The unpredictability of
the South African labour
environment – especially on
big projects – has forced freight
and logistics companies to plan
for any eventuality.
According to Lampie
Grobler, operations manager
for Frits Kroon Transport,
it was the recent strike at
the Medupi power plant in
Lephalale in Limpopo that
motivated the company
to transform a piece of
agricultural land purchased
several years ago in
Bapsfontein in the north of
Gauteng into an open storage
facility.
“One of our clients, who is
heavily involved at Medupi,
immediately made use of the
facility by moving equipment
there to store for the duration
of the strike at Medupi. But
since then it has proven to be
a value-add to our business
as we now have a facility for
emergency situations and for
general storage use.”
He said while storage was
not necessarily a problem in
South Africa, it was an issue
during the strike season when
there was an increased need in
the country.
“The strikes
often have
significant
impact on
freight and
logistics
operations
as goods and
equipment are
continuously
coming into the
country for the
project sector,
but then cannot
be delivered. It is essential
then to have a site available
immediately.”
He said the site in
Bapsfontein comprised some
40 000 sqm of open storage
and they were currently in
the process of erecting an
electric fence around the entire
facility to improve security. A
36-ton forklift has also been
purchased to allow for the
easy loading and off-loading of
the large pieces of equipment
coming in
and out of the
premises.
With its
proximity
to the East
Rand, only
30km from
OR Tambo
Airport, and
en route to
Limpopo and
the Beitbridge
border post,
it is ideally
situated to serve as a storage
facility.
Grobler said while their
company did not move
containers, the facility could
be used for the storage of
containers as well for short
periods of time.
INSERT
Storage is an issue
during the strike
season when there is
an increased need in
the country.
– Lampie Grobler
