Chemtrax Buys 5 Volvo FM Trucks To Transport Hazardous Cargo

Johor-based transportation company, Chemtrax Sdn Bhd, has bought five units of FM series Volvo trucks for its use in transporting hazardous cargo. The company recently took delivery of the trucks from Volvo Trucks Malaysia, comprising four units of FM370 4×2 and one unit of FM440 6×2. The five trucks are part of the company’s plan to replace its older trucks as well as for fleet expansion. These new trucks will be used for transporting caustic soda chemical compounds and butadiene gas. Caustic soda is generally used in the production of soap, paper, petroleum products, etc, while butadiene gas is normally used in the production of polymers and synthetic rubber.

This new addition of five trucks puts the total of Volvo trucks owned by Chemtrax at 55. Thus the Volvo brand makes up 90% of the company’s fleet of trucks.

“We are very pleased to be able to continuously provide the support our customer, Chemtrax, requires from us with the delivery of the new trucks despite the current challenging market situation,” said Mitch Peden, Managing Director of Volvo Trucks Malaysia. Volvo Trucks made the delivery official recently at a vehicle handover ceremony at Chemtrax’s depot in Pasir Gudang, Johor.

“The Volvo FM series is the ideal and flexible vehicle for long and short haul distribution, and is adaptable to suit almost any transport assignment. We are confident that this truck’s first-class driving features will provide Chemtrax with great transport efficiency, reliability and safety for the sustainability of its business,” Peden added.

Chemtrax was established in 1998 and is one of the leading transportation companies in Malaysia that specialises in transporting hazardous chemicals and gas products such as acids, alkalis, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), water-based chemicals and other flammable and toxic gases.

The company transports these products within Malaysia and Singapore using various types of road tankers such as stainless steel tanker, special lined tanker and high-pressured gas tanker in accordance with the diverse and strict requirements for each hazardous material it transports.

Speaking at the truck handover ceremony, Jaffar Abu Bakar, Group Managing Director of Chemtrax Sdn Bhd said, “We have more than 20 years of experience in handling hazardous materials and have been providing transportation services to companies like Petronas, CCM Chemicals, Kaneka, Solar Gaz and other global companies like IVICT, INEOS and Synthomer. These companies all subscribe to very stringent global standards of safety which we are highly committed to.”

He added that the company’s transport routes consist of both long and short haul deliveries all over Peninsula Malaysia, as well as Singapore, with around 15 trips daily into the island republic.

“The hazardous nature of the materials we transport neccesitates us to constantly ensure that safety remains at the forefront of our business. As we are steadfast in our commitment to fully comply to international standards of safety and quality, we do require robust trucks to help us maintain our standards and ensure on-time deliveries to our clients,” said Jaffar.

“We have been steadily adding Volvo trucks in our fleet for over a decade now. Volvo Trucks has always been the preferred choice of our drivers, thanks to its comfortability especially for long haul assignments which helps to reduce driver fatigue. We are very satisfied with the truck’s fuel efficiency for both short and long haul trips. The on-dash alerts provide early warning for us to detect if there is any issue with the truck, and that facilitates effective repair and maintenance,” he explained.

He further said that the new Volvo FM trucks will be able to provide a high utilisation rate due to the truck’s advanced features that boost performance, safety and fuel-efficiency. The truck’s great manoeuvrability and the inclusion of Volvo’s driver training sessions have also helped Chemrax attract and retain good drivers, therefore providing stability to its business.

“Maintaining the uptime and productivity of our trucks is extremely crucial in our line of business. Therefore, having a consistently reliable aftermarket support from our truck partner is also very important to us, to our drivers and to our customers. With Volvo’s level of support and parts availability, we have been able to significantly minimise truck downtime and business risk. Our aim is to continue to be the preferred choice of transporter amongst chemical and gas manufacturers in Malaysia, thus the trucks we buy play a crucial role,” said Jaffar.

Peden added, “Volvo Trucks is extremely proud of our working relationship with Chemtrax who is also committed to safety, sustainability and efficiency. With the increasing need for transportation services to move goods for societies and industries, this also means that transport has to become even more sustainable, more reliable and safer. We are grateful that Chemtrax has entrusted Volvo Trucks with the tasks of transporting hazardous materials and we are committed to making sure our trucks deliver on our brand promise.”