The world of commercial heavy transportation is highly competitive with new companies entering – and leaving – the industry constantly. Heymans Kole, a transportation company based in Standerton, is one that has outlasted many. In fact, under the leadership of entrepreneur Gert Koch, this operation has grown and prospered.
Customer service is crucial to the business and is dependent upon absolute reliability. To ensure ‘on time, every time’ deliveries, Heymans Kole has a strict maintenance and replacement schedule.
Part of the company’s maintenance policy involves sound ongoing care of the tyres on its vehicles. “The cost of tyres is second only to the cost of diesel, and so it makes sense for us to look after our rubber carefully,” says Koch.
For this reason, 10 years ago, Heymans Kole invested in its first nitrogen generator from the pioneers of nitrogen generation in South Africa, NitraLife. This was installed at its Standerton branch. As the company expanded, additional nitrogen generators have been installed at its other branches.
“In 2008, we started investigating ways in which to reduce our tyre costs and nitrogen tyre inflation was an obvious option. It was then that we contacted NitraLife,” he explains.
The benefits for Heymans Kole are that its trucks are getting many more kilometres out of their new tyres because they are running cooler. This improved performance also extends to the re-tread tyres that the company uses.
“With nitrogen inflation, the pressure in tyres remains more constant, as nitrogen leaks out through tyre walls much more slowly than oxygen,” says NitraLife GM, Twayne Stewart.
“Our drivers are all equipped with tyre pressure gauges, so when they are on the road they can check the tyre pressures regularly as well,” Koch adds, explaining that he has noticed that tyre failures have decreased notably since Heymans Kole started inflating its tyres with nitrogen.
“In our business, turnaround times are very important and having trouble-free tyres means consistently faster turnaround times,” he saya. “In addition, having our tyres inflated with nitrogen means greater peace of mind, as we can avoid downtime and the problems associated with having vehicles stuck next to the side of the road.”
Asked about the service he has received from NitraLife, Koch comments: “In our 10 years of working with NitraLife, we found them to be very cooperative and of considerable assistance when we wanted nitrogen generators installed at our other branches. They were able to advise us on the correct choice and installation of nitrogen generators. And their after-sales service is also very good.”
