Weight saving on trucks reduces CO2
Clinton Holcroft, MD of the company says they are looking at various initiatives to be cleaner, leaner and greener. He said the new ply floor saves up to 50% of the weight compared to the current steel jack design. The birch plywood is coated with a durable, multilayer wire-mesh overlay of phenolic resin and a smooth phenolic film overlaid reverse with sealed edges. Being much lighter than the norm, the bodies offer the potential for significant savings in fuel consumption and thus lower CO2 emissions.
The aluminium flooring being used by the company on its refrigerated vehicles also offers significant weight savings. The aluminium floor sheeting was bonded onto the floor using a vacuum process to ensure a strong and even adhesion to the composite floor construction. "The floor surface is designed for low noise emission, particularly when running forklifts and pallet jacks. The high-grade aluminium used is the key to weight saving over the current aluminium reefer floorings available," adds Holcroft.
Unitrans operations manager for the Pick n Pay contract, Frikkie Dreyer, says he's very happy with the delivery and quality of workmanship and highly impressed with the plant when he visited.