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.”