Vehicles and equipment worth in excess of R1,6 million had already been sold to customers by the end of the first two days of the inaugural HeavyWeight Expo, being staged over four days at the Tshwane Events Centre in Pretoria West.

Dura Equipment Sales and Hart-Top Trading and Engineering, two of the more than 170 exhibitors showcasing the products and concepts from the heavy vehicle industry in the halls and outside display areas of the Old Pretoria Showgrounds, each reported sales on Tuesday, the opening day of the Expo.

Dura delivered a R775 000 refurbished Bell B25C 6×6 articulated 25-ton dump truck (ADT) to a customer in Carletonville straight off their stand at the Tshwane Events Centre.  Dura’s Kobus van der Merwe commented:  “We’ve been waiting for a show like this for a long time and we’re very pleased to be a part of it.  It provides us and our colleagues in the yellow metal (predominantly earthmoving equipment) business with a great opportunity to network with our colleagues, get some valuable exposure for our brand and even make some sales like we did on Tuesday.”

The company boasts what is one of the biggest stock yards in South Africa alongside the N14 between Johannesburg and Witbank, with more than 70 units displayed on a 51 000 square metre lot.  The cheapest vehicle costs around R250 000 with the most expensive being a R3-million excavator

Stefan Hartslief of Hart-Top reported sales of two three-axle, hydraulic neck, slope deck lowbeds at R440 000 each.  The company, which has a factory in Chamdor, Krugersdorp and showrooms in Boksburg, custom makes lowbeds and trailers for a variety of applications, but primarily for transporting earthmoving equipment.  They vary from 38- to 75-ton payload capacity.  They also sell provide a range of custom-made Radium and Muva agricultural implements and sell late model, low hour original earthmoving equipment.

“The beauty of a show like this is that we all get a chance to get together and do business, often assisting each other with business and showcasing our products in a very pleasant environment,” said Hartslief.  “We’ve had quite a few enquiries in just the first two days.”

The Workshop and Aftermarket Show (WATS) is running in conjunction with the HeavyWeight Expo and opened its two-day programme on Wednesday.  With over 100 exhibitor stands in Hall J, WATS is also running 30-minute mini seminars covering the full aftermarket spectrum from general vehicle diagnostics, fuel injection, gas analysis and engine management to correct testing of new generation alternator voltage regulators.

Yesterday was also the second day of a programme of workshops with top class speakers and tailored to the needs of the heavy vehicle industry.  These included presentations by Gavin Kelly of the Road Freight Association, who spoke about the implications of proposed regulatory changes for the road freight industry, and South African Petroleum Industry Association environmental advisor Anton Moldan on ‘Cleaner fuels: implications for the economy’.

The HeavyWeight Expo, which is endorsed by the Retail Motor Industry (RMI), offers free entrance and parking and is open to anyone who is interested who can produce a business card at the gate.

It ends on Friday with a unique auction to be conducted by Van’s Auctioneer’s of Pretoria.  It will provide the heavy vehicle industry with the ideal opportunity to sell off excess stock, demonstration models and factory guaranteed stock.  A crowd-pleasing attraction on Friday is likely to be the  ‘world’s strongest man’ demonstration in the main arena where some really big humans will be taking on some really big vehicles.

Ends

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