MSC invests R20m in new Rosslyn depot

Leonard Neill
LAST WEEK saw the official launch by Mediterranean Shipping Company of a R20 million container depot at Rosslyn catering specifically for the automotive industry and component manufacturers.
The 37 000sq/m depot with its own rail siding has been on the planning boards for the past year. The brainchild of MSC Johannesburg director Andrew Modinos, it found favour with the company’s chairman in South Africa, Captain Salvatore Sarno and wife Sandra Sarno, director in charge of MSC depots..
“We have promised this facility to BMW in particular for some time now and we are here for them and for others in the motoring industry who establish their manufacturing plants in this new development area,” Modinos said last week.
A total of 17 000sq/m of the depot is used for the storage of full containers, with capacity for 500 40ft units. The remainder accommodates empty containers, repair and washing facilities and office buildings.
A 45ton loader is already in operation and a second is expected in February, along with an empty stacker.
“Spoornet has given us the green light to operate from our own siding this month,” said Modinos. “This means we can load and transport containers to any port in South Africa directly from the depot. I am satisfied that this facility will not stand empty.”