Lessons learnt on cross-border export journey

14 Apr 2015 - by Liesl Venter

Manufacturing a quality
product is one thing.
Learning to export it successfully
is another story entirely.
There were some serious
lessons to be learnt in this
regard for manhole cover
manufacturer Maverick
Trading.
The company exports across
Africa but especially to Kenya,
Malawi and
Gabon.
“Packing
containers was
a new challenge
for us, with
the first load
we ever sent
arriving on the
other side with
some serious
damages
having
occurred,”
says Martin Charles, general
manager of Maverick Trading.
“When we first started
exporting we were doing it all
ourselves and we learnt lessons
as we went along. Today our
products move across Africa
with not a single incident of
damage occurring.”
He says not only did they
have to learn all about
containerisation in terms of
how to pack effectively so as
not to damage the product, but
also how to pack efficiently to
move the optimum number of
manhole covers and frames in
one consignment.
“These are not necessarily
things you think of when you
sign that first export deal.”
It meant despite having a
quality product on their hands
the team had to go back to
the drawing board to figure
out how they could move their
product around
efficiently.
“So
through more
research and
development
we found a way
to f lat pack
our product
so we could
fit more into
one container
and prevent
damage.”
With what they term “old
fashioned values” at work,
Maverick Trading has seen
some big successes in the past
few years of which successful
exporting is just one.
Having been named the Cape
Chamber of Commerce and
Industry’s Exporter of the Year,
they increased their export
turnover by 76% from 2012 to
2013 and a further 25% from
2013 to 2014.
“To continuously grow in
the world of export you have
to up your game all the time.
It is not enough to just have a
quality product,” says Charles.
“Developing new products,
ensuring a cost-effective supply
chain and constantly looking for
new opportunities and markets is
part and parcel of it all.”
Expanding its export
market is high on the agenda
for the company which has
its manufacturing plant in
Brackenfell in Cape Town.
“We believe it is important
that we continuously work on
our product range so as to ensure
we have what is needed on the
continent. The product must add
value if we want to see the sales
grow,” says Charles. “Of course
there are those customers that will
always consider price first and
foremost but that is not the only
aspect that is at play.”
He says it was being confronted
with the rates issues that forced
the company to think out of the
box.
“We are tackling the cross-border
market, and while we have a range
of standard products to offer, we
also have the ability to custommake
a product should they want.
For us it is about adding value
that is both cost-efficient and high
quality at the same time.”