Chrisilda keen to expand routes into South Africa

JAMES HALL MBABANE – Entering its fourth decade as one of the major road transport firms in Swaziland, Chrisilda is expanding its client base and routes. Considered one of the indispensable companies at the Matsapha Industrial Estate, where Swaziland’s manufacturing sector is concentrated outside the commercial hub of Manzini, Chrisilda keeps its fleet of 30 long-haul trucks occupied with the transportation of paper pulp from Sappi’s factory and raw materials imported to feed the country’s garment makers. These products are then taken to the Port of Durban on the reverse trip. Emergency food deliveries to Swaziland’s southern and eastern drought belt are also channelled to Chrisilda by relief organisations. Over 60 permanent employees operate Chrisilda’s main depot at Matsapha, and talk around headquarters is of expanding routes further into South Africa. Swaziland and South Africa enjoy a symbiotic relationship, company managers note, with 60% of Swaziland’s exports consumed by South Africa, which in turn supplies Swaziland with over 80% of raw materials and consumer goods used by Swazis. For a well-established firm like Chrisilda, extending its road transport expertise from Matsapha to Gauteng and beyond is inevitable.