Container handling specialist sees signs of revival

The Port of Durban –the main home of the SA seafreight industry – is a lifeblood for the container handling division of Toyota Forklift, according to Mike Norton, national sales manager for its range of Kalmar products. As a freight industry marketplace it has certainly seen a slow-down in its blood flow in the recent global crisis, he told FTW, but there are signs of the famous “green shoots” for which the more optimistic international economists are avidly searching. “The container industry in Durban has been relatively quiet for some time now,” he added. “But recently we have seen the symptoms of a pick-up, with the number of enquiries for new machines starting to increase. This is a positive sign for the future.” But bad times, or no bad times, the Kalmar range – everything from ship-to-shore gantry cranes, to reach stackers, to straddle carriers – is still in demand at the port. “There have been a number of significant deliveries into the market this year,” he said, “not least of which was 10 dedicated empty container handlers delivered to the Port of Durban.” The company has also recorded movement of a number of Kalmar, 45-ton reach stackers into the Durban market. According to Norton, these include three for Toyota SA’s new container park in Umbogintwini, while Nzenga Junction took delivery of an additional reach stacker for use in its Natal operations. “This purchase brought the number of Kalmar container handlers in operations nationally by Nzenga to 14, eight of which are operational in Natal,” he said. Norton told FTW that there were two main factors that kept Kalmar ahead of the throng. The first, he said, was its global reputation. “At any one moment in time, one-infour container moves worldwide is being handled by Kalmar equipment. And, in SA, we handle most of its product line – with Kalmar rated as the world’s premier producer of containerhandling equipment.” Its second sales bonus, Norton added, and a major factor of its success in the Durban market, has been founded on what he described as “an exceptional” after-sales team. “This includes 18 trained technicians, with a highly experienced and committed management team leading them, purely dedicated to work in-andaround the port. To this you can add another 50 mechanics who are employed to handle Toyota’s smaller range of equipment offered in Natal.” On the product front, Kalmar is also striving to maintain its state-of-theart label. “For example,” Norton said, “they have upgraded their reach stacker range in 2009. This sees these units now coming fitted with items such as full air-conditioning systems and load scales as standard features.”