What’s in a canopy?
How difficult can it be to build a canopy for a bakkie? We visit Rhinoman’s factory in Rosslyn, Pretoria, and discover it takes higher-grade engineering to do it properly.
Rhinoman started out as a specialised metal manufacturer making parts for state-owned enterprises, including Denel. However, the three founding members, Ferdie and Johan van der Merwe and Ferdie “Pottie” Potgieter, started looking at other sources of income during 2014.
The three partners first considered constructing off-road trailers, and Ferdie van der Merwe loaded the hull of a prototype trailer on the back of his bakkie and travelled through Namibia. On his return to Rosslyn, Ferdie was so pleased with the hull of the planned off-road trailer that he convinced his partners that they should definitely be building aluminium canopies for bakkies. Rhinoman recently joined the Motus Group and builds aluminium canopies for the lifestyle market plus galvanised-steel canopies for the commercial market.
The foundation
South African aluminium forge Hulamin delivers 3 mm aluminium sheeting on pallets to Rhinoman’s Rosslyn factory. The Rhinoman marketing team receives an order from a customer or an agent and the sheets are then laser cut into panels and bent by a hydraulic press brake to the desired shapes.
The shaped aluminium panels and square tubing are then loaded in a crate along with a consignment note indicating who the customer is, plus the type of canopy that is to be built with the panels, and what the client’s choice of paint colour is.
The crate full of parts is now taken from the cutting shop to the nearby assembly shop.
Taking shape
The kit for each canopy is uncrated and stacked on shelves. Each kit is assigned to a metal worker who welds the pieces together. The consignment note follows each canopy right through the manufacturing process.
There are three versions of Rhinoman’s aluminium canopies: RhinoCab, RhinoLite and Rhino Superlite. All three are made to fit on all bakkies launched since 2013. Each canopy is then sandblasted and scrutinised by an inspector. The inspector returns any non-compliant canopy to a metal worker.
A pop of colour
About 700 unpainted canopies for popular vehicles – enough for a month – are kept in stock. Only when a large order is received, are they painted and shipped to the customer.
Canopies made to order and that are approved by an inspector go straight to the spray booth. Rhinoman gives their canopies a powder coating, usually in white, while the doors are painted grey or black. However, you can ask them to combine any of these colours in several ways. If you want the canopy to match the colour of your
All done?
The painted canopies are now bubble-wrapped and stored on shelves until they’re ready to be shipped. Often, they’re placed in a crate within three days of being painted.
They’re not only sold in Africa, but also exported to Europe and Australia. About 25 aluminium canopies and just as many galvanised-steel ones leave the plant daily. Each canopy has a two-year warranty.