ROSS Demolition, one of Cape Town’s leading demolition companies has not only shown faith in FAW vehicles with its order of 16 FAW 28.280 FD 10 cubic metre tippers, but has also indicated it would not hesitate ordering more.

“We investigated both the company and the performance of the vehicles via a free truck that FAW lent us for nearly two months. We were satisfied after this trial and we are just a satisfied after having done nearly 80 000 km with our FAW fleet,” says Robbie Ross, Ross Demolition MD.

Ross says that they have found the FAW vehicles to be much lighter on fuel than any of the competing brands they run while the wear on the tyres is as good as on any of the others. “The bottom line is that we are getting as good a quality service from FAW compared with our other trucks at quite a significantly reduced cost if one takes wear and tear, maintenance, diesel and the initial capital cost into account.”

The simple mechanics of the FAW vehicle makes an important difference to the productivity of his operators as they enjoy driving the trucks. “They are easy to operate with simple gearboxes and, importantly, they are easy to service and maintain as they are not over-encumbered with complex computer technology.”Ross says that FAW are ideal vehicles for Africa where projects are often in very remote places demanding reliability and, in the case of a breakdown, easy access to spares and technical assistance. “We do a lot of work cross-border and FAW are amply represented in these places. Furthermore, the trucks have demonstrated extreme reliability. In fact, for the 80 000 km that the FAW fleet has worked for us, downtime has been absolutely minimal.”

FAW Cape Town branch manager Vernon Rudman says that the entire experience with Ross demolition has been a very positive one. “This is one of Cape Town’s leading industrial companies and we regard it as a significant feather in our cap to not only have done the business with Ross Demolition but also to have earned praise from them about our service and the quality of our vehicles,” says Rudman.

He adds that The FAW 28.280 FD is one of FAW’s best-sellers worldwide. Powered by a Weichai, diesel, water-cooled, six-in-line, turbo-charged and intercooled engine, it develops 206 Kw at 2300 revs per minute and 1160 kN torque at 1400 revs per minute.

Rudman says that the vehicle has the ideal specifications for economical and efficient operation. “Over the years we have tweaked this vehicle to perfectly fit local conditions and we are getting excellent performance out of them,” he concludes.

Founded in 1898, Ross demolition is now moving to its fourth generation of Ross management. Some of its better known contracts have included: demolition of Athlone Power Station cooling towers; earthworks for the Santam project in Tygervalley and internal demolition at the Tygervalley shopping centre. They are also renowned experts in drilling and blasting techniques for a variety of applications and have a recycling division ensuring that nothing goes to waste.