Fresh resources, funding
and skills are being
injected into Ndolabased
Buks Haulage
Limited (BHL) following the
purchase by Cargo Carriers of a
55% share in the company from
the founder Buks van Rensburg,
who has remained as managing
director.
“BHL is a preferred
transport supplier to a major
international mining house
operating in Zambia which has
huge expansion projects of its
own. Working from this base we
are now ready to diversify into
other sectors,” says technical
director Tom Mennie.
BHL’s current footprint
covers Zambia, the Democratic
Republic of Congo (DRC),
Mozambique and Namibia.
“We believe that the Namibian
corridor will be important to
the new mines opening in the
western Copperbelt,” he says.
The company
operates a
f leet of 126
vehicles ranging
from tippers
to front-end
loaders from its
depots in Ndola
and Solwezi.
BHL recently
expanded its
f leet with the
purchase of 80 FAW trucks
that were imported from the
manufacturer in China.
“Going directly to source has
enabled BHL
to reduce its cost structures
and gain competitive edge in
Zambia’s logistics industry,”
Van Rensburg said at the handover
of the
vehicles.
“The
trucks are
considerably
cheaper than
equivalent
alternatives.
We tested
the FAW
trucks in
Zambian
conditions and found that they
were suited to the African
terrain and have far better fuel
consumption (about 8%) than
their nearest competitors.”
The FAW investment increased
the total BHL f leet from 75 to
126 trucks while boosting the
company’s business by 60%.
Cargo Carriers’ investment in
the company is facilitating BHL’s
rapid expansion while BHL
gives Cargo Carriers a broader
footprint in sub-Saharan Africa,
and the chance to take advantage
of the boom in the Zambian
mining industry, says Van
Rensburg.
Future plans are in place to
build a warehouse complex on
the grounds in Ndola which
currently houses the head office
and transport operations.
Having efficient crosscountry
and cross-regional
transportation will encourage
Zambian businesses to seek
new opportunities both inside
and outside the country, and
will stimulate local business
expansion, says Mennie.
All the vehicles are under
24-hour surveillance backed up
by regular road patrols, mobile
workshops, as well as in-house
maintenance and repair facilities.
INSERT
126 The number of vehicles in the BHL fleet.
INSERT & CAPTION
Namibian corridor will be
important to the new mines
opening in the western
Copperbelt.
– Tom Mennie
