Published: 1st October, 2019

Boksburg’s PA Stemmet Vervoer started out in 1996, focusing on hazardous goods transportation. Today it provides transport services for all goods – except livestock and furniture – in and around the Gauteng, North West, Mpumalanga, Free state, Limpopo and Kwazulu-Natal provinces.

The company operates a mixed fleet in excess of 20 trucks, the majority of which haul tautliner trailers across six of the country’s nine provinces. Typically completing a number of smaller deliveries in and around various towns in South Africa, the company’s trucks usually cover around 5 000km every month.

The company has recently added three more Daewoo Maximus KL3TX truck tractors to its fleet, which brings to five the number of Daewoo’s in its daily operation.

Owner of the company, Piet Stemmet, explains: “In 2018 I needed two new vehicles for my fleet, and, through prior knowledge of the Cummins ISX 475 engine and Eaton Ultrashift gearbox combination, I decided to purchase two Daewoo Maximus KL3TX truck tractors. I was 100% satisfied with the professional service I received, and the competitive transaction offered. As they say, the rest is history,” he adds.

Daewoo Maximus trucks are powered by Cummins ISX 480 engines and feature either an 18-speed Eaton Ultrashift Plus AMT constant mesh transmission or 12-speed ZF Astronic AMT syncro mesh transmission. PA Stemmet makes use of the latter.

The initial two Daewoo trucks the company bought are now a year old and have been performing well in terms of fuel economy, power, comfort and, most importantly, reliability and uptime. He adds that the Daewoo trucks are easy to drive, with comfortable air-suspended seats and above average ride quality.

“We have not experienced any mechanical problems and, combined with all the above-mentioned attributes, I decided to increase my Daewoo fleet. The standard warranty of three years or 600 000km is a great comfort to me and shows the confidence Daewoo Trucks South Africa has in their product,” continues Mr Stemmet.

“But what I appreciate most is the excellent Korean craftsmanship, combined with the fantastic drivetrain; a renowned power feature in the South African transport industry.

We benefit from the high torque (2 509Nm) and horsepower (354kW) in these trucks, which means more revenue for my company and a happy driver behind the wheel,” he explains.

Apart from great value for money, Mr Stemmet says he is delighted with the after sales support offered by Daewoo Trucks South Africa. Daewoo Assist, a 24/7 call centre is in place to assist with any issues that might arise on the road and parts are always available from the dedicated Daewoo parts facility. In fact, there are 91 touch points dedicated to serving the brand throughout the country.

Mr Stemmet is also impressed with the fact that servicing of his Daewoo trucks can be done on a Saturday, if required.

He believes that personal relationships in the transport business are vital to one’s success. “Willie Froneman (product sales manager at Daewoo Trucks South Africa) sorts out everything for us. I have known him for 10 years; he knows this product and he knows the transport industry well.”

Mr Stemmet is a friendly, proud man and he is equally proud of his trucks, which are kept spotlessly clean at all times. “It is not easy to keep them clean but clean trucks help to secure more business for us. People phone us just to tell us how good our trucks look,” he enthuses.

“Daewoo Maximus is definitely my truck of the future,” he concludes.