AA Diesel Truck Bodies gains 10-plus years of product life for end users with Hardox® wear plate

Life can be hard on truck bodies. Especially if you are transporting big rocks, metal or other heavy or rough materials. Alija Siskovic, founder of the company AA Diesel Truck Bodies, knows this well. Using the right steel in the truck bodies can translate into 10-plus years of product life for the end user.

Customers are happy to order truck bodies made of Hardox® steel 

The company used to make its truck bodies from 350-grade steel. Although a high-tensile steel, it saw a lot of wear and tear and damage, and ultimately the bodies wouldn’t last. AA Diesel Truck Bodies started looking for somebody who could deliver more durable steel. This led them to SSAB and Hardox® wear plate.

“We started using Hardox wear plate because Australian people, who use tippers and trucks that experience hard work to the body, have noticed that it’s the best material,” Alija Siskovic says.

He points out that Hardox® wear plate is good for everything, including welding. “People are pleased. They ask us which material we use for the body, and as soon as we say that it’s Hardox from SSAB, they’re happy to order.”

Hardox® 500 Tuf seen as an excellent product

Arnel Siskovic, Alija’s son, and today the company’s managing director, adds: “We've experimented with Hardox 500 Tuf, and that’s also an excellent product. But generally, Hardox 450 steel is our main material.” 

He estimates that you could easily get 10 years extra using a Hardox® steel body compared with a 350-grade steel body. “Hardox steel bodies are generally more expensive,” he says. “But when you take their longevity into account, we get so many orders that we have a huge amount of work, because people know that it’s money well spent.”

By using a Hardox® 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. “You’re gaining a lot because you’re 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.”

The future demands better-quality steel 

Arnel’s younger sister Amina Siskovic works as office manager at the family company while studying mechanical engineering at a university. She sees lighter material as the future of the industry. “After my exam I'll come back here and help improve new products,” she says. “As the industry moves into a new phase of electric trucks and autonomous vehicles, we need to develop trucks that are lighter, safer and more efficient. To do that, we need to use better-quality materials, which is why we use Hardox steel.”

SSAB suggested that AA Diesel Truck Bodies should become a Hardox® In My Body customer program member. “We were buying a lot of steel,” Arnel Siskovic says. “I didn’t know too much about this membership. But I said, if it’s a sign of quality, then it surely can help my business.”

And indeed it has. “Truck drivers know now when they see the sticker that it’s a quality body, that it’s an endorsed body builder,” Arnel Siskovic says. “They know that they’re getting the best.”

What is the impact of being a Hardox® In My Body member on secondhand value?

“There is a higher value in secondhand truck bodies with Hardox wear plate,” Arnel Siskovic says. “AA 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. It’s still very straight, with no dents, no damage, and the floor is still very flat, ready to continue carrying big loads.

“We’re very proud to be a Hardox In My Body member,” he says. “It’s helped us grow our business. I like the peace of mind it gives my customers, and using the Hardox product also gives me peace of mind that I’m selling the best that I can sell. It’s set us apart from the competition because it’s a sign of quality.”