AA Diesel Truck Bodies now with Hardox wear plating
For 20 years, family company AA Diesel Truck Bodies has supplied custom-made truck bodies to the demanding Australian transport industry. Hardoxยฎ steel in the body units helps the end user to reduce weight by 10 to 20 percent and increase the payload.
โWe started using Hardox wear plate because Australian people, who use tippers and trucks that experience hard work to the body, have noticed that itโs the best material,โ company founder Alija Siskovic says.
He points out that Hardoxยฎ wear plate is good for everything, including welding. โPeople are pleased. They ask us which material we use for the body, and as soon as we say that itโs Hardox from SSAB, theyโre happy to order.โ
Arnel Siskovic, Alijaโs son, and today the companyโs managing director, adds: โWe’ve experimented with Hardox 500 Tuf, and thatโs also an excellent product. But currently, Hardox 450 steel is generally our main material.โ
He estimates that you could easily get 10 years extra using a Hardoxยฎ steel body compared with a 350-grade steel body. โHardox steel bodies are generally more expensive,โ he says. โBut when you take their longevity into account, we get so many orders that we have a huge amount of work, because people know that itโs money well spent.โ
By using a Hardoxยฎ steel product in the truck body, Arnel Siskovic explains, you can go from an eight-millimeter plate to six millimeters in the floor, and from a six-millimeter plate to five millimeters in the sides. โYouโre gaining a lot because youโre saving on weight, probably 10 to 20 percent. Your payload is higher in combination with the longevity of the body. So there are many positives in using this product.โ
He has also noticed a higher secondhand value for truck bodies with Hardoxยฎ wear plate. โAA Diesel Truck Bodies has got trucks that have had Hardox steel bodies for five or six years. The paint might have a few scratches here and there, but the structural part is intact. Itโs still very straight, with no dents, no damage, and the floor is still very flat, ready to continue carrying big loads.โ
When SSAB suggested that AA Diesel Truck Bodies should become a Hardoxยฎ In My Body member, the company was happy to enter the customer program. โWeโre very proud to be a Hardox In My Body member,โ Arnel Siskovic says. โTruck drivers know now when they see the sticker that itโs a quality truck body, that itโs endorsed. They know that theyโre getting the best.โ
AA Diesel Truck Bodies
- Based in Doveton, Victoria, in Australia.
- Family business, founded in 1996.
- Delivering custom-made truck bodies all over the country.
- Products include buckets, bodies and various attachments.
SSAB steel used by AA Diesel Truck Bodies
- Most truck bodies made from Hardoxยฎ 450 wear plate, generally five millimeters in the sides and six millimeters in the floor
- Hardoxยฎ 500 Tuf wear plate
