Diversification pays off for indigenous Swazi operation

QUIET CONFIDENCE characterises the operations of one of the first and one of the most successful transport firms owned by indigenous S wazis, S harp Transport. “We chose the name sharp because it represented the type of service we provide; it’s to the point, and we cut through any problems,” said S hadreck Mnisi, Sharp Freight’s co-director. Managing director Jabu Vilakati and the company’s third partner, the aptly named S ervice Magagula, make up the two other members of the company triumvirate. It is hard to believe when visiting Sharp’s new headquarters in a newer section of the Matsapha Industrial Estate that odds were once against a local road freight start-up firm when it began in 1992. “We started out specialising in clearing and forwarding. Customers wanted more from us. They asked if we could haul their goods. Three years back we bought our first truck, an 800 tonner. We have another truck doing local routes, but the big trucks are used from Matsapha to Johannesburg and Durban,” Mnisi said.