Malawi specialist looks at new routes and rates

ALAN PEAT
THE TRANSPORT and forwarding company, Central African Logistics (CAL), is busy looking at new
routes and rates to add to its portfolio of products, according to sales and marketing executive, Keshnee Reddy.
While the company currently focuses on Malawi cargo, it is also able to haul to the likes of Zimbabwe and Zambia amongst its overborder routings.
CAL has recently been heavily involved in doing a lot of transport into Malawi, carrying cargoes like flour and maize as part of the World Food Aid programme.
“This ran at 3 000-4 000-tons a month at its height,” Reddy told FTW, “with a total of 25 000-t of maize and about 2 000-t of cornmeal as relief aid for the Malawi government.”
While the company also handles a lot of general cargo, it has also been involved in another specialist contract for the Malawi government - transporting hospital equipment into the country.
“This is about eight to ten containers a week of everything from hospital bed structures to bedding and linens,” said Reddy. “We expect this to continue for the next three to four months - although we might have to source more and transport it up to them.”
The company is part of the Farmers World group, which also moves cargo into Malawi as part of its trade procurement programme.
“CAL has a fleet of 50 horse and trailer units,” said Reddy, “most of them Freightliner tri-axles.
“We also own 30 medium commercial vehicles for local distribution in Malawi and the surrounding areas.”
The company is Malawi registered, and its home depot in that country has a 100-truck capacity, with wash bays and weighbridges, a fully-stocked workshop and a tyre bay.