Award-winning young company on a growth path

At Camel Thorn Freight
Forwarding, containers
filled with freight are viewed
as far more than just “boxes”,
says MD Stefné Lintvelt.
“The shipper may have
invested their life savings
in that container. Their
business future could
depend on us moving it
quickly and efficiently,” she
says.
The focus on customer
service led to the company
being recognised by the
Namibian Port Authority
as one of the top small
to medium enterprises
(SMMEs) working with the
port of Walvis Bay in 2013.
Lintvelt and business
partner Renald Hite, along
with a third silent partner,
founded Camel Thorn in
November 2011 when they
saw the gap for a more
nimble agency in the market.
“Owner-managed
businesses are able to focus
on the service they provide
to their customers rather
than the results demanded
by shareholders in many
corporate organisations,”
Lintvelt says.
For six years Lintvelt
headed various projects in
London.
In one she led a logistics
team servicing the “biggest
oil refinery in India”, and
another dealt with freight
forwarding and logistics
for a top engineering
firm building liquid gas
tanks in Chile and Peru.
These, along with other
key operations, gave her
what she describes as
“invaluable knowledge” in
the business.
On her return she was
appointed acting branch
manager for a Namibian
branch of an international
freight forwarding and
logistics company.
Hite, who is the operations
manager, has also worked in
the logistics industry for a
number of years and has an
honours degree in logistics.
With their combined
experience they are able to
handle the movement of
cargo ranging from giant
earth movers through bulk
fuels to commodities such
as fluorspar, manganese
and cement, as well as new
and used spares amongst
many other commodities,
according to Lintvelt.