Renewing the relationship

Not everyone grows apart after being in a long-standing relationship. Barloworld Logistics and Pretoria Portland Cement (PPC) are further communicating this message with the renewal of their five-year strategic relationship. A total of 44 new Freightliner Columbia truck tractors were handed over at the PPC factory in Dwaalboom recently, signifying the extension of the affiliation.

Transport operator, Barloworld Logistics, handed over the Freightliner Columbias from John Williams Motors Bloemfontein to 27 owner-drivers and 17 company drivers. The trucks will replace 44 Argosy truck tractors, which have been operating at the Dwaalboom factory for the past five years. Barloworld Logistics has a long-standing relationship with PPC and this five-year contract extension will take the relationship to a 20-year milestone.

Francois van Rensburg, divisional director of Dedicated Transport Services at Barloworld Logistics, tells FOCUS that Freightliner was an obvious choice. “Reliability is very important for us to be able to deliver a superior service to our clients. The vehicles are a good match for the application.”

Godfrey Hani, divisional manager for Freightliner, Fuso and Western Star at Mercedes-Benz South Africa (MBSA) explains how the Freightliner Columbia is an ideal vehicle for the PPC application. “The 6×4 truck tractor, because of its lightweight MBE4000 engine, is light enough to allow Barloworld Logistics to achieve its required payloads. The vehicles will transport 20 cement pallets with a 40 400 kg payload on an interlink trailer.”

Due to the size of the fleet employed in the PPC operation, John Williams Motors has operated an on-site workshop for the past five years where the existing Freightliner fleet is maintained. Johann Liebenberg, sales manager for Freightliner and Fuso at John Williams Motors, explains how the MBSA-trained technicians at John Williams Motors Dwaalboom have done an excellent job of maintaining the fleet.

“The longevity of the previous Freightliner fleet exceeded the one million kilometre mark,” he says. “This has proven to be a highly satisfactory arrangement for Barloworld Logistics as the vehicles don’t have to travel long distances to the servicing dealer.”

“It is gratifying that, in the face of stiff competition, we can renew an existing fleet of Freightliners,” says Hani. “The last five years of commitment from our dealership staff and from Barloworld is keeping the Freightliner Dwaalboom fleet operating efficiently.” Hani looks forward to a productive relationship over the next five years of operation.