FEATURE
INCORPORATING COLD CHAIN
as body bolts going right through the
insulation to the outer surface.
“Invest in the latest technology for
improved efficiencies, durability and
lowest life cycle costs,” advises Heyman.
In refrigerated vehicles the saying of
“penny wise, but pound foolish” is very
true. “Make sure the specification is fit
for purpose.”
“I believe it is just as important
for a transporter to watch the body
manufacture process, as it is to understand
the truck’s technical capabilities,” says
Marks. “All too often price is the major
concern, and the technical capabilities of
the body is ignored.”
Imports vs. locally manufactured – what is
the difference really?
“This is normally a difficult question, as
both have their pros and cons,” explains
Gröss. For example, the imported units
are all ATP-tested and deliver the exact
cooling capacity they are advertised to
have. They are also subjected to much
longer and harsher testing procedures,
which allows their engineers to see what
components will fail first, thus giving them
a looking glass to rectify any potential
problems before they occur. “This,
however, has a big price tag on it and
thus chases a large portion of the local
market away.”
LOCAL VS IMPORTS
It is a huge mistake to not understand exactly what the customer needs to do with the truck.
The local units also have an advantage
in that their engineers sit locally and
thus can change the design to suit their
customers’ needs rather quickly, says
Gröss. They can then also choose which
tests they would like to have done,
ultimately tailoring the price that suits
their customers’ needs.
“The quality of the imported units is
normally a bit higher than the local
units as the first world countries tend
to implement latest building and
manufacturing processes quicker than
the local unit manufacturers,” says
Gröss. This includes welding robots,
automated PC board production lines,
COLD LINK AFRICA • June 2019
anti-corrosive coatings on all exposed
surfaces ... and so forth. “The quality
ultimately determines the length of time
the unit can survive in our harsh South
African conditions without continuous
maintenance,” — in other words, from
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