Aviocean finds project niche in Africa

A DECISION six years ago to enter the export market is paying dividends for forwarding agent Aviocean. With a strong agency network in place and market expertise, the company has achieved sustained growth into Africa on an annual basis. “We are not armchair agents with a map of Africa on the office wall,” says Aviocean’s Hilton Tait. “Our staff has visited the destinations, gained first hand experience of port and road conditions, and seen the infrastructure in these countries. “A recent project involved a hotel upgrade in Zambia, where most of the goods were sourced in South Africa and road-hauled to Zambia. This meant having the cargo delivered into the Aviocean warehouse from numerous suppliers. There was daily communication with the project managers in Lusaka, with cargo dispatched in sequential order so that it arrived in time for construction. We had to ensure that the sanitary ware and tiles were followed by carpeting, and then soft furnishings, linen, crockery, etc. Since then there have been smaller projects to lodges in Kenya and Tanzania,” said Tait. Aviocean is also involved in a large volume of day to day exports covering everything from pharmaceutical products and mining equipment to automotive, security products and IT equipment.