TOP TRAILERS
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T h e c o m petitio n le f t
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Top Trailers focus manufacturing
Top Trailers’ National Sales and Marketing Manager William Mathee talks to South Africa Magazine.
By Ian Armitage
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op Trailers is one of the largest trailer manufacturers in South Africa and its website says it offers a “product range tailor made for the need of every customer”. It adds that, apart from manufacturing trailers, it offers “clients excellent aftersale services by servicing and repairing trailers”, while selling “used trailers” and “renting out trailers”. “The fact that we also offer our clients 24-hour road-side assistance in case of a breakdown ensures that we offer the best after sale service in the country,” it says. Top Trailers has three factories, two in Johannesburg and one in Cape Town, as well as a repair depot (which can also build new units) in Middleburg and repair operations in Heidelberg and Richards Bay. It has a sales representative in Namibia too and continues to expand. It is not a surprise to learn the company motto: ‘The sky is not the limit’. I asked National Sales and Marketing Manager William Mathee how he thinks the business is performing in, this, it’s tenth year, and what’s being planned for the future. William, ten years in; what do you make of that? While I’ve been here for just three of those, it is a fantastic achievement. If you look at our designs, every year we focus on new innovations to improve the quality of all our products. One example is the side tipper range, which we are continually updating and innovating. Every new design is a highlight and we intend to do that on an ongoing basis. www.southafricamag.com
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Top Trailers focus manufacturing
The newest design is the Swingbin you launched last November. Has that been well received? It has done very well. We launched that at the Johannesburg International Motor Show and the main difference between the Swingbin and a side tipper is the safety aspect. With the Swingbin the centre of gravity remains in the middle of the trailer, making it more stable. The bottom basically falls out so it offers a lot more stability. With the Swingbin no tipping takes place, your bottom falls out and the top rises. It is like a mouth that opens. As I said, it has been well received by the market, particularly the bigger players in the industry who have embraced the trend. We produce the Swingbin on its own production line. The smaller market players still perhaps favour the side tippers but we have seen a move to the Swingbin. Demand is certainly there and it is really picking up. 4
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A lot of what you do is tailor made. How does that work exactly? Customers come to us with a unique set of requirements in terms of transport, the terrain, the quality of the roads and the required payload, etc. After we’ve got the basic idea, we will design a trailer. That’s actually how the Swingbin was born. So, ideas can start with a customer and we will follow them through. You joined Top Trailers three years ago from Absa bank. That was quite a change? Yes, funnily enough I worked for Absa for 19 years and Top Trailers was one of my customers. They wanted somebody to look after sales nationally and we started talking. I decided to come across and haven’t looked back since. This is an exciting time at Top Trailers? You’re planning to expand? We are, into neighbouring countries in particular – cross border trade. We want to capitalise on it and see a lot of potential. We are still expanding into Africa. We are in fact sending a team out to Zambia to look at the potential there and I know we are also starting repair work in those areas as well. It is an ongoing process. We’re at the beginnings of the tip of what is a huge iceberg and the potential is massive. We’re busy examining how we can move forward, looking at Namibia, Angola and elsewhere. But at the moment Zambia is particularly attractive. As you know, our customers are also expanding outside SA, and we can piggyback on that, taking our name out into new markets. 6
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You’re looking at opening an agency in Zambia? We are. That’ll come in the next 12 months. The market is healthy then? Well currently it is quiet domestically. Obviously there are external factors at play and the mining strikes have had an impact. It has led to a decline in demand for tippers as projects are delayed or shelved. Things have become increasingly competitive in the second hand market too, with product selling cheaper than it traditionally has. But we’ve been in these cycles before. Activity will pick up.
Top Trailers focus manufacturing
Fortunately we’ve always had a strong order book. We don’t see it being too problematic and we’ve actually seen orders picking up in some segments, particularly road transport/ container carriers. You can see that in our order books and that is an interesting trend. How would you classify Top Trailers? Locally there are three big boys. We’re in with them. There’s us, Afrit and SA Truck Bodies. We’re in the top three. What’s the secret to your success? A very good relationship with suppliers and customers is critical. We are ten years old now and have achieved a lot. In many ways we are just beginning too, especially in the African context. We’ve done well, and we have a strong order book and solid customer base. Big players are happy to work with us and regularly come back. They’re happy with our product and the service we deliver. The quality in the product obviously has to be there. You can’t build anything without that.
We are ten years old now and have achieved a lot. In many ways we are just beginning too, especially in the African context
Your message is ‘sky is not the limit’? That’s our message. Whatever a customer wants or needs, whatever their problem or challenge, we will build it for them, develop a solution. There is never a limit to new ideas. That’s how we are known and want to continue to be known. END To learn more visit www.toptrailers.co.za. www.southafricamag.com
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