Mining industry ratchets up volumes

A YEAR since the relocation of its hubbing base from Nairobi to Entebbe for intra-Africa consolidations, Intraspeed is more than satisfied with the results in terms of control, efficiency and transit time. “We’re now using Entebbe as our predominant hub,” Intraspeed South Africa director Bruce Emslie told FTW, “serving Mwanza, Juba, Kigali, Bujumbura, Bunia, Goma, Bukavu, Kisangani, Bangui and Dar es Salaam. “We moved our hub from Nairobi for various reasons – cost factors, efficiency and congestion – and because Entebbe is a smaller airport we have more direct control and have more people on the ground to facilitate speedy transit.” While there are fewer flights to Entebbe than Nairobi, actual transit times from South Africa have been reduced, he added. “We are using service providers in Uganda with whom we have established strong relationships over the years and they are arranging the onward chartering to final destination.” The company’s broad client base translates into high volumes which are consolidated out of Entebbe to the end destinations. “We’ve been marketing the service for quite a few years and have built up a nice market share,” said Emslie, who reports significant volume increases from the mining industry in particular. “We have started hubbing in Accra to service the mining industry in Ghana and the surrounding countries, once again using charter operators for onward transport.” An Intraspeed office opened in Lubumbashi five months ago to serve all the mining interests in the southern part of DRC and the Copperbelt. “We hub in Lubumbashi and in Lusaka using truck or air charter for onward transport direct to the mines.” The current set-up is working well for Intraspeed – on the back of buoyant mining and construction related business – but the company has left the Nairobi option open depending on customer requirements, he said.