Extended working hours save time and money for Edgin customers

Shipping lines don’t load and discharge cargo during office hours. Which is why Transnet Port Terminals has repeatedly called on its customers to help facilitate the fluid movement of cargo by introducing more flexible working hours. Cape Town-based Edgin Logistic Solutions has risen to the challenge and since November 1 the company has introduced 24-hour working hours at its full container storage yard. By working in tandem with the Cape Town Container Terminal, which operates on a 24-hour basis, customers can avoid peak hour congestion for pick-up and delivery of cargo with the facility opening from 06h00 on a Monday until 14h00 on Saturdays. Sunday trading remains unchanged on an “as needed” basis. “The response has been extremely encouraging, from both existing and new clients,” says director Dave Johnson. “Of particular interest has been our offering to act as an extension of the port for the turning in of full export containers,” he added. “A number of transporters, in particular those travelling long distance from Johannesburg, Bloemfontein and Port Elizabeth, are dropping their full containers with us during the busy daytime hours, and we’re taking them into the port when city traffic and the terminal quieten down after 10pm. At a discounted rate of only R600 for the whole service (lifts, storage and transport) many long distance truck owners realise it’s far better to get their expensive rigs turned around in ten minutes and heading back upcountry than to join queues in the port. “Average turn-around time for a standard container turnin at the port from our yard late at night is an impressive 26 minutes per round trip,” he said. The company has recently had requests for the same service for import containers, but the handover of CTO documents needs to be resolved first. “Our reliability has also been enhanced with the acquisition of a second reach stacker. We now have the capacity to run two machines when handling large volume container dispatches into the port, and more importantly our down-time due to machine breakdown or routine maintenance is greatly reduced.”