Mines keep freight moving – even through the recession

Because “mines can only stop
for so long,” Zambian freight
business helped drive abnormal
and heavy freight specialist Cargo-
Tac through the recession, says
managing director Kevin Wessels.
The company moves copper
concentrate and cobalt out of
the Copperbelt, with machinery,
abnormal loads and “yellow goods”
such as earth movers and front end
loaders on the northbound trip.
“Even during the recession, mines
still have to spend money. Equipment
still needs to be replaced,” he says.
Clients proved to be “very loyal”
through the downturn even though a drop
in freight volumes has sparked a spate of
price-cutting in the market-place.
“Luckily our clients understand
you can only cut rates for so
long. Service is going to give, the
reliability of the vehicles is going to
give. As an owner, you have to decide
how far you are prepared to cut rates
before you start compromising on
your service and reputation.
Wessels believes the focus on
maintaining levels of service by
continuing to invest in “maintaining
our vehicles 100%,” and the
upgrading of the company’s fleet
have kept the wheels moving.
“Clients understand that service
comes first. We are open with our
clients, and explain why we can’t
afford to cut rates further,” he says.
Additional services offered
by Cargo-Tac include insurance,
container packing and storage, project
cargo and freight forwarding.
Cargo-Tac is one of the first
transport companies to start moving
to live satellite tracking, which
has helped improve the security of
loads, says Wessels. “Unlike GPRS
tracking, satellites are in real time.
They are more accurate, and the
system does not go down.
“We have not had a hijacking for
the past four years,” he says.
Wessels is optimistic about future
prospects for Zambia. In addition to
the revival of the traditional copper
and cobalt mining operations, he
says there are signs of a revival of
Zambia’s gold mining sector.
Zambia produces limited quantities
of gold, and mining companies have
announced that they are investing
in operations on the central Matala
Dome deposit.
“We have moved up winch winders,
which means that mining companies are
going underground, and going deeper.
You don’t do that for copper,” he says.