Centro Mfg starts local assembly of Isuzu van body

MANILA, Philippines - Leading truck body builder Centro Manufacturing Corp. recently started local assembly of the i-VAN body option for the Isuzu NHR at its Maguyam, Cavite plant.

As a buyer’s option, either a 16-seater or an 18-seater i-VAN body can be mounted on a specially-configured Isuzu Elf NHR chassis cab.

“The i-VAN is what we can consider as proudly Pinoy-made. It was conceptualized and designed by Pinoy engineers with local entrepreneurs and their needs in mind. It also considered local driving conditions and terrain, thus we can say that the i-VAN can move more people and cargo easily and more economically anywhere in the country, whether in the urban communities or the rural areas,” Centro said.

Centro president Raphael Juan said that to prepare the company for this daunting task, it upgraded its stamping facilities to increase its production capacity and give the company better control of the quality, cost and delivery or QCD of the metal parts needed. “We recently invested in two computerized numerical-controlled (CNC) press brake machines to beef up our existing stamping capacity,” he added.

Centro purchased a 120-ton top-of-the-line Trump CNC press brake made in Austria that could handle metal sheets up to 2.5 mm thick and over 10 feet long. The second investment was made on another bending machine, a 110-ton Taiwan-made Jeng Jih NC press brake that could process metal sheets up to 2.5 mm thick and over 13 feet long. It also has an innovative 8-in-1 multiple die in a single piece of die.

“This will ensure that the various metal parts needed to assemble the i-VAN body are available when needed and probably make us the technical leader in truck body building technology,” said Juan. “Coupled with our existing ISO certification and TS 16949 certification we are working for, this will also enable us to produce world-class, export-quality truck bodies for the region,” he added.