Impala rebrands and gets set for growth

Warehousing and logistics specialists Impala have rebranded their Africa operations. With the African arm of the business until recently known as Congofret, it will now operate under the global name of Impala Warehousing and Logistics, the company’s CEO Martijn Snijder told FTW last week. “We specialise in the transportation and storage of metals, minerals and coal globally. As a wholly owned subsidiary of Trafigura, we have been responsible for the movement of their commodities in Africa as Congofret. The name change from Congofret to Impala is recognition of the successes achieved by Congofret on the continent.” In the DRC alone the company is responsible for the throughput of some 80% of the copper, moving in excess of 35 000 tons a month. According to Clive Liversage, general manager of Impala in Africa, the name change also heralds the beginning of a growth strategy. “Until now we have only been responsible for warehousing and logistics for Trafigura in Africa. Our expertise in Africa, however, means this is the perfect time to expand our business significantly, bringing more clients on board.” They will continue to focus on the minerals and metals industry, said Snijder. “That is where we have built up extensive experience, having put our own assets in place along with the best systems and procedures to ensure the most cost-efficient movement of commodities. We believe we can share this expertise and add value to other mining houses that require transportation and storage of mining commodities.” Koen Verbeke, managing director of Impala in Africa, believes the company has established itself as a warehousing and logistics leader in Africa. “We take advantage of every mode of transport, using both road and rail, while at the same time putting the best security systems in place to ensure that the commodities we move are secure from beginning to end.” Impala globally operates some 40 warehousing sites in 30 different countries with more than 4 000 000 sqm of owned and leased storage capacity. Snijder says expanding across Africa, Asia and Latin America is high on the agenda for the company that first established itself in the African market in 2006. “Initially we set up operations in the DRC and Zambian copperbelt to address the shortage of transport capacity and cargo handling systems in the region for Trafigura. Having done this we are now expanding our activities further afield to Tanzania, Mozambique, Angola and South Africa to support the African mining industry in its development while offering sustainable, and reliable logistics solutions,” he said.