Acquisition strengthens harbour presence

30 May 2014 - by Alan Peat

The OneLogix group has
got expansion plans.
Indeed, CEO Ian
Lourens agreed that “being
on an acquisition trail”
was a fair summary of the
company’s philosophy.
He even allowed that it
was a major part of why
OneLogix existed.
And the latest acquisition
in the stable is a majority
stake in the Durban-based
handling company Andre
Niemand.
Lourens said the
facilities offered by Andre
Niemand were currently
outsourced by OneLogix
Projex at “significant cost”.
He also described it as
having strengthened the
group’s harbour presence.
It does this by adding its
long-term lease with State
logistics group Transnet
to the OneLogix group
infrastructure. This lease is
for 11 500 sqm of property
and warehousing services –
including loading facilities
and vehicles, onsite
overhead gantry cranes and
a railway siding, according
to Lourens. Added to that
attraction is a warehouse in
Cape Town.
“The existing business
will remain,” he said. “And,
in addition, we’ll make use
of the infrastructure in the
yard to support others in
the OneLogix group.”
There has been a slight
change of name from the
original title released to
FTW, and Lourens told us
that Niemand’s would now
be rebranded as OneLogix
Projex Cargo Solutions – an
extension of the current
OneLogix Projex.
He also happily admitted
that he got pleasure out of
business acquisitions. None
more so than when they
found a hidden diamond.
“You come
across the
things that
you want,”
he said. “But
then you
may discover
other things
that you
didn’t know
even existed
– and they
turn out
to be very
useful.”
With what Lourens
describes as a “bit of
serendipity” you can turn
this unexpected find into
entry to another niche
market.
Also, there’s one distinct
focus in the OneLogix’
acquisition philosophy.
“Entrepreneurial spirit” is
what Lourens looks for.
“We feel quite strongly
about this,” he said.
“We look for a smaller,
entrepreneurial company
(where the management
expresses
this through
generating
business).
“That’s a
cornerstone
of our
acquisition
edifice.”
With
its new
addition,
there are
now 11
logistics
and business support
companies in the group.
Lourens assured FTW
that this list would soon
be joined by other names,
as OneLogix continues to
wave its acquisitive wand.