Growth into Africa looking good

Durban’s potential is limitless thanks to continued growth in KwaZulu-Natal, says Joe de Villiers, managing director of Cargocare Freight Services KZN. “As the largest seaport in the country it serves Gauteng well, and with the new government connections, we are expecting to see even more growth in KZN. The new Africa groundswell also augurs well for further growth of exports to Africa,” says de Villiers. Cargocare, which has offices in both Johannesburg and Durban, has been very involved in the export of foodstuffs, petroleum and manufactured products into Africa. Regular motor vehicle exports for a UN agency are also part of its portfolio. The company, says De Villiers, was really built on a dream and is now driven by passion. “After 28 years working for multinationals where no-one knew the boss, I decided to leave the freight supermarkets and start a traditional service value company where the owners work behind the counter.” Joined by Krish Yenketas and Roland Raath, they have built up strength in both exports and imports. According to Raath the company continues to adapt to market conditions – something that is possible due to its direct hands on approach. He says due to the new financial landscape there has been a marked move over the past six months from full containers to groupage/LCL cargo. “In the same vein we have noticed that an overall drop in airfreight volumes has been replaced by a greater demand for JIT airfreight, which is a perfect economic fit for today’s trends. Smaller outlay, with reduced transit times, feeding demand where it is found.” According to Raath and De Villiers Cargocare has always catered to this type of specialist market, ensuring cargo delivery the same day as flight arrival 80% of the time.