‘Alternative airfreight’ offers cost-effective option

Kevin Mayhew IF YOU thought that airfreight was the fastest way to courier a parcel between Johannesburg and any major Zambian centre, then Alfred Kunzle in Lusaka is telling you to think again. As managing director of Kawena Hauliers, he has started to turn conventional wisdom on its head and offers a guaranteed three-day service to primarily the mining industry anywhere in Zambia - all by road. “I call our service alternative airfreight. It comes with a guaranteed time for delivery and a fixed cost of three dollars per kg with a ratio of volume to kg of 5:1, i.e. 5m3 equal 1mt,” he says. Airfreight, he says, generally takes longer because of clearance problems through airports and customs. The trick is simple although there is one element he will not tell about that gives him the edge. He has two 7-ton covered vehicles alternating between the two centres and leaving on alternate days. Each vehicle has two drivers and sleeping facilities to enable them to complete the journey almost non stop, and then they distribute locally. The service started two months ago.