Vehicle reliability is critical to Johannesburg-based The Fruitspot, one of the largest suppliers of fresh produce in South Africa.

That is why reliability and low running costs are major factors when they make vehicle choices for their hard-working fleet.“Reliability and excellent back-up. service are among the reasons a significant number of the vehicles in our fleet are Hinos and Toyotas,” explains Lino Ferreira, The Fruitspot’s Group Sales, Marketing and Operations Director. Speaking at his “operations station” in Sandton he says: “We currently operate seven Hino 500-series trucks, 19 Dynas and three Hilux bakkies in our fleet of 80 vehicles, which range in size from half-ton pickups to 30-ton rigs.”

“We deal mainly with Pat Hinde Toyota, in Boksburg,” he adds.

Most of The Fruitspot’s trucks and trailers are refrigerated and they travel a combined distance of about 10 000 km a day, with regional travel to Mpumalanga, Northern KwaZulu-Natal, Northern Cape, Limpopo and the Free State, as well as extensive short-distance deliveries in Gauteng. The fleet transports about 400 tons of produce daily. Although no cross-border travel takes place currently, the company is looking at expanding into neighbouring countries. The 2-5-ton trucks are generally replaced after three years, while the truck tractors are kept in use for approximately five years. Serco is responsible for supplying most of the bodies and trailers. The majority of the truck and trailer maintenance is carried out at the workshop facilities at The Fruitspot’s Johannesburg headquarters. The fleet is monitored constantly by Comtech, which sends out SMS’s to alert The Fruitspot management of misdemeanors or emergencies.

Family-owned, The Fruitspot was established in Midrand in 1989 by the three Ferreira brothers – Charles, Johnny and Lino - and since then it
has been an amazing success story as the company has doubled in size every three years. After starting out with one 1400 half-ton bakkie it now operates a significant fleet of vehicles. From small beginnings the company moved in July 2008 to a 12 000 m2 facility in Marlboro, which represents an investment of R60 million. The Fruitspot serves both retailers and the catering industry and buys much of its produce direct from farmers.The three brothers continue to run the operation, with Charles responsible for group affairs and strategy, Johnny looking after group procurement,and Lino taking care of group sales, marketing and operations. All of them have Code 14 licences, so are able to evaluate the full range of vehicles, while Lino does driver evaluation. The trucks with their bold yellow The Fruitspot logo and catchy slogan,“Anything fresher is still growing”,are individualised by custom number plates that refer to the products sold by the organisation, such as “LETTUCE GP”, “QCUMBER GP” and “CARROTS GP”. This is certainly a company on the move, both figuratively and literally!