From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, this is the Real Economy Report.

Sashnee Moodley: Oil and gas multinational ExxonMobil and tyre multinational Michelin Tyre Company, teamed up with local truck service and wheel alignment enterprise Laser Fast to create a truck stop where the vehicles are checked, serviced and wheels aligned while drivers rest. Schalk Burger has the story.

Schalk Burger:
The Laser Fast truck stop next to the R59 in Meyerton, Sedibeng, in the south of Gauteng, is the result of a partnership between a local heavy-duty vehicle wheel alignment and service company and the two automotive-focused multinational companies.

The truck stop will service all heavy-duty vehicles, including buses and specialty freight, such as fuel trucks. It is also officially one of the Michelin Truck Service Centres, and will also be represented on the Web-based ExxonMobil station locator available via its local distribution partner CentLube website.

The 2 450 m2 workshop has 14 bays and the facility has parking space for 50 trucks. There are wheel alignment and high-speed wheel-balancing equipment, as well as brake-testing equipment to provide certificates of compliance for trucks. The facility has a Michelin tyre store, and supplies ExxonMobil lubricants, greases and oils.

The facility will also provide rest, ablution and canteen amenities for the truck drivers, which they can use while the trucks are being serviced. Further, the aim is to establish a diesel depot at the facility to refuel trucks. It is hoped that it can acquire the licence by the end of the year.

Laser Fast owner and founder Henry Young provides some insight into the development of the one-stop truck stop.

Laser Fast owner and founder Henry Young:

Sashnee Moodley:
That’s Creamer Media’s Real Economy Report. Join us again next week for more news and insight into South Africa’s real economy.