Beitbridge office will clear Zimbabwe-bound cargo
IT IS a busy and chaotic time as new company, Cheston Cargo, moves into the former SA Breweries depot at Isando, Johannesburg.
This with Telkom promises of a high-tech telephone network not following the entrants as they establish a new c&f hub in the 3 000 square metre premises.
Cheston in SA is a branch of the Harare home-based company, which previously used an agency partner for cargo movements from, to and through SA. And a partner in the SA subsidiary, Gena Alder, tended to the Zimbabwean's interests with that agent for five years, until the Harare management decided to establish their own presence in this country.
Our main business currently is obviously to-and-from Zimbabwe, Alder told FTW, with about 85% of this on the northbound route. But we also handle international air and seafreight worldwide.
The SA end of the Cheston group has its main interest in Johannesburg - where roadfreight into Africa is its forte, and Zimbabwe and Malawi the initial target destinations.
But, said Alder, we have just been appointed official agents for Mitchell Cotts Zambia (which remained a separate operation when the Grincor Group originally took over the Mitchell Cotts entity).
We are now handling all that company's air, sea and road movements internationally.
Alder also reports that a Beitbridge office has just been opened - handling the full spectrum of clearing the group's cargo movements into Zimbabwe.
While telephonic hiccups were still plaguing Alder at the time of interview (first week of the year) - she does praise the Isando premises. It has both free and bond store facilities, she said, with all the necessary structures and handling equipment for easy cargo flow in-and-out of the hub - and now home for a number of others in the freight industry as well as our Cheston operation.
