There is no better testament to the quality and the strength of a relationship than a decade-long history of working together. During the Volvo Customer Days in Bintulu and Kuching, Asian Trucker spoke with William Chiew of Air-Marine Group about their partnership with Volvo Trucks, which has now spanned over 20 years.

Air Marine Group is one of the largest Malaysian owned Logistic Provider companies existing in the State of Sarawak, Malaysia. It provides the platform for logistics need to diverse customers throughout the country including Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines. It delivers safe & reliable transportation services and provides solution to customers based on capacity-oriented and value for money. Among their clients are high-profile brands from the oil and gas sector, which impose the highest possible safety standards.

Operating a fleet of 115 Volvo prime movers, the only brand they use. Air-Marine has been a customer of the Bintulu and Kuching branches of Volvo for over two decades. “We trust in Volvo trucks as they are known to be among the safest in the market. This is important for us as the additional safety features offered by Volvo help us to meet the stringent requirements of our clients from the oil and gas industry,” Chiew said. In particular, the brakes are of concern for the group. Air-Marine takes the view that the truck and trailer form one unit and thus manage it holistically. For instance, modern truck-trailer combinations would stop should the connection between the two be severed. According to Chiew, analysing and addressing issues in connection with the trailers is one area that the company emphasises as it provides opportunities for giving it that extra safety margin. In particular he highlighted that all Volvo trucks come with standard Electronic Stability Program and Electronic Braking System.

Honouring their commitment and effort to become the best in the industry by applying all measures to make the business saver, Air Marine Group finally won big. At this year’s Shell Malaysia Safety Awards (SMSA), they clinched the most prestigious awards: the Merit Award – Winner Most Improved Category and the Safety Award and a Gold in the Integrated Gas Category. Contributing to this achievement were the Volvo trucks, allowing Air-Marine to finally achieve the Gold Award this year in recognition of outstanding performance in health, safety, security, and environmental initiatives within its operations.

“We have known Michael (Tiong, Dai Lieng Machinery Sdn. Bhd.) for many years, and we have full confidence in the new set-up under his name,” Chiew commented on the divestment of assets from Volvo Trucks to Dai Lieng Machinery in Sarawak. As the East Malaysian market is detached from the supply chain to Peninsular Malaysia, one of the issues that operators are facing from time to time is spare parts availability. Considering the closeness to the market, Chiew is confident that Dai Lieng will be addressing this issue next.

Generally, a break-down is always an unpleasant experience. In the case of Air-Marine’s clients, there is oftentimes a penalty attached to a contract and a breakdown will not be an unwelcome experience, but one that may cost a lot as the company may be punished. “This is where we put our trust in Volvo Trucks,” Chiew added. According to him, the joy of paying a significant lower price for different brands hardly ever outlasts the joy of having machinery that simply performs, although having a higher price tag.

The confidence in the Volvo brand manifests itself in the fact the Air Marine Group is expanding its operation with new customers they have won, and these will be service using new Volvo trucks. With a batch of more trucks on the way to get registered, the group will ramp up the fleet size to 160 in the coming weeks, while knowing that Dai Lieng as well as Volvo Trucks Malaysia are just a call away to help with any issues, should a problem arise.