Eurico is an ambitious person as he resigned and established his own transport company, JKK Transport, and bought his first Hino 700 in 2019 with finance from Hino Financial Services.

He has since set up a second company, EJS Transport. Last year Eurico bought four Hino 700s from his previous employer and currently has a fleet of 17 trucks, of which 11 are Hino 700s, one Hino 500 and one Hino 300. The remaining four trucks are from Hino competitors.

Eurico bought all 13 Hino trucks from Hino Pietermaritzburg where New Vehicle Sales Manager, Vivek Orie, now takes personal care of the JKK and EJS Transport accounts. All the Hino trucks have extended warranties and are serviced by Hino Pietermaritzburg.

“I insist on regular servicing at the franchised dealer with genuine parts as I need to have the peace of mind that I am doing what Hino deems necessary to keep my fleet operating efficiently. I also take out extended warranties on all the trucks I buy as I don’t want to be caught out with high, unbudgeted costs if there should be a major component failure,” explains Eurico.

Most of the JKK and EJS Transport contracts involve transporting perishables for a few dedicated customers on long haul routes such as from Durban to Johannesburg and Cape Town. The body type used for this fleet is a tautliner as they are best suited for large loads.

“Right from my schooldays, I wanted to get into the technical side of the automotive industry and the fact that I now own my own fleet of trucks is a dream come true,” he comments.

“I am very much a tactile, hands-on person. I am grateful to several seasoned, small fleet owners in and around Pietermaritzburg who have been willing to share their experiences and expertise with me. This was particularly beneficial in the early years of my career when their advice and cooperation were most helpful.

“The most important factor in running a transport fleet is the volume carried in terms of a return on investment and here it is vital to keep downtime to a minimum. I ensure that all my trucks are well cared for, so they have long working lives. Right from the start, I knew that top quality after-market service was a critical success factor and that is I why I have stuck to servicing at Hino Pietermaritzburg and using genuine Hino replacement parts.

“I am also immensely proud of the way I have been able to create employment. From 2021 to date I have grown the number of permanent employees from two to 25. My objective is to keep growing from strength to strength,” Eurico concludes.