African Distribution Network (ADN) has opened an office in Swaziland as part of its long-term objective to expand the company’s presence in Africa, with ADN-branded offices on the cards for Botswana and Namibia. Managing director for ADN, Simon Chalker, told FTW that the company’s focus for 2013 would be to continue to grow its cross-border road freight as well as its express road freight business. “We are building on the increased demand for exports into Africa from South Africa, as well as other trading opportunities that are opening up on the continent,” said Chalker. He says new investment and infrastructure growth in Africa has created a gap that ADN can fill by leveraging its flexibility with regard to routes and swift turnaround times. “If the oil and gas or mining industry for example needs a critical part to be delivered urgently, we can assist by providing a dedicated vehicle for an accelerated freight delivery,” explains Chalker. The company has an extensive network of partners on the ground in 40 African countries and can be flexible on its routes to ensure the cargo arrives safely and on time, he added. “There are always challenges in conducting a 24-hour business in Africa, with the border posts often proving to be the biggest obstacle, but because we have these strong on-the groundpartnerships we can be alerted to a problem and offer our customers alternatives – for example using a different route or different freight option,” he said. He believes South Africa is still wellpositioned as the gateway to southern African as many international companies are still setting up operations in the country for distribution of goods into the rest of the region. “The opportunities between SA and Angola in particular are huge,” said Chalker. CAPTION Simon Chalker… accelerated freight delivery into Africa.
