Dedicated silo system offers road and rail connections

ALAN PEAT THE KEY factor in achieving success in the freight logistics industry is being able to provide innovative and personal logistics solutions, according to Andrew Ryan, commercial director of Ensign Shipping and Logistics. “Essentially, you have to combine courage, passion and entrepreneurial spirit with your depth of knowledge if you are going to be among the winners,” he said. And he can justifiably point to Ensign as one of these achievers – a land-side logistics company that has been involved in the freight and logistics industry for the past 11 years, having recently been named supplier of the year for South African Breweries (SAB) in the freight and logistics category in 2006. “We have been very active in contract transport, warehousing and container terminal operations,” Ryan told FTW. “In March we purchased a multifunctional silo and warehousing industrial complex in Umbilo, in close proximity to the port of Durban.” This facility is currently being upgraded to be able to receive in excess of 120-metric tonnes of malt per hour through a dedicated silo system for SAB. It has both road and rail infrastructure, designed for Ensign to be able to despatch malt, and general cargoes, to the major urban centres of South Africa. In addition to its contracted logistics, Ensign also offers a variety of other services – like project logistics; long-haul transport; consolidation and multi-drop deliveries; container leasing and container sales. The company has also been busy matching its staff complement numbers to the demands of the latest black economic empowerment (BEE) guidelines. “Ensign is a black empowered company. We have attained a BEE procurement recognition level of 125%,” Ryan said, “and our philosophy is to continue to support skills development and employment equity - empowering South African people to create wealth.”