Logistics operator upbeat about growth prospects

Just over a year since officially opening its doors, Ehrenreich Logistics is upbeat about the prospects for 2011 after a challenging but encouraging launch year. “As a new player we have done very well,” says CEO Peter Ehrenreich who set up the company and was joined by fellow directors Nadia Govender and Shawn Simonhoff, both of whom are ex-Maersk colleagues with diversified experience in shipping and freight forwarding. Simonhoff heads up the Cape Town branch while Govender and Ehrenreich are based in Johannesburg. “We are growing where many well-established companies are not and added customers throughout last year,” says Ehrenreich who is a well-known figure in the local shipping industry. He arrived in South Africa in 1999 as Maersk SA MD and subsequently headed up Safmarine’s Asian/Australian operation, based in Singapore. He resigned from the AP Moller-Maersk group in 2008 after 25 years. It was during his stint with Maersk SA that he developed an affinity for South Africa – a country to which he knew he would one day return. With his extensive experience and contacts in Asia – 11 years in all – it’s not surprising that China is one of the company’s major focus areas followed by India, the Middle East, Benelux countries, Italy, Spain and Africa. “We have very good global partners and outsource only to the best,” says Govender, “and that’s how we make sure that we provide the best price and product.” While Ehrenreich remains optimistic about continued growth, he believes 2011 will be another very tough year. “I always use unemployment figures as the benchmark for growth, and with US unemployment having just gone up to 9.8% and the Irish, Spanish and other European economies struggling, the market is unlikely to increase significantly.” But he is confident that the company has the right credentials in place. “We are one of the few Level 1 BBBEE companies in the industry, a status we work hard to maintain – and that opens many doors.” Ehrenreich is also intent on maintaining a diversified customer base offering a mix of air and sea import and export solutions ranging from the export of fruit out of Cape Town and mining and minerals from the likes of the DRC to import cargoes from the Far East, often using South Africa as a springboard into the rest of the continent. When it comes to dealing with the East, trust is a crucial factor, says Ehrenreich. “We have strong alliances with China which is why many freight agents trust us with their Far East cargo – and it’s a market that is likely to expand.”