East Rand-based container transport company Yellow Jersey Logistics recently placed an order for ten DAFXF105.460 FTT trucks with Babcock. These vehicles, hailed in the marketplace as the top performance truck in South Africa following a recent independent truck test, are being supplied as part of a total solution that includes repair and maintenance contracts.
Yellow Jersey Logistics
“Our customer enjoyed a single point of contact throughout the entire deal, from transport solution to finance,” says Piet Kemp, DAF sales executive. “The trucks have been optimised for South African conditions, with fuel consumption proved to be the best on the road. Together with a competitive repair and maintenance contract, this guarantees the customer the lowest cost of ownership. The average uptime of these trucks operating in the country is well over 95% with most fleets at 99%.”
Freek van Tonder founded Yellow Jersey Logistics in 2005 with the aim of offering an innovative solution to the clearing and forwarding industry. With over 20 years of experience in this business, he knows that careful attention to detail and meeting deadlines makes all the difference. He admits that he has very specific criteria for truck purchases - and Babcock ticked all the boxes.
Yellow Jersey Logistics will primarily use these vehicles on one of South Africa’s busiest transport routes - between Gauteng and Durban.
Kemp adds that the DAF XF105 delivers unsurpassed driver satisfaction and high reliability, two factors that were key criteria when DAF developed this model. The truck has the most spacious cab in its class and offers maximum comfort to the driver.
The DAF XF105 is powered by a Paccar MX 340 six-cylinder, turbocharged and intercooled engine that delivers 462 hp and a torque of 2300 Nm for optimum pulling power and a smooth ride. The driveline is carefully balanced to maximise performance under all operating conditions, and to make the most of the engine’s low fuel consumption. Drivers have a choice between a clutchless ZF 12-speed AS-Tronic automatic gearbox and a manual mode gear change, to deliver power to the acclaimed DAF hypoid rear axle. The robust XF-chassis is made of high quality steel, resulting in an extremely strong, but lightweight, chassis for high payloads.
“Financing is important and this was addressed through Babcock Financial Services, a dedicated finance company that provides finance for the purchase of DAF trucks,” he says. “Since we don’t do our own servicing and maintenance, we needed to be confident that Babcock would be able to provide full support of these trucks through maintenance agreements, along with a high standard of technical ability and spares availability. Their dealer network certainly met our requirements on this."
“Since we renew our fleet every 36 months, Babcock offered a trade back after this period, ensuring that our replacement cycle remains intact. Driver comfort is another big factor to us and this requirement is well provided for in the DAFX105.460 trucks. In addition, the figures we’ve received on fuel consumption were very favourable.
“Another plus factor was that whilst Babcock and DAF are major international concerns, we are enjoying personalised, rapid response service through one local point of contact. We look forward to receiving all ten vehicles into our fleet in the coming months and to building a strong partnership going forward.”
