Almar sets sights on Africa expansion

Leasing specialist Almar Container Group is set to expand its activities in Africa where the company has seen significant growth. “At present we have a growing container leasing fleet including brand new containers,” said divisional director Martin Hawker. “A large percentage of this business involves standard dry freight containers, but specialised containers for project requirements are also available, Hawker told FTW. “We can offer short-term lease, one-way lease, master lease and long-term lease, or even a combination of these.” Almar has also opened offices in Luanda, Mombasa, Dar es Salaam and Maputo over the last two years and plans to launch a Nairobi office in January 2014. “Relationships with customers, service providers, suppliers and even our competitors are however an integral part of our success, said CEO Alistair Forbes as the company celebrates 25 years in business. “Since day one we have always believed that we exist because of our customers, which is why we’re celebrating 25 years of relationships instead.” Established in 1988 by Forbes, Almar was one of the pioneers in the container logistics industry – providing flexible, custom designed leasing solutions. Forbes started in the industry in 1977 when the global container leasing fleet numbered less than 350 000 units compared to today’s 11.5 million. “Our team has many years of international experience in the container leasing and trading industry, and with a centralised control centre we can offer accurate and prompt administration to support the business,” said Forbes. With its core business in the leasing and trading of ISO marine containers, the company has bought and sold over 200 000 containers in the past 20 years, he said. “We have offices in Dubai and Sao Paulo as well as various regions in Africa, with our head office in Durban and a dedicated agent in Caracas in Venezuela." Almar also has associates and joint ventures in Australia, Asia, the Indian Ocean Islands, Pakistan and the US Gulf. CAPTION New build reefers... a unique offering in Almar's container leasing fleet.