Food aid project expands Chrisilda’s portfolio

Hints of expansion into SA
NOW IN its 30th year, Chris and Hilda’s company, known as Chrisilda, is expanding beyond the paper pulp industry into humanitarian assistance with the World Food Programme and other new clients. In a drought-ravished country where more than a quarter of Swazis receive some form of food aid, Chrisilda is the WFP’s principal transporter. The 120 000 tons of paper pulp the company’s 30 long-haul trucks transport every year for Sappi’s Swaziland operations move to the Port of Durban for maritime passage. Chrisilda also has eleven trucks that transport logs to the mill at Sappi’s forest in Bhunya. Company director Kevin DuPont runs the outfit with an eye on his 65 employees’ health and safety. He has established an HIV-testing and counselling system. “It’s about being a good businessman, and looking after your assets. Your employees are your most valuable assets,” he said. After a safety consultant was called in from Johannesburg to look into their operations, and measures were put in place including drivers’ instruction, DuPont reports, “we haven’t had an accident in two years. We used to have one every six weeks.” DuPont says he is looking to expand outside of Swaziland, with South Africa his ultimate goal. “My long-term ambition is to set up business in South Africa, because it has huge potential,” he says. Such a move would be a boon to Swazi transporters whose goods must inevitably depart their landlocked country through either South Africa (six border posts) or Mozambique (two border posts).