Scania West Africa has launched its Buffalo range of trucks for mining operations, with an emphasis on efficiency and cutting down emissions.

The Buffalo was developed according to Scania’s hallmark low-rev philosophy, and its 13-litre engine provides improved fuel efficiency and better engine performance. The launch at the Movenpick Hotel in Accra saw patrons given a first view of the truck and a first-hand feel.

Johan Kohler, the company’s MD for West Africa, noted that the simple equation for the company was a drive to reduce cost per tonne for companies.

“If you can do that at the lowest cost possible then, of course, the economy of the customer will be very good. He will make more money.”

The Buffalo also has a lesser toll on the environment in the meantime as the company works towards natural gas-powered trucks.

“With these modern and well-engineered engines, you will have a much less impact on the environment.”

Speaking at the launch, Joseph Titus Glover of Quantum LC expressed his willingness to adopt the truck for his company because of the costs and benefits to the environment.

“With the consumption of the Buffalo truck… we will be saving more money in this tight economic situation in Ghana.”

“If the truck is consuming less diesel, that means it is saving the environment because the less diesel it consumes, the less emissions on the environment,” Glover said.

Also speaking at the launch, a representative for the C.E.O of the Minerals Commission, Michael Appiah-Arthur, expressed hope that the Buffalo “will bring a lot of improvement in the mining sector, especially the haulage aspect of it.”

He also impressed the need for Scania to also make available genuine spare parts for its equipment, as well as local experts who can work on trucks like the Buffalo. “The government or the commission is interested in building capacity locally and we cannot do it all by ourselves. So when you bring in those equipment and technical skills, we want you to leave a lot of them back here,” he said.