Serco innovates with new range of truck bodies and trailers

Leading South African truck and trailer body building company Serco is broadening its product range to include van bodies and curtainsiders, which will complement its extensive range of refrigerated and dry freight vehicles.

This is according to CEO Clinton Holcroft, who says the company has engaged with customers to identify innovation opportunities. Key focus areas were improving payload and vehicle body durability. “These directly contribute towards reducing running costs for customers, which is critical to gain an edge in a competitive market,” Holcroft explains.

Discussing new vehicle designs, he says the company had introduced a new GRP composite trailer box with injected polyurethane (PU) foam, offering a weight saving of 1,000kg over the standard trailer. The fiberglass side wall skins are constructed from a high-strength composite for improved impact resistance, while the injected foam core offers a 25% increase in strength over conventional block foam. For clients wanting a payload advantage, this trailer comes in at under eight tonnes (excluding the fridge unit), which is a massive advantage considering the impact and cost of overloading. 

Serco has also recently completed six refrigerated trailers with an electric axle-driven system, which powers the fridge unit in place of diesel. “With sustainability being a high priority for ourselves and many fleet owners, we are seeing more and more innovative solutions to reduce the amount of diesel a truck uses,” Holcroft notes.

Additionally, Serco has built a multi-mode trailer for a leading beverage company. Multi-mode vehicles offer the option of loading from the side with a unique fast-opening curtain system, as well as loading from a dock through a roll-over door mounted at the rear of the trailer.

Notable features include a heavy-duty column lift with 3.5-tonne load capacity, solar panels with inverter and battery to operate the tail lift, a high-strength lightweight aluminium extruded floor for improved payload, an internal LED strip light for improved interior visibility, and side curtains incorporating a fast-opening system. This latter feature improves loading and offloading time by up to 50%.

“The curtainsiders are quick and easy to open, sliding from the top and bottom on an aluminium rail that incorporates roller wheels, ensuring the side curtains slide through both rails without friction. The curtain folds up compactly requiring no buckles or straps to tighten,” Holcroft elaborates.

Looking ahead, he is optimistic about the future. “We expect to see an improvement in new trailer sales this year. Older equipment tends to require higher levels of maintenance as it ages, and new equipment often comes with improved payload and reliability,” he explains. “The high interest rates seem to have peaked, and we are hopeful we will start seeing a decrease, which will improve affordability.”

Despite the challenges, Serco has seen growth in its dry freight vehicle sales. “We are very grateful to see support from our customer base for our broadening product range for transporting dry freight cargo. We aim to continue to drive our product differentiation based on tangible benefits for customers. Our reputation for delivering on time and for building a quality vehicle body is a vital priority we take very seriously,” Holcroft emphasises. 

To thrive in difficult economic conditions, Serco remains committed to giving customers an edge through innovative product design and low life cycle costs. Holcroft is quick to reiterate the company’s focus on sustainability: “Our national manufacturing and after-sales service ensure our customers can build their vehicle body at locations convenient to their operations. We also believe that as a forward-thinking business we need to take sustainability seriously,” he stresses. “We have achieved a new record of 67% of our power requirements from solar during the first few months of 2024, and we are investing in new digital monitoring systems to further improve our production reliability.”

Serco’s dedication to innovation, sustainability, and customer satisfaction positions it well to navigate and overcome the current economic challenges. “This will ensure that the company remains a leading player in the truck and trailer body building industry,” Holcroft concludes.