Daily Lesotho service attracts strong courier interest

Dedicated overnight run from Jo'burg
FROM a start as a “shoestring” business to a successful consolidator – that’s the story of Kayhil Freight, according to founder Kevin Dagnin. As a “one man and his bakkie” operation, Dagnin initially did his own collection and driving, but got a first break when he contracted dedicated loads for Lesotho. Then he teamed up with his sales and marketing partner, Hilary Woelk – “And we decided that we could sell the market.” The basic product the two were marketing and operating was a twice-weekly bakkie load of consolidated cargo from Johannesburg to Lesotho. “We saw a need for a daily service,” Dagnin told FTW, “with a morning delivery into Maseru, not the afternoon as it was then. “This left a big gap in the market, and we intended to fill it.” Kayhil has had a dedicated overnight consolidation service to Lesotho since 2000, with an emphasis on delivery in Maseru before noon. Today it is a successful consolidator with a staff of 22 and 14 vehicles working the Johannesburg-Maseru route with five trips a week and daily from Bloemfontein. “Courier companies are our bread and butter line, and we have to guarantee the service with reliability,” Dagnin added – noting that Kayhil’s main clients are Fedex, Cross Cape and United Express. The general freight consists mainly of computer and agricultural goods and hardware. The company also clears and freights export goods from Lesotho - principally clothing, but also personal effects and diamond mining samples. “We are looking at a Durban-Maseru run,” said Dagnin, “and have already got quotes coming in for the vehicle fleet – so that’s about two-to-three months off.” Kayhil is also developing its brokerage service for loads bigger than 8-tons as well as containers – expanding its current loose-load service where it presently moves about 80% of the cotton for the mills into Lesotho. Dagnin told FTW that the company gave preference to vehicles owned by members of the Lesotho Transport Owners' Association (LTOA). “We use their vehicles before we contract anywhere else,” he said.