Construction, quarrying and surface mining industries are inarguably the bedrock of South Africa’s economy. Their strategic importance cannot be overstated, states Elvis Mutseura, product manager at IVECO South Africa.
While they may ebb and flow due to a wide range of factors such as international pricing, demand and local policy, he says, these industries have continually delivered returns for the economy for over a century and will continue to do so well into the future.
Given the strategic importance of construction, quarrying and surface mining industries, Mutseura says IVECO South Africa has in recent times renewed its focus on these sectors through the provision of innovative off-road solutions that speak directly to the needs of the industries.
“IVECO is very excited about the solutions that we offer to construction, quarrying and surface mining industries. We are even more excited about our renewed focus on these sectors. We launched our T-Way range of off-road trucks in 2024 to replace the previous Trakker range, which places us in good stead to offer effective solutions to these sectors,” says Mutseura.
Enter T-Way
The IVECO T-Way is said to provide strong performance in tough off-road missions. With its combination of robustness, reliability and comfort, it is designed to meet requirements for high productivity, payload capacity and safety.
The T-Way range boasts a new 13-litre common-rail diesel engine that significantly improves fuel economy and has a longer service interval. A new generation 16-speed automated transmission provides enhanced control and performance through responsive and precise gear selection to tackle challenging underfoot conditions and terrain.
“We offer an array of Power Take-Off (PTO) options that are programmable to accomplish a multitude of tasks efficiently, intelligently and safely. Available in 4×4, 6×4, 6×6, and 8×4 configurations, there is a T-Way for any task,” says Mutseura.
One of the major talking points on the T-Way is IVECO’s Hi-Traction, a hydrostatic drive system that provides additional hydraulic front-wheel traction when needed, improving grip, handling and driving safety, especially on slippery surfaces and in off-road conditions.
“The Hi-Traction system is automatically activated to provide additional hydraulic front-wheel traction when needed to overcome the skidding of the rear axle on slippery surfaces. It delivers all the grip, manoeuvrability and driving safety advantages of all-wheel drive,” explains Mutseura.
The Hi-Traction system can be activated manually with a button in the cab, switching from ‘Inactive’ to ‘Ready to engage’ mode. The system is running in the background, ready to activate when needed. When needed, the system automatically switches to ‘Active’ mode and provides front-wheel traction if the rear axle slips. The Boost mode is activated at every standing start (0 to 3 km/h) to improve traction and reduce wear and tear of the clutch.
One of the major advantages is its versatility – the T-Way can be deployed across applications, including concrete (pumps, mixer, mixer pumps), tipper, heavy haulage and public utilities. The IVECO T-Way cab line-up offers a choice of cabs to match the mission at hand: the AT sleeper cab with low or medium roof, and the AD short cab with low roof.
The modular, mission-oriented approach of the range, with a wide choice of features and components, together with the structural strength and low kerb weight, provides ultimate flexibility in customising the vehicle to the specific requirements of a wide variety of applications.
Into new terrain
In addition, IVECO South Africa is expanding its footprint into load-haul-dump operations with the introduction of its 8×4 truck that has a body and payload capacity of 40 t. “We appreciate that there are operations where we cannot displace a traditional articulated dump truck (ADT), for example, but we recognise other areas where we can deliver superior productivity and efficiency at a significantly lower cost,” says Mutseura.
IVECO South Africa has started some pilot runs in this space and the results are extremely positive to date. The company will also tap into the experience of its sister operations in markets such as Indonesia where IVECO has a long history of success in such operations. Mutseura also sees tremendous potential in support services such as dust suppression and other specialised maintenance and support functions.
“In addition, mining and quarrying products need to be transported over long distances to ports, or processing facilities. Medium and long haul is a job that we understand very well and support via a dealer network that covers all the major shipping routes in South Africa. Our T-Way truck tractor can haul up to 100 t. Performance based standards (PBS) allow operators to harness this pulling power to increase their returns and we are here to help them do so,” he adds.
The PBS approach, as certified by the Road Transport Management System, offers flexible design rules, allowing truck and trailer combinations to perform safely while carrying larger payloads. Some of the key benefits of PBS include increased gross combination mass, increased cubic capacity, improved productivity and freight efficiency.
