Bay Stevedores deal finally concluded

AFTER NINE months of waiting for the transfer of the stevedoring licence and property lease agreement from Transnet, the Grindrod group has finally tied up its acquisition of the Richards Bay company, Bay Stevedores. It is a specialist in the separation of bulk cargo. Last year it handled 2.8-million tons, and is expected to increase this to 3.2-mt this year. No price is named, but Bay is to be a division of Grindrod Terminals and will fit in very nicely with its existing terminal operations and help to achieve the group’s planned growth in the bulk cargo handling market, according to Dave Rennie, executive director of Grindrod Limited. “Our business is about moving cargo and taking care of all logistical factors en route,” he said. “The acquisition of Bay Stevedores is simply the purchase of another piece of the supply chain puzzle.” There’s no job loss from the takeover. Bay directors, Frank Phillips and “Dup” du Preez, continue to run the operation and have retained their 25-strong staff complement. The takeover is backdated to July 1, 2007.