Things are sizzling at Serco
Things are sizzling at Serco
Serco Industries specialises in designing and manufacturing insulated and dry freight truck bodies and trailers. These trailers are relied upon by Southern Africa’s leading transporters and long-distance hauliers to safely and hygienically carry everything from ice cream to day-old chicks and beef to bread. Various developments have things sizzling at Serco.
First up is a new style of dry freight interlink trailer that boasts a higher than normal loading volume of 141m3, which directly contributes to lowering transport costs. Serco has already taken an order for 16 units from Vicky’s Transport Services (VTS).
The Superlink trailer configuration has a through-loading capability to ensure efficient loading and offloading, while the lightweight design of the chassis offers a payload of 36 tonnes. The trailers have underslung belly boxes that can be loaded through side access doors or from inside the trailer with a lifting floor system.
Accessing the belly boxes from inside the trailer during loading improves loading efficiency and security. The belly boxes have been integrated into the trailer’s chassis to increase the loading space available and the floor is also capable of withstanding forklift loading.
Taking a load off
The second sensational development is a redesigned chassis for refrigerated trailers that offers a substantial weight saving of 580kg. Following feedback from transport customers calling for the benefits of improved payload, Serco redesigned one of its trusted chassis using high tensile steel and the latest 3D software analysis tools to reduce stress points.
“We finalised the design towards the end of last year and built a few prototypes which we put into the market. There has been quite a bit of interest and we have started picking up orders for the new chassis, which is proving itself on the road already,” says Serco CEO Clinton Holcroft.
“I think the 580kg weight saving is significant and a huge achievement by our design team. At a fairly nominal cost, clients can further improve payload by adding accessories such as aluminium rims and hubs,” he continues.
Holcroft adds that this was an exciting development for Serco, and will provide a tangible advantage to clients looking to improve payload. “Weight saving provides a little more tolerance in terms of weight distribution, which is often a challenge,” he explains. “For instance, a truck or trailer might be within the overall permissible weight limitation but can end up slightly overloaded, depending on the load distribution. Weight reduction can help prevent this.”
Mobile clinics on the move
Third up are three mobile clinics that Serco built for Spartan Truck Hire to be used by Shout-It-Now, which works in partnership with the SA Department of Health, in areas of South Africa where there is little or no access to medical care and attention. The deal was funded by the United States President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief – the largest commitment by any nation to address a single disease with its activities, focusing on expanding access to HIV prevention, treatment, and care interventions.
The three mobile clinics needed to be fitted with all the equipment necessary for the efficient and all-round functioning of a modern health care provider. Serco built the 9.5-m insulated truck bodies making provisions to accommodate the required equipment, which was fitted and installed in cooperation with a variety of local suppliers.
Features in and on the vehicles include cubicles to cater for a variety of patients day or night, air conditioning, electric power supply with solar and generator backup, Wi-Fi, television, ablutions, a kitchenette, furniture, and storage compartments in the belly of the chassis with full livery on the boxes.
Spartan fleet director Shailesh Koobair highlights that the company has been a Serco customer for many years. “We are very happy with the service and quality of the products we have received from Serco, and will continue to use them as our needs require,” he says.
Solar energy for facilities
The last development has an environmental twist, as Serco’s Gauteng premises are now fully powered by solar energy. The company’s ongoing commitment to green initiatives has seen a 150-kW hybrid solar system with 370 x 405 W panels introduced, while high voltage inverters coupled with 320kW of batteries have also been installed at the factory in Boksburg.
This sizzling situation follows the installation of solar power at Serco’s Durban factory in the Phoenix Industrial Park in 2019, which has saved more than 618 tonnes in carbon emissions to date.
Whereas the solar system at the Durban site provides full power to the premises during the day and switches back onto the grid at night when far less electricity is required, Johannesburg’s system produces a constant 24-hour supply by using the inverter and batteries.
Next in line to go solar is Serco’s premises in Cape Town, where installation should be completed before the end of the year. These initiatives are part of Serco’s drive to reduce its impact on the environment and go hand-in-hand with other “greening developments”, including the recycling of the paper and plastic it uses.
“We believe that businesses have a critical role to play in addressing environmental challenges. Our adoption of solar power is a testament to our dedication to sustainable manufacturing and our responsibility towards the planet,” says Holcroft.
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