Pictured with one of the new log carrying vehicles are Rocky Smith (Buhle Betfu); Danie Wagenaar (Sappi); Andre Bekker (MAN); Kallie le Roux (MAN); Dave Edmond-Mack (Cargo Carriers).

MAN Nelspruit has announced the conclusion of a deal to be the sole vehicle supplier to Mpumalanga-based transport and logistics empowerment company, Buhle Betfu over the four year period of their recently awarded Sappi contract.

Buhle Betfu was launched in 2001 following a joint venture between Cargo Carriers and emerging sugarcane farmers in the Shongwe (Malelane) and Komatipoort areas.
"Buhle Betfu was established to enable the smaller, local sugarcane growers to become economically efficient and enable them to provide better service to the local mills," said Rocky Smith, operations manager at Buhle Betfu. "About 600 small sugarcane farmers receive infrastructural and business management guidance and support from Buhle Betfu.
Through this assistance the farmers have been able to reduce their transport time to the local mills drastically, for which Buhle Betfu received a Platinum Award at the annual Logistics Achiever Awards."

The growers purchased 12% shares annually to the agreed 60%, which should be complete by September this year, according to Smith.
In August 2006 Buhle Betfu secured a Sappi timber contract, which entails transporting over 700 000 tons of timber per annum for the next four years.
"Transporting timber is a departure from our traditional business of sugarcane transportation. However, both are process driven, logistics operations, which is the core competence of our business. This is the first timber contract for us, but we definitely see this as a growth area for our business," said Smith.

Buhle Betfu required a packaged vehicle deal to meet their tender requirements," explained Callie le Roux, sales consultant at MAN Nelspruit. "There were a number of manufacturers that tendered for this contract, but MAN was selected to provide the 15 trucks and trailers, maintenance contracts, an onsite workshop and service team. Another important stipulation of the contract was providing Buhle Betfu with the most economical vehicles, and MAN came in with the lowest Rand/km cost.
MAN Financial Services provided the financing, which includes a 40% buy-back agreement at the end of the contract period in 2010."

The vehicles provided to Buhle Betfu have also been specifically customised to meet the requirements of transporting 39 tonnes of timber per trip, "MAN has designed the loading body and trailer that will be used, which is known as the SAM (Sappi, Afrit and MAN) 2 Spec truck," said le Roux. "The body of the SAM 2 Spec has been modified to fit onto the chassis to accommodate the repositioned fuel tank and ensure that all side mounted parts are located inside the chassis.
"Our vehicles travel 12 500 km per month and require 90% up-time to comply with the requirements of the Sappi contract, so vehicle reliability was key," concluded Smith.