For a transport company such as Fairfield Longhaul that specialises in transporting refrigerated or temperature-controlled products, reliability, safety and efficiency are paramount when selecting the right trucks for the job.

David Street, Managing Director of Fairfield Longhaul, says that the company is committed to providing its clients with a reliable, on-time service that is compliant with all transport and safety requirements. To this end, the KZN-based company has been steadily increasing its fleet of DAF Trucks over the last six years to transport fish, meat and dairy products to destinations across South Africa, and was first in line for the brand-new DAF Trucks introduced to the South African market earlier this year. In March, Fairfield took delivery of the first new DAF XF480 truck to arrive in the country, with five more to follow by July.

Street says that DAF Trucks’ excellent reliability and fuel efficiency, as well as Fairfield Longhaul’s exceptional relationship with the Babcock sales and after-sales support teams, are the key motivating factors for their continued support of the DAF brand.

“We appreciate Babcock’s personal sales approach with great backup from the support teams, particularly from Ian Rall in Durban. Babcock is always willing to help with structuring deals, managing issues and is clearly passionate about the product,” says Street.

The latest DAF CF and XF Trucks hit the South African highways this year to much fanfare from the transport sector in anticipation of even better fuel efficiency for which DAF Trucks are renowned. Among the highlights of the new trucks compared to its predecessors are improved chassis, cabs, gearboxes and engines. Specifically engineered for local road conditions, the new DAF trucks offer Pure Excellence in transport efficiency while setting new benchmarks for driver comfort and safety.

Central to the new trucks’ transport efficiency is a multi-torque PACCAR MX-13 engine offering more torque at lower revolutions per minute (rpm) for higher fuel efficiency, lower noise levels and reduced CO₂ emissions.

As a long-standing Babcock client, Fairfield Longhaul was involved with the testing and some of the gas trials for the new trucks, which have already indicated a fuel improvement of 6%+ for the company’s specific application. Following the initial tests, Street also notes that the safety features on the new trucks are exceptional, and that particular attention has been paid to driver comfort, with the XF offering the largest interior space on the market. He adds that the new trucks have aesthetic appeal with their fresh exterior design and excellent aerodynamics.

“We are a proud DAF partner and we look forward to maintaining the relationship with Babcock as the DAF brand continues to grow from strength to strength in South Africa,” says Street. “The Babcock team and the DAF contacts we’ve made have been genuinely interested in helping us build our business regardless of whether it benefits Babcock or DAF. It’s more of a partnership in making sure the truck performs well in South Africa as well as our business. The trials have been a great staff motivator after a challenging 2020 year and we’re looking to build the fleet in the year to come.”

The new DAF CF and XF series are available from Babcock in a range of model variants. The DAF XF comes with an unlimited mileage driveline warranty and the DAF CF with a 3 year or 600 000km driveline warranty (whichever occurs first). Older DAF Trucks models can be traded in on the new trucks. Babcock will continue to provide full service and spare parts support for older series versions.