Helping improve efficiency through Dar gateway

Damco Zambia’s new managing
director brings with him intimate
knowledge of Dar es Salaam,
which is the preferred gateway
for many Zambian importers and
exporters.
Canadian-born Scott Nisbet has
been working in the Tanzanian port
city for the past nine years, after
moving there with his wife Tima to
assist her East African-born parents
who have business interests there.
After about two years, the former
head of logistics for Nortel Canada
returned to his first career when
he joined K & K Cargo Logistics,
which handles copper and cobalt
exports from Zambia and the
Democratic Republic of Congo.
He believes his contacts in Dar
es Salaam and understanding of
the way the port and logistics
operations work in the country
will help Zambian companies to
improve the efficiency of their
exports and imports through the
gateway.
Nisbet will be using his
experience in the metals industry
combined with his Tanzanian
knowledge to expand into the
mining sector.
“We have to be in the metals
industry. Within the next two years
we will have a full service office in
the Copperbelt,” he says.
The company will, however,
strive to keep a balance. “There is
so much cargo that is not mining
related,” he adds.
With Damco as a company only
having started operating officially
in Zambia in January this year,
Nisbet sees this as an opportunity to
build a company that differentiates
itself in the market through its
expertise and focus on service.
“I come from a service industry,”
he says.
New hires will be selected
according to their commitment to
service, as well as their knowledge.
With those skills and service
ethic will come the tailoring of
services to meet the individual
needs of customers, backed by a
global network that includes the
Maersk shipping line. Damco
is part of the AP Moller-Maersk
Group.
The Zambian operation will be
focusing on three trade lanes –
India, China and Dubai.