SBV, a leading cash solutions and services company in South Africa, recently took delivery of its 300th cash-in-transit (CIT) vehicle based on a Hino chassis-cab. The latest unit, based on a Hino 815 with fully automatic transmission, was built by Ballistic Armour Technology (BAT) and is the third generation of these highly sophisticated cash-in-transit vehicles.
The armoured cash-in-transit vehicles, which have been delivered to SBV for several years by the Unitrans Group’s Hino West Rand dealership, are rated among the best in the world by Armscor and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). The high rating of these vehicle is in line with SBV’s strategy of remaining focussed on developing a fleet of specialised vehicles that are reliable, convenient to operate and technologically advanced.
SBV, which was founded in 1986, with shareholders consisting of Standard Bank, ABSA, FirstRand (FNB), Nedbank and Prosegur, operates from a national footprint in all nine provinces with operations extending across borders to Namibia and Lesotho.
“We always strive for leadership in terms of the technologies in our vehicles, which are aimed at protecting the crew and the cargo,” says Fanie Pretorius, the Executive of Logistics at SBV. “The logistical challenges of operating a large, specialised fleet such as ours are very demanding and a great deal of time, effort and investment is used to improve our service levels; to this end our most important requirement is that the vehicles we use must be dependable and reliable.
“Most of our armoured fleet is made up of Toyota and Hino vehicles as we find there are significant benefits in standardisation, particularly since much of the armour can be recycled from one vehicle to another when the time comes for replacement.” added Pretorius.
“Most of our latest units are based on the Hino 815 truck chassis-cab and specified with fully automatic transmissions which are proving reliable, efficient and easy to operate. They are also supporting our drive to reduce maintenance costs and downtime as there are no clutches to be replaced. We have also found this Hino model to be fuel efficient in tough operating conditions, often including extensive stop-start driving and long periods of idling,” explained Pretorius.
“Hino has had a long relationship with security companies in South Africa in supplying chassis-cabs that form the basis for the bulk of the country’s high-tech cash-in-transit vehicles,” said Ernie Trautmann, Vice President of Hino South Africa, speaking at a special function to mark the delivery of the 300th Hino CIT to SBV.
“We are also fortunate in having a dealer network that can provide excellent back-up to customers such as SBV, who have special requirements. Here I must congratulate Hino West Rand for their dedication in being our front line in looking after the important SBV fleet.
“I must say it is a pleasure dealing with such a world-class company as SBV as well as working with specialised body-builders BAT, who also have the same desire as Hino to provide customers with vehicles where Quality, Durability and Reliability (QDR) are paramount.
“Hino’s success in the provision of top quality cash-in-transit vehicles in South Africa is now having international benefits for Hino, with the latest country where these vehicles are being promoted in this specialised market is Australia,” concluded Trautmann.
