Empowerment company finds its niche

ABNORMAL LOADS, tight deadlines, and a transport infrastructure that isn’t always as co-operative as you’d want it to be. These are the challenges facing the project cargo specialist, and the kind of adrenalin rush on which Afrilogix director Nisa Dawood thrives. When it comes to project cargo, Dawood has notched up an impressive portfolio of ‘missions accomplished’ - the Sasol 3 project which called for the import of massive cylinders from France to Sasolburg; the transport co-ordination of Nigerian ballot papers for last July’s local election; a mining project for a Nigerian company which saw the movement of a 182 ton load in 47 ton pieces from Vereeniging to Lagos; and the movement of 26 Spoornet locomotives from Durban to Port Sudan, Congo,Cameroon and from Kenya to Durban. Co-ordination is key, says Dawood. “Everyone is generally good at what they do, but only within their own sphere of operation. “On each project we arrange a pre-shipment meeting where all role-players involved work like a team. “Everyone is doing what they do best, but co-ordinating all the players is the major challenge because you can’t afford to make a mistake.” And challenges are not in short supply. A recent project involved the movement of six narrow gauge locomotives from Nacala to Durban for refurbishment before shipment to the US. Having located the correct vessel for the cargo, with the correct gear, which was no easy task, Dawood was informed of a hole in the ship’s hull. “This meant starting the whole process all over again and a delay of several weeks, but that’s what project cargo is all about.” The empowerment company was set up in Johannesburg late last year. While project cargo, particularly into Africa, is its speciality, the Afrilogix product portfolio extends to the full range of supply chain and logistical services including airfreight, seafreight, customs, railfreight, warehousing and chartering.