THE DEFINITIVE TRUCKING SITE

September 2008

There are many reasons why Kearney, one of South Africa’s leading truck trailer manufacturers, chooses to opt for strength over tare mass says its founder and managing director, Eddie Kearney. “Our customers work in Africa and whether it’s in South Africa or north of our borders, the operating environment is tough. Line-haul and on/off-road trailers have to contend with rough road surfaces as well as bad handling by drivers and loaders.” 

Eddie Kearney uses a golf cart to get around his extensive production facilities. His customers go north of the border with Payloader trailers built to take the knocks delivered by Africa’s untamed roads.

Africa-built ethos 

The company opened its doors 11 years ago and is now a household name in the trucking industry with its Payloader brand. With some 40 000 square metres under-roof workshop space in its Gauteng factory and production facilities in Ermelo and Pietermaritzburg, the Kearney Group has effectively doubled its capacity in just over a year.

“We have a very busy trailer repair division at our Ermelo branch,” says Kearney, “and we don’t only fix Payloaders, we service all makes of trailers. Let me tell you, this building lightweight approach is a time bomb waiting to explode. The number of damaged trailers coming in for repairs is scary, all because the steel being used is too thin and there’s simply not enough of it on the trailer.” 

The Payloader production lines are separate entities situated in dedicated workshops and technicians only work on one type of trailer. 

“Our trailers are all made using local Super-form TM steel and are built Africa-tough to handle trips from PE all the way up to the DRC. While we fit ABS brakes to our units, we’re steering clear of EBS because of the compatibility issue with truck tractors and because the technology is too sensitive for the operating conditions in this region.” 

Kearney’s ‘fountain of youth’ extends to its products, built to last with a minimum of maintenance required even in rugged applications, like this twin-bin side-tipper, a mining stalwart.

Staying solid 

The growing demand for tippers has seen a host of new entrants into the trailer fabrication arena, Kearney adds. “These guys, along with many established players, are choosing to focus only on tippers and not make other types of trailers like skeletals, flat decks and beverage carriers. We’re actually picking up a lot of work with these applications as a result.” 

A walk through ‘Kearney Park’ just north of Alberton attests to the dedication to no-nonsense engineering. Laser and plasma cutters slice through steel while fired-up technicians apply their skills to their respective models. 

“Quality control is part of the workflow and every component is ‘tolerance-tested’,” says Kearney. “The paint division has two new downdraft spray booths with a twophase extracting and baking process. Our paint finish is truly superior and that’s why it comes with a seven-year warranty.” 

Productivity jacked 

As is the case with all successful companies, job satisfaction is a key factor. “Our productivity is a great example of how motivated our staff is. We employ 150 people and produce 150 units per month. That’s like saying one person builds a trailer every month. Our competitors battle to do that with double the manpower,” he says proudly. 

In addition to the workshops and the service/repair and spares divisions, Kearney boasts a full Pro Engineer Wildfire design shop to tailor-make trailers for all manner of applications, from tautliners to abnormal-load lowbeds.

“We constantly strive to offer a complete service to our clients. We are a one-stop-shop and while your trailer is being built, you can have your tarpaulin made up. We also have a weighbridge on site and do in-house registration of new trailers. When a Payloader hits the road, it comes with that Kearney guarantee of strength and for peace of mind, we have a nation-wide 24/7 breakdown service with fully equipped vehicles and trained technicians to ensure minimal downtime.”

Dedicated builders - each trailer design/type has its own factory with workers who only build that particular model, be it a lowbed, a dropside or a side-tipper, as shown above.