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| Lining up in front of four vans that are widely used in the funeral trade are (from left) Desiree Ngilo from Tududuzo Funerals in KZN; Dean Solomon from Solomon Funerals in Western Cape; Nash Jadoo, MD at Imbali Funerals; Lincoln Johnson of Elal Funerals in Western Cape; and Rachel Stead from Durban, whose website Funeralcars.co.za provides a platform where undertakers can meet their transport needs. |
A ROADSHOW with a difference arrived in Hilton on Wednesday when Funeralcars.co.za took funeral directors and vehicle suppliers on a drive through the Midlands to enable networking in this multi-billion rand industry.
Rachel Stead, a Queensburgh Girls’ School old girl who cut her teeth in the car trade at Garden City Commercials in Pietermaritzburg, said she started the unique online search portal for the specific transport needs of the funeral industry.
Stead said the funeral industry needed much more in the way of wheels than the traditional stretched hearse. She estimates some 100 000 vehicles are used in the last rites for the 40 000 people who die every month in SA, according to Statistics SA.
Stead explained her platform advertises industry related vehicles, associated products and financial and insurance services, as well as quotes for car rental or special cover.
But it is not the wide range of services but the neutrality of her platform that is most appreciated by funeral parlour directors, who are currently divided between five large and several smaller associations. National sales manager at SA Funeral Supplies Management, Jason Crerar, said in a statement Stead’s vision to create a space where “all things vehicle” could be accessed and shared was a welcome one. “She has been instrumental in exposing the funeral industry’s needs and wants to the motoring sector and the driving force being their participation in industry events,” Crerar said.
Stead told The Witness apart from hearses, the funeral industry used “normal” cars to make first contact visits, and 12-seater buses to transport families, as well as bakkies and vans.
Vehicle sellers, body builders, underwriters and financiers are all keen to supply the needs of SA’s funeral market. On the site, four converters advertise their uniquely South African hearses, which include normal and stretched Isuzu bakkies and VW Transporters that come fitted with coffin sliders in the rear.
Nash Jadoo, MD at the family-owned Imbali Funerals, said all funeral parlours needed a modern fleet of cars to meet expectations of the bereaved family members. Jadoo said Imbali has a fleet of both imported and locally manufactured hearses and limousines, including the only Jaguar hearse conversion in KZN’s capital.
Stead predicted growth for the funeral industry awaited in serving niche preferences, like Sonja Smith Funeral Group in Pretoria, which introduced wicker coffins for eco-friendly burials, or Motorcycle Funerals Limited in the UK, which operates a fleet of motorcycle with side cars to carry hearses for late riders.
