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SOUTH AMERICA
Vipal Truck Schools 475 People in Six Months
Vipal's mobile training school has completed its 2011 half year operation by training 475 individuals and covering 10,000Km.
In the last five years, the Wagon- School, as it is called, conducted 503 training sessions, reaching 6,572 people throughout Brazil. The number of participating companies has reached 319. The expectation for this year is for the school to train around 1,000 operators.
Vipal's mobile training unit, unprecedented in the industry, was created with the goal of bringing technological expertise and market professionals to tyre maintenance. It is a traditional truck - sized (14m x 2.8 m), which when opened, becomes a classroom of 60 square metres. This is possible thanks to the use of a high chassis and low profile tyres.
The truck, converted into an appropriate place for training and lectures, has air conditioning and disassembling equipment, compressors and balancers, and a home theatre with DVD, multimedia projector, computer and printer.
Training
The training offered by the mobile unit includes eight hours in the classroom. The marketing manager of Vipal, Eduardo Sacco, explains that the activities are theoretical and practical, covering issues that are very important for the safety and maintenance of tyres such as "How to drive a truck economically” and to be able to identify the causes of damage and abnormal wear on the tyres, proper tyre mounting and dismounting. Likewise, the repairing of tyres and tubes, the use and care of tools and accessories for tyres and trucks and storage of the equipment. "Anyway, it is important that the content of these training sessions is spread to as many operators and drivers as is possible . This knowledge assists them in their professional capacity in obtaining the most efficient use of their trucks," he says.
Mauro Cerqueira, from Pneus Uniao and Unimak Retreading factory reveals that "with the technical support and training by professionals, this program that Vipal offers has helped us strengthen partnerships." In his
opinion, "the Truck-School is now an important tool in generating customer loyalty and makes a big difference in the market."
He also considers that the Truck School plays a role in society, which is to help generate qualified manpower for the labour market. "I follow all the training and am always surprised to learn new information and alternate solutions to the difficulties of everyday life, the teaching material offered, the comfort of the training room. All this is the professionalism that we need to grow our industry, "he concludes.