Kaserne depot prepares to diversify

KASERNE-BASED empty container depot Intermodal Management Services (IMS) has come a long way in its four years of operation. And according to managing director Nico Vermeulen, expansion and diversification plans are in the pipeline to offer additional services to the freight industry. Initially the facility specialised in the cleaning of containers. "Our customers then started asking us to do repairs as well, and once that was in place, they requested storage," says Vermeulen. "Hence the birth of a new container depot. "We now offer a full triangulation facility. The boxes are returned from importers, we inspect, repair and wash them and they are positioned at exporters locally or evacuated empty on rail to demand locations." Intermodal is conveniently based at Kaserne with six railway lines on site, capable of handling 150 trucks a day. The company numbers amongst its major clients Maersk Sealand, and is now gearing up to diversify its client base. Vermeulen's experience in the field includes 25 years with Transnet. His first job with the parastatal was to assess the layout of the City Deep terminal at the start of containerisation. His six partners in the company all have extensive experience in the transport field. The Kaserne facility is capable of handling 4 500 TEUs (twenty foot equivalent units) a month, and storing 2 500. Plans are afoot to transform it into a fully-fledged Customs bonded container depot with under-roof warehousing. IMS in Pretoria, headed by Pierre Olivier, was established seven years ago and offers an "all-in-house" service including customs clearing and forwarding, bonded warehousing (20 000 squ m), own rail contracts country-wide, cartage services, furniture removals and commodity trading. "We will be incorporating their service infrastructure as we expand our Kaserne operation," Vermeulen said.