The truck fleet’s well being is Jo Tang’s first and most important priority. We have a look behind the scenes of his workshop in Tuen Mun.

Used for the delivery of delicious drinks, Vitasoy has a fleet of 110 trucks out of which 47 are UD. They even have a UD coach! “Look here, we have trucks sporting the four different brand names of this make: Nissan, Nissan Diesel, UD and UD Trucks” Tang points out on a listing with all details of his impressive fleet. The oldest truck in the fleet was delivered in 1996. Nine of the trucks are fitted with refrigeration units.

As we step into the workshop owned by Vitasoy, we notice that there is a large storage room. “We perform easy maintenance in-house. Sometimes, Swire Motors After Sales is working with us hand in hand to find the best, the cheapest and easiest solution. One time, we managed to find a way to carry out repairs that would result in 90 % of savings. And we had a number of vehicles where this applied. This is how true partnership works!” he claims. While the management considers purchasing prices of the vehicles, Tang is more concerned about availability of spare parts. Apparently, common UD parts are available everywhere.

While his colleagues may have difficulties finding drivers, he has the same issue with mechanics. He explains that “Nobody
wants to do this kind of job anymore. Youngsters don’t want to get their hands dirty”. The impressive workshop in Tuen Mun sports 10 bays and has been in operation for over four years now. In total, 17 mechanics and two supervisors ensure that the trucks are all taken care of. Tang himself studied Mechanical Engineering and has been with Vitasoy for some 12 years. “This is what I like!” he says as he picks up a screwdriver to fix a screw on a mud guard.

Regular maintenance takes one day per truck and on a colourful board, all the trucks coming in for repairs, fixing or glancing
over are listed out. According to Tang, times are changing. Nowadays, there are a lot more electronic problems with trucks
and diagnostics are needed. This requires a different skill set than it did a decade ago.

“We are very happy about the decision Volvo has made to enforce the Hong Kong market. It was an exciting time when
Swire took over from the previous distributor. Naturally, there were some issues, but now things are running smooth. And
with some seven million dollars worth of spare parts, we now rest assured that the fleet will move. Besides, prices have
become more competitive”.