That's the thinking behind the official name change at Birkart Globistics South Africa, previously Birkart International Forwarding SA. "The change is significant in terms of the market that has been identified as well as the services that are offered," says Birkart Globistics national sales manager Chris McGrath. "Traditional freight forwarding is nowadays a small link in the logistics chain which is why Birkart Globistics has evolved into a logistics service provider offering supply chain management, full line supply management, contract logistics, warehousing and national and international distribution." This aligns Birkart South Africa, which next month celebrates its 25th anniversary, with the rest of the German-based Birkart Group. The company is actively involved in automotive logistics in South Africa providing motor manufacturers and component suppliers with JIT (Just in Time) services to Europe, UK and the USA by air and sea. Coinciding with the name change, Heiko Schmidt, previously deputy managing director, has been appointed managing director effective this month. Well known in the industry, he has notched up 14 years of service. Patrick Federle, financial director, and non - executive chairman Michael Villinger, make up the local board.
