Full steam ahead for King & Sons

Mozambique’s growth has helped propel King & Sons Mozambique from zero to a full service ships’ agency with offices throughout the country in just 17 months. With the opening of an office in Pemba, the agency is now represented in all Maputo’s major ports, says managing director, André Botes. Business has expanded beyond ships agency, and King & Sons Mozambique now handles crossborder traffic through a joint venture agreement with Rohlig, he adds. The company has created a full liner and logistics department to meet the demands of clients. Botes, who says he is “the only South African in the company,” sees growth continuing. “We are investing in Mozambique,” he says. There has been a strong focus on training. “With our tremendous growth in Mozambique, we have taken time out to do training and to get our accounts department working properly. We have employed a chartered accountant to head up the department,” he says. The company has spent over R150 000 on its IT systems to handle the growth which, according to Botes, has happened “in all departments”. These include commodities, clearing and forwarding, as well as liner and container operations, which are recent developments. Adding to Botes’ confidence in Mozambique are the developments around Maputo, which he describes as “very exciting”. “When you drive around town, you see roads being retarred and signs of construction everywhere.” A measure of the confidence in the economy is evident in the number of new major retail companies entering the town and opening up. “With the confidence in the Port of Maputo under MPDC growing, we are seeing a lot of interest being shown by exporters and shipping lines,” he says.