A 2007 Hino 15-258 500 Series heavy truck, which has already covered more than one million kilometres, has begun a new chapter in its working life after being sold out of the KwaZulu-Natal-based CPS Seedlings fleet to a Mr Singh to use for collecting and delivering stock for his grocery business in the Midlands area.

The truck has already paid a visit to its previous home, where the new owner expressed satisfaction with his purchase.

The truck has been trouble-free over the past 18 years, having been regularly serviced and maintained by Hino Pietermaritzburg in its early days, but subsequently the CPS Seedlings account moved to Hino Pinetown.

“This Hino has pulled a puptrailer for at least half its million kilometres in CPS Seedlings’ service,” explains Julian Chaning-Pearce, managing director of the Greytown branch of CPS Seedlings.

“Average fuel consumption has been around 25ℓ/100km without the trailer and 31ℓ/100km when towing the pup.”

The CPS Seedlings fleet consists currently of 13 commercial vehicles based in Greytown, with 12 of them Hinos from 2t to 12t, while at the Pongola branch there are a further four commercial vehicles, two of which are Hinos. In addition, the fleet operates 14 Toyota light commercials.

When asked if he would buy another Hino truck, Chaning-Pearce answered, “They are on order all the time!

“I can honestly say that transport is the least of our worries when running our business.”

Part of the family

CPS Seedlings was founded in 1985 by Mark Chaning-Pearce, operating in Cato Ridge as a one-person business with one bakkie. The company has now reached its fourth generation of the Chaning-Pearce family.

Its current delivery fleet covers a combined one million kilometres annually, while the company has produced and delivered more than 1,8 billion plants in the past 40 years.

CPS Seedlings is a leading wholesaler of vegetable and forestry seedlings to the commercial farming sector, as well as supplying growing mediums such as vermiculite, perlite, coir and peat moss to other commercial nurseries across the country.

In recent years, the company has branched out into agriculture and now also farms sugar and citrus at its Pongola farming operations.

For more information visit hino.co.za.