fit our needs perfectly, from full loads to a single pallet,” says Braam Lottering, operations director at Careful Carriers from the company’s Johannesburg head office. “The truck has no complicated fuel systems or electronics and when it’s had to be serviced, the jobs have each been completed within a working day, keeping downtime to a minimum.” With service intervals of 15 000 km, the FAW 6.130 FL has been serviced twice so

Careful Carriers is no stranger to the FAW brand, having happily operated FAW 8.140’s for some time already. “We are happy with how the FAW 8.140’s has per- formed and now we want to add FAW’s to our 4-t fleet,” he confirms. Lottering says learning to drive the FAW 6.130 FL has also been a straightforward process for the company’s drivers, many of whom have been with Careful Carriers for 10 years or more, due to the similarity between the FAW 6.130 FL and the FAW 8.140 models. “We have had no complaints from our drivers at all; the vehicle is light on fuel and easy to drive and has enough power for our application. We consider the FAW 6.130 FL to be the new benchmark truck in this segment of the market.” Reflecting on the state of the transport industry in general, Lottering says the price of fuel is a huge issue and the ad- dition of more fuel levies, as well as the Carbon Tax, are making it tougher than ever to thrive. “This makes the FAW 6.130 FL an even stronger buying proposition for us,” Lottering concludes. b

far – once at FAW Randburg and once at FAW in Spartan, Johannesburg. “We are achieving 8,5 km/l in fuel consumption and the truck is comfortable to drive,” adds Lottering. “The other big plus is the fact that the engine is produced by Cummins.” “We have familiarity with this truck’s components, as we have various 8.140 models already in service. We also like the fact that the vehicle is assembled in South Africa. FAW South Africa is a proudly South African brand that creates hundreds of local job opportunities,” he says. In it for the long haul In business for over 30 years, Careful Carri- ers operates a mixed fleet of 75 vehicles – from 1-tonners to 34-tonners – across South Africa and into SADC countries, Botswana and Lesotho. While specialising in fragile loads shipping, it also provides supply chain management and warehousing services and counts leading corporates Coca-Cola, SAB and major South African retailers among its many clients.

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