Business is taking an upward turn at leading South African truck and trailer building company, Serco, where the signs of a resurgence augur well for trade in the new year.
Serco CEO Clinton Holcroft says they are seeing cyclical improvements in orders and inquiries going into the final quarter of 2024 with his optimism boosted further by the recent stability in the country’s electricity supply and a relatively smooth introduction of the Government of National Unity (GNU).
Holcroft now wants to see more decisive steps being taken by Government to unlock growth in the South African economy which has been constrained by policies hampering development, resulting in an alarming level of unemployment and poverty. “If we can see more collaboration between business and government, it is very possible we can return to the 3% plus growth needed to make a dent in unemployment.”
However, his optimism is a little muted after a “really tough year” of trading in which Serco has experienced a dip in demand for new vehicle bodies with orders for refrigerated trailers, in particular, being slow and down more than 50% against last year.
Congestion and delays at the port continue to plague supply chain planning which had also been impacted negatively by the conflict in the Middle East forcing shipping lines to avoid the Red Sea.
“A highlight of the year for the South African economy was the smooth GNU establishment but what is really key now is to see the various role players put aside differences to unlock the growth the country sorely needs,” said Holcroft.
“Other major positives were the lowest level of load shedding in five years, a big factor in the general sentiment lift, and the recent changes at Transnet which bode well for this key resource to be rebuilt after years of mismanagement.”
Lowlights included the excessive congestion at the ports and the lengthy delays for commercial vehicles at South African border posts. “There seems to be very little will to address these major impediments to the flow of goods which adds significant costs throughout the supply chain,” he said.
Holcroft was optimistic 2025 would see an improvement in commercial vehicle body volumes as there were encouraging signs from key customers wanting to increase their replacement of new truck bodies and trailers next year while the reducing interest rate cycle
“The influx of Chinese vehicles onto the market could be a cause for some concern, especially if complete vehicles are allowed to be imported.”
On the subject of innovation and addition at Serco, Holcroft said using power from sustainable sources had been one of the company’s strategic priorities. “After commissioning solar power at our Cape Town facility towards the end of last year, we were extremely proud to reach a record milestone of 67% of our electricity used across our manufacturing sites coming from solar power earlier this year. We will continue to drive this into the future.”
Serco is planning to expand its capacity at its Johannesburg factory following the recent commissioning of a CNC cutting and bending machine. The site has significant space to cater for future growth as the volume of new products increases.
Serco also made significant progress in broadening its product range introducing a new multi-mode side and rear curtain-sider trailer for beverage transport. “We also launched a new lightweight curtain-sider interlink trailer and added drop side vehicle bodies to our range which now includes refrigerated, dry freight box and van bodies as well as curtain-sider bodies.
“We also added a lightweight GRP composite model to our refrigerated trailer offering which includes the Protec- coated steel refrigerated trailer and the premium Protec plus refrigerated trailer,” he said.
Serco delivered a number of trailers for leading local transporters incorporating the latest e-charging axle system to power the fridge. The company was the first to build one of these units using the BPW axle-driven system to power a Thermoking Advancer 500. There are orders for a further 11 units which Serco will deliver by year end.
Another exciting development is that the company will soon offer finance options for new trailers thus making its products more affordable and convenient for customers looking for a one-stop shop at Serco.
The company now has a fleet of refrigerated rental trailers which are available for short or long term rentals.
Holcroft said the recent investment during the year by Bidvest into Serco was a huge plus and would underpin future growth plans going into next year and beyond.
“Our recent visit to the IAA show in Hanover, enabled us to see and experience some of the exciting developments taking place globally to reduce vehicle emissions, reduce running costs for transporters and unlock improvements in efficiencies using cutting edge technology.
“The future looks very exciting, particularly when it comes to powering trucks and trailers using new technology.”