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EVil flVRLL AE
Page 88
Page 89
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LILLEVILL 111 RLLt
The Sandbach firm is providing a number of special order vehicles
THE South African vehicle market is in a state of uncertainty, if not rec.ession.
Political and .social adjustment are unsettling business confidence; the rest of the' world's inflation is inevitably having its effect; and South African labour rates have created a domestic mini inflation, Since much of South Africa's exports consists of minerals, the economy is sensitive to world market prices.
Normally, the answer to inflation is to raise production; to do so successfully means there must be a demand for the product, however. If output cannot be raised, the South African government can only 'devalue the rand or cut public spending. It has done a little of both.
Over a third of heavy-vehicle sales in South Africa are to government departments, so any cut in government spending soon affects the lorry market.
The cut-back in public spending has reduced orders. A two-axle Cummins-engined Foden tractive unit costs about £20,000 in South Africa; a 216kW (2904) three-axle tractor, £27,000. In the UK the price of two-axle chassis-cab is £16,575. But the three-axle unit in the UK is made to a different specification and so not directly comparable.
Competition is fierce. There are 19 vehicle manufacturers in SA: They come from Australia, USA, Britain, West Germany, France, Italy, Japan and Sweden, all of them going hard for the over 20-tonne market.
In this latest economic downturn, in which sales are down by 4.6 per cent overall, Britain hes done well — increasing both sales and market penetration. Leyland has moved from seventh to third place in the league table with a 40 er cent increase in sales. With the help of a substantial government contract, ERF has increased its sales by 80 per cent and was No 5 best seller among South African heavies last year.
This year it looks like Fodens' turn to do well, with production under way on 138 special tractors alone for trailer-shunting at docks. The order is worth about £4m and constitutes nearly as many vehicles as Foden sold in nine months when it was in No 5 position in the South African league back in 1975.
With strong influence of government buying and the fierce competition .which can encourage short-term super finance and rental deals distorting the market, heavy-truck selling in South Africa is a volatile business even when conditid-ns are steady. There was little difference in total registrations between 1975
and 1976, yet the second yea saw some American sale: plummet to a third of those ir 1975, and in the same perior Scandinavian sales wen halved.
The German sales stayec fairly steady while British sale: went up.
It helps to be well estab lished like Foden in SA because the sales pattern is no so likely to be distorted. Somr sales can be lost to a nev Dmpetitor coming in with a aen financial deal just to get stablished. It is called servicig an export market.
But the following year is the ear of reckoning for the ewcomer and he needs to find is natural market level with veryone else -otherwise the nancial drain from subsiding Ilse sales becomes intolerable. )dens have been in South frica for over 50 years in that me it has seen competitors )me and go.
Nevertheless, when the total iarket is only 3,000 heavy ucks a year and anyone selling lore than two a week is in the rst seven, it is important to aep a steady flow of orders. hat can be done only on the asis of a solid reputation and .ith an on-the-spot managelent which understands the )untry's requirements. It is a plicy which Foden applies to (ports whenever economically !asible.
The company opened a new ssembly factory in Johannesurg in 1972. It has a ,066sqm (33,000sqft) worklop producing between three -id five vehicles a week. The ant employs 80 people.
There is plenty of room for (pansion on Foden's 61/2-acre te. But from where will the (pension come?
As in all export markets, iere is always a popular cry for greater local content. The lag is, of course, that with ich low volumes of vehicle 'eduction the local content can a only of items either in aneral mass production — Tes, wheels, wiring, glass, aint — or components with a rge labour content but low ipital investment.
This is where Fodens' experse at reinforced-plastics. iouldings has paid off in SA. abs for Fodens are made cally. Components representg big tooling investment, ich as gearboxes, radiators, des and engines are supplied the South African plant in kit form from Fodens' factory in Britain.
The local contribution is greater, in a subtle way, than can be measured in materials. There is a big contribution by the South African staff on matching the product to the operating conditions. There is, therefore, a large degree of local know-how in a South African Foden. This local con: tribution is where much of the future expansion is going to be generated.
The South African plant is delighted, for example, with the success of a high-floor transit bus it introduced exclusively to its own country only a couple of years ago. It started as a converted truck chassis but finished up as a distinct single-decker bus model in its own right. The reliability and fuel economy of a Gardner 6LXB engine could not miss attracting the customers.
By mounting the engine low and ahead of the front axle a forward entrance was provided. Driving was made more convenient for stop-start work by fitting a semi-automatic Wilson gearbox. So now Fodens are in the bus market.
Similarly, Fodens in South Africa enjoy a wider market catchment through the Johannesburg plant's readiness to build for customers' special requirements. Some help in this comes from Foden's strength in four-axle machines and off-road dumpers. The parts can be assembled in different permutations to suit all sorts of needs.
The South African Department of Water Affairs, which operates about 300 Fodens, have two specially long eightwheelers which have a single steering axle and a tri-axle bogie. The leading axle of this bogie is sprung and can be raised.
The purpose is to get the fifth-wheel coupling well back for 100-ton heavy haulage work and yet leave plenty of space on the chassis for a 60-ton winch and a 7-ton hydraulic crane — as well as big fuel tanks. The turbocharged Cummins engine develops, 283kW (380hp) and drives through Allison automatic transmissions, which are a popular dumper fitment in SA.
There is also a demand for half-cab tractors. A recent example was a double-drive three-axle tractor needed for short hauls of sugar cane.
There are eight-wheelers developed specially for wet cement transport, carrying a 7cum (250cuft) agitator driven hydraulically by a big power take-off contrived on the front of a Cummins 290 engine.
Double-bottoms built for a furniture remover have a sleeper-cab twice as long as European sleeper-cabs, to accommodate the driver and two crew on three-day trips of 1,000 miles and more at a time.
Each of the semi-trailers are step-frame low-floor designs with big double doors in the sides. The first trailer is hitched to the tractor, the second trailer to a dolly. Altogether there is 101cum (3,600cuft) usable volume in those vans.
Until recently the South Africans preferred forwardsloping windscreens on their Fodens. Now the fashion is for the roomy S80 style of cab with almost vertical screens.
The snout is larger than usual to accommodate the big radiator fitted to suit the hot climate and high altitudes. Dual headlamps are fitted. The popular heavy truck is a fixedaxle artic, using 'a double-drive tractor of around 216kW (290hp) — 38-tonners and the, like are hardly new to Fodens' worldwide experience.
For the future, Fodens expect to score even greater market penetration from the introduction of the Universal range, with its prime attention to refined performance and even higher standards of reliability. There is already interest in the 36-tonne three-axle on/off-site Universal, filling a niche between dumper and road-going tipper.
In 1978 even more interest is expected to accompany the Universal articulated trucks, using engines and transmissions familiar to operators all over South Africa whether they already run Fodens or not. That will widen the catchment and bring a strong work-flow to the Johannesburg factory. Britain is well established in SA and growing every year.