‘Good communication and service is key to our clients’

IN FIVE years Nicholson Shipping has grown from a three-person staff to 16, with Durban headquarters and offices in Johannesburg and Cape Town. Managing director Marc Edwards, who founded the company while still in his twenties, said if he could give advice to any shipper moving cargo into Africa, it would be to ensure that you are paid upfront before your cargo is shipped. “This is pretty well known, but it bears repeating, although it also depends on the countries with which you’re dealing. “We have managed to find excellent agents in Dar es Salaam, Mombasa and Tema,” he said, “and have even been able to collect freight in these areas. “However Nigeria, Abidjan and Luanda are the problem areas when it comes to collecting freight.” As Nicholson Shipping has grown, it is now working with most clearing agents, packing its own export groupage containers to East, West Africa, Indian Ocean Islands and Felixstowe, currently using Hamburg and Singapore as the hubs to other areas around the world. The company recently launched a direct service to Sydney, Fremantle and New Zealand, “which has proved to be most successful”, according to Edwards. “Business has been very good. Good communication and service is what keeps our clients happy,” he added.