For the Chetty family business is not only about success, but about leaving a legacy for generations to come. Coming from humble beginnings themselves, FAW was the perfect choice for the Chetty family when they wanted to branch out their business to create a transport division.

Suren Chetty started his career in the trucking business with his father and brothers. He gave this up about 40 years ago to establish Platinum Fuels and Aviation, but always dreamed of returning to his trucking roots. Trucking is where he learnt about hard work and dedication, and he wanted to pass these skills on to his only son Akshay, who could then pass it on to his grandson.

His dream became a reality when the father and son duo acquired four JH6 28.500FT trucks to establish Platinum Energy.

Suren Chetty in one of their brand new FAW trucks.

Branching out

Platinum Fuels and Aviation is an oil blending company while Platinum Energy will be used for the transport of these oils.

“I decided to get in business with my son and then he will have something to leave for my grandson as well. I wanted to divert from the business that I am in and asked my son what he would like. He loves racing and cars and said he wanted to go in that direction,” Suren explains.

Akshay Chetty, General Manager of Platinum Energy, in one of the new FAW trucks.

Making it personal

This new side of the company was very personal for the family and that is why it was only fitting for Akshay to bring in some personal touches with the trucks.

At first glance the striking green colour of the trucks immediately draws your eye.

Akshay, as General Manager of Platinum Energy, explains that his nephew received a bicycle for his birthday. The colour of the bicycle was Tiffany green, just like the racing sponsor, Petrona’s, colours. They then decided to do their own mix with the Tiffany green and ended up with what they called Platinum green.

Each truck is named after a member of Akshay’s family, there is one for his mom, Roxy, one for his son, Aceyn and one named after his dad, called Pappa C. To complete the set, his father convinced him to put his own name on the fourth truck. Every truck also boasts the birthday of each family member as a fleet number.

One of Platinum Energy’s new FAW trucks.

Deciding on FAW

Suren said while looking at trucks he spoke to a colleague and close friend of his one day. He was told about FAW trucks, and they did research on the trucks before ultimately deciding to go with FAW.

“We bought these FAW trucks because of one of my dad’s colleagues who recommended the vehicles to us. When doing the research, we heard they had the best fuel consumption on the market. So, we said let’s give it a shot, let’s not try one let’s try four because four is always better than one,” Akshay said.

They were specifically looking for reliability and fuel economy; both things that FAW delivers on.

“It is very important to have a vehicle that is economical, especially with all the competitors in the market every cent counts and with the research we did FAW seemed like the best on the market,” Akshay explains.

They chose the JH6 28.500FT because it was the largest model available, but already have two of the JH6 28.550FT on order for the new year.

“These ones come with a lot of extras like a larger engine and a complete safety packet,” Akshay says.

The second thing that impressed the Chetty’s was the 600 000 km or three year service warranty of the trucks.

“The reason we bought brand new vehicles was to not have down time, so it is great to have a good warranty and a good service plan behind you,” Akshay emphasises.

These trucks also come with free Link Telematic Cameras for three years. This allows you to track the drivers, their fuel usage and even harsh breaking.

Three generations of Chettys: Akshay, his father, Suren, and his son Aceyn with their FAW trucks.

The future of Platinum Energy

The future looks bright for Platinum Energy and the plan is to extend the fleet with another five trucks in 2025, and eventually build a fleet of about 20 to 30 trucks.

“It is important to me to expand the business especially due to my father’s background with trucks. Dad has always spoken about how he was a trucker and how he worked, so it is important for me to make my dad proud and show him what we can achieve. We believe that we can take this company forward with FAW.

“From the research that I have done, I would definitely recommend these trucks to others, otherwise I wouldn’t have bought it myself.” says Akshay.