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.