Fruit importer Sharbatly in Saudi Arabia
bases its operations on an important principle:
The transport chain must never be broken.
Cold stores, temperature-regulated trailers and trucks from Volvo Trucks
are the solution in the struggle with the merciless desert sun.
Together with his two brothers,
Hashim M Sharbatly is the third generation to run this company.
Every year, Sharbatly imports about 30 million packages of fruit
and frozen vegetables from all over the world.
We keep the fruit and vegetables fresh from the country of origin
the minute they're shipped in a refrigerated container,
that lands in our seaport.
Our trucks go to the seaport, pick it up and bring it
to our cold store where its unloaded.
Basically, the fruit does not even feel the hot climate of Saudi Arabia
except when they go out to the market.
Mr Franco Negro is the manager of Arabian Transportation Company.
Arabian Transport Company is a spin-off company
of Sharbatly Fruit Company.
It was formed in July 2010.
And our mission is to serve particularly Sharbatly Fruit Company.
The weather here is sometimes hot, sometimes cold,
but for me it's not difficult.
Reynaldo Garcia works as a truck driver
for Arabian Transportation Company.
It is Reynaldo Garcia's job to transport fruit and frozen vegetables
to Sharbatly's customers all over the large kingdom.
We are driving from Jeddah to Dammam.
So back and forth, it's more than 2,800 kilometres.
Dammam is situated on the Arabian Gulf.
To get there, Reynaldo Garcia has to cross the country,
driving through a huge desert landscape.
The roads are as straight and long as the sun's burning rays are hot.
During the summer months,
the temperature in Saudi Arabia can exceed 60 degrees Celsius.
Right now, the Arabian Transportation Company's truck fleet
comprises around 350 medium and light duty trucks
used for the daily distribution.
The fleet also consists of over 100 heavy duty vehicles,
of which 60 percent are trucks from Volvo.
The most common model is the Volvo FH with 440 horsepowers.
The newest trucks are equipped with I-Shift.
With the season we have over here, it's difficult to carry the fruit
without having problem in the cargo itself.
That's why we have implemented our fleet with more than 30 Generator Set
which are allowing us to carry the fruit wherever we want in the kingdom
without affecting in any way the quality of the product.
In spite of the hot climate,
where the drivers are sometimes forced to drive through sandstorms
that whip their vehicles mercilessly,
Sharbatly's own workshop manager Danie Zaayman
says that Volvo trucks have no trouble
withstanding the harsh climate in Saudi Arabia.
We have trucks doing one million kilometres without changing anything.
That includes the clutch and the brakes.
So quality-wise, we are happy.
On a five-lane motorway which passes through Jeddah,
Reynaldo Garcia sits calmly and securely behind the wheel.
This road is one of the most important transport routes
between the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.
Soon the trailer will be loaded with fruit,
after which Reynaldo Garcia will begin
the 1,400-kilometre journey through the desert to Dammam.
All I can say is it's number one.
It's comfortable, very fast and very strong.
I can say, it's the most perfect truck in the world.