Crane Worldwide Logistics opens Pemba office

Crane Worldwide Logistics has opened offices in Pemba in order to meet the growing demand for logistics services in the north of Mozambique. “Mozambique is rife with new projects. From booming infrastructure projects in the south, to thriving coal deposits in the central/west of the country, to the burgeoning gas fields in the north, its difficult to find a part of Mozambique where ambitious projects aren’t taking shape,” says Scott Taylor, station manager of Crane’s new Pemba operation. Opened in April “at the request of one of our largest global customers,” the office is “two minutes from the Pemba airport and five minutes from the port,” he says. “We are delighted to have such a strong foothold in Pemba. We believe we are now well-positioned to support the continuous growth in the area and provide our customers with a personalised service to support their logistics requirements now and in the future,” says John Magee, president and CEO of Crane Worldwide, who is based in Houston, USA. Crane Worldwide Logistics, which has been operating in Mozambique through agents for more than two years, has now set up a registered Mozambican entity “with a strict adherence to ethical operations”. “We offer full service air/ocean/ ground import and export as well as customs clearance and consultancy on Mozambican regulations. “In Pemba, Crane Worldwide Logistics sees an excellent opportunity to provide our customers with an option that meets global standards for efficiency, transparency, and compliance,” he says. Having a local presence is essential in order to ensure service levels, he believes. “It is extremely important to understand that Mozambique is a very young country in its present form. “The day-to-day operations around the conducting of business in the country are extremely challenging, and it is important for any company or individual wanting to work here to understand those challenges and temper their expectations to them. “This is not Singapore, Rotterdam or Los Angeles. It likely never will be, but times are changing in Mozambique and things are slowly improving as the Western companies and the Mozambican government learn to work better together. “From the perspective of a logistics provider, be it freight forwarders, truckers, ocean carriers, or airlines, you find yourself subject to the whims of erratic volumes in Northern Mozambique.’ “It takes a good understanding of the cycles of oil and gas development to plan asset utilization appropriately.’ “As we look into 2014-2015 we will see a dramatic increase in volumes as the larger infrastructure plans begin to come to fruition.’ “We have seen an extremely noteworthy and appreciated increase in focus on infrastructure (road, rail, power, port, and airport), and improvements by the Mozambican Transport Ministry. “Northern Mozambique now has some of the finest roads in Southern Africa nearing completion,” he says. CAPTION Celebrating the landing of the first Crane Worldwide Logistics charter flight at the Pemba airport are, on the left, independent despachante Nelson Monjane and station manager Scott Taylor.