Construction World November 2018

TRUCKING

BUILDING SOLID FOUNDATION

35.340FC and a FAW 33.330FC from the FAW Cape Town branch. These two trucks were already fitted with 8 m 3 and 6 m 3 mixing drums respectively, with FAW the only truck supplier in the city that could provide this convenience to DSD. “We picked up complete trucks to the specs that we required,” says Mostert. Affordability was also a key factor. “FAW trucks are almost half the price of their premium competitors. Finance was obtained easily as well because FAW looked at our business differently. They took the risk that other truck brands weren’t willing to take on us. We see them as good business partners.” He says he appreciates the fact that FAW Cape Town has highly experienced sales staff. “Dealing with Colin Buckley and dealer principal, Vernon Rudman, has been a good experience. They go the extra mile. It takes one call to sort things out when we have issues and we can have trucks on the road in two weeks from the date of order,” he says. “FAW is the superior truck in my fleet. In fact, we haven’t replaced a single FAW in five years,” he notes. All the company’s FAW tippers, which include 10 m 3 , 15 m 3 and 18 m 3 units, look the same, which Mostert acknowledges helps the company enforce its branding and corporate identity in the region. From technical and vehicle specification points-of-view, knowing what works and what doesn’t in different South African construction industry-specific environments is important to Mostert’s company. This know-how lead to small changes being made to the FAW trucks at production level. “Certain aspects, like the air filter design, were changed on our FAW trucks in China. This was done happily by FAW at our request, to suit our unique operations,” Mostert explains. Mostert says FAW’s relationship with local tipper body suppliers is also advantageous, as it means that suitable, road-ready trucks can be supplied to his companies much faster than would otherwise be the case. “FAW is a flexible company whose decisions are not set in stone. We see FAW as a fair-value brand and the only truck that is affordable in these tough economic times,” he concludes.  4 000 th FAW rolls off production line FAW South Africa’s world-class Coega assembly plant recently celebrated another production milestone: assembly of the 4 000 th FAW in South Africa. With a presence in South Africa dating 24 years, FAW’s assembly plant has become the bedrock for further investments in the Eastern Cape. Inaugurated in July 2014, the plant was the first large- scale investment made by a China-based company in the region. In fact, it is still one of the largest foreign direct investments ever made in Coega. To date, a total of 16 different models have been assembled at the plant in Coega, ranging from the ever popular 8.140 to the landmark vehicle, a 420hp FAW 33.420FT truck tractor, which is the newest model in the company’s extra-heavy commercial vehicle range and is the successor to the popular FAW 28.380FT. Total FAW exports reached 159 units in 2016, which rose to 212 units in 2017, establishing FAW as the second largest commercial vehicle exporter in South Africa. This is further testament to the brands promise to build quality vehicles in South Africa for Africa. Customer demand for locally built FAW trucks meanwhile has increased exponentially in the last three years, primarily due to their assembly quality and speed to market. And the brand set a new total sales record in 2017, despite the tough economic environment.

T he Cape Town-based company sell import cement from Vietnam and supplies ready-mix concrete, sand and stone to its clients throughout the Western Cape. Its ready-mix concrete products are distributed through depots in Killarney, Kraaifontein and Faure, and it also delivers high-quality cement to its customers in the province as required. Andre Mostert, group CEO of the AMV Group, says DSD is the fastest-growing ready-mix concrete supplier in Cape Town, buying over 90 trucks in the last five years. He adds that he has plans to expand the company into Durban and Saldanha Bay, where more trucks will be required. “I had no trust initially in FAW,” Mostert concedes. “But the trucks have stood the test of time. They are fuel-efficient and durable. And the changes that have been made to the FAW range, particularly the fitment of ZF transmissions, helped to change my mind,” he explains. In total, the DSD Group – of which Die Sement Depot is just one part – operates 26 FAW ready-mix trucks and will likely increase this to 30 in the near future. The Group initially bought two FAW mixer trucks – a FAW Die Sement Depot (DSD), part of several companies in the Andre Mostert Vervoer (AMV) Group, is a proud FAW Trucks user.

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CONSTRUCTION WORLD OCTOBER 2018