Dangerous goods specialist expands general cargo business

SPECIALISTS IN the movement of dangerous and specialised cargo, Kodiak Shipping recorded substantial growth last year due largely to the expansion of its general cargo business. “We have maintained our current dangerous goods client base, moving mainly firearms and ammunition, but the volumes were fairly small,” says CEO Colin Bowring. And while Kodiak is one of a limited number of companies with proven expertise in the field, it’s a niche offering that makes up a part of its service portfolio. “We picked up a lot of road transport business in the citrus export sector as well as imports of Christmas decorations in the August, September, October period,” said Bowring. “Road transport of general cargo is the likely focus for the year ahead.” The company has doubled its contracted-in fleet from 10 to 20 trucks on the back of this growth, but will continue to provide specialised cargo services where required. One of its special projects last year involved an MI8 helicopter that crashed during fire duty in Sabi. “We had to pack and ship it back to Russia, which was a fairly complicated logistical feat, but all in a day’s work for the skilled Kodiak team.”