GAC Laser targets ‘reasonable’ growth

While the significant decline
in volumes moving through
South Africa’s ports is an
indication of the economic outlook,
supply chain major GAC Laser is
targeting reasonable growth for the year
ahead.
“In Cape Town and Durban we’re
aiming for 25% while our fledgling
Johannesburg office is expected to deliver
50-60% growth,” CEO Simon Hayes told
FTW.
“From a customer perspective we
haven’t seen too much down-trading so
we are very positive and are hoping that
the downturn won’t last too long.” The
company is hoping for an improvement
by the middle to end of the year.
Now into the second year of its joint
venture with Laser Logistics, GAC Laser
is reaping the rewards of its association
with a significant international partner
with a global network spanning 300
offices worldwide, says Hayes.
Historically GAC Laser has always
been big in textiles in the Western Cape.
“It has been troublesome as an industry
but our textile players seem quite
strong,” he told FTW. The company has
however diversified in terms of product
mix and service portfolio, moving into
warehousing, transport and distribution.
“We now offer the full supply chain
spectrum and use an IT system built
and developed for the GAC Group
internationally, providing internet-based
visibility for our customers.”
In line with several industry
commentators, Hayes believes that
developments around the 2010 Soccer
World Cup will help to cushion the effect
of the global downturn for South Africa.
And at GAC Laser there’s a clear hype
about the event.
Not only is the company involved
logistically – having developed an event
logistics capability at Group level – but
it’s also using it to build brand exposure
and provide a meaningful channel
through which its staff can participate and
contribute to the global event.
Its truck branding, group marketing,
group skills development and corporate
social responsibility programmes are all
geared to 2010, with soccer development
for the previously disadvantaged one of
the areas of focus.
The next big development for GAC
Laser will be the launch of a state-of-theart
facility in Kwazulu Natal.
Set to open in July, it will be custombuilt
to GAC Laser specifications.
“It will be moulded for our Durban
operation which involves a lot of
handling, unpacking and cross-docking,
creating greater operational efficiencies.”
Growth and consolidation are clearly
the watchwords at GAC Laser for the
year ahead.