Foreign Affairs keeps figures ticking over

A HEALTHY second year in the IATA Top 30 for Crossroads Distribution – recording a 19.6% increase over 2002, hitting a 2003 turnover of R28.5-million, and holding 21st spot in the league. The company had a focused approach to its increase in international traffic, according to Carl du Plessis, executive director of Skynet Worldwide Express, the courier/express division of Crossroads. With Crossroads owning the Skynet licence – it networks through 1 200 offices in 223 countries – its areas of particular strength are Europe, Africa and the Far East. A highlight of the airfreight export market for the company last year was that it retained its international account with the Department of Foreign Affairs where a primary function is distributing diplomatic bags around the world. “With their increasing presence around the world – particularly in Africa – we carried significantly more traffic for them in 2003,” said Du Plessis. And, indeed, he notes that Africa would seem to be a major growth area for the company in air cargo. “The region is fed by our Johannesburg operation,” Du Plessis told FTW, “and it is important to us because Skynet now has an extensive network across Africa. “The main destinations on the continent in 2003 were Angola and Nigeria – but we feel Africa in general is a prime area of opportunity.”