From Celine Dion to Mighty Men

To be a success in project freight
you have to get the planning
right, according to Warren
Sievwright, operations director of
Silic Logistics.
“It is one of those areas of the
industry that takes an immense
amount of planning,” he told FTW.
“For example, many man-hours go
into breaking down the packing list;
creating trailer-sized parcels; doing
route inspections; and scheduling
departures and arrivals according to the
construction plans.”
It is apparent that – with Silic
Logistics being the preferred logistics
contractor on major live event tours
such as World Summit; Celine Dion;
46664; and Mighty Men – the company
has the implicit knowledge required to
handle some of the strictest budgets and
schedules possible, Siewright added.
“It all comes down to commongoal
focus, transparent planning, and
continual communication,” he said.
“For such events we handle the entire
logistics programme – organising up
to 100 movements of staging, lighting,
sound and audio-visual equipment to the
respective venue in time for the event. It
is a matter of hours-and-minutes.”
And, with such a time-sensitive
product, the logistics company has to get
the information early, according to Silic
marketing director, Angus Dustan.
“This has to be long before the
vessel or plane arrives,” he said,
“often consulting the principals on
their planning so that our side runs as
smoothly as possible.”
Silic’s location on Maydon Wharf
at Durban harbour also plays an
important role.
“We are ideally placed for handling
seafreight projects arriving or departing
from SA,” Dustan said. “It means we
have hands-on management as soon
the cargo arrives – and the ability to
have men immediately on the ground
to ensure safe and effective handling
makes all the difference.”
Financial director Nick Fountain
stressed that, through hard work on
the event side, it was inevitable that
Silic's reputation would grow in the
project freight industry – with word
now filtering through to the industry in
China, Southern and Central Africa.
“For example,” said Fountain, “we
have just quoted on the handling of
seven vessels arriving intermittently
over this year with cargo to be delivered
in parts from China to Maydon Wharf,
and finally destined for a power plant
in Africa.
“We have already done all the route
surveys and scheduled the trucks – and
that for a project that only looks set to
begin around August.”
This project function is part of Silic’s
four operational divisions – domestic
and cross-border transport; warehousing;
international freight; and live-event and
project logistics.
“Our service commitment to our
clients is based directly on their
requirements,” Dustan said, “where we
like to think outside the box.
“By assessing their current
systems, we aim to provide them
with cost-effective and hands-free
solutions, allowing the respective
company to continue the business of
doing business.”
The company is also busy developing
its other logistics services, and
acquiring extensive premises in and
around Durban.
“We now have warehousing and
container-handling capabilities in the
busiest break-bulk metropolis in Africa,”
Dustan added. “Which – together with
what we call a ‘virtual fleet’ of over 800
vehicles all over sub-Saharan Africa
– allows us the flexibility our clients
require, and to operate on short-notice at
competitive prices.”