New City Deep depot offers extended working hours

It’s all systems go for Jacobs Transport’s latest venture – a container depot in City Deep, Johannesburg. According to owner Gys Jacobs, the decision to branch into the container depot industry was motivated by market demand. “Many of our transport clients have been asking us about container depots and after some investigation into the matter we realised there was an opportunity for a container depot in this area.” Months of negotiation resulted in the company’s recent move to brand new premises in City Deep where they now offer some 35 000 sqm of yard space with a stacking capacity of 6000 TEUs. Situated just 2.9km from the Transnet City Deep terminal, the facility is already seeing containers starting to stack up. “Something else that we identified was the need for a depot that operates later than 5pm and therefore we are running our depot from 4am to 10pm to allow for extra time for pick up and delivery. We also believe the depot will be able to relieve some of the congestion currently being experienced.” The company has been in business for more than 11 years and has until recently focused on providing specialised transport solutions to its customer base. “In the current market it is important for businesses to diversify and expand, otherwise they will stagnate,” said Jacobs, who has some big plans in the pipeline when it comes to developing the newly acquired depot. “It is about innovation and meeting market demand. We can improve the service to our existing customers while bringing new clients on board. We offer a fully integrated intermodal service from the vessel to the client’s door.” With services such as empty and full storage, maintenance and repairs of containers, repositioning as well as short- and long-haul transport, Jacobs says it made sense to take the company to the next level. “It saves money and time for our existing client base and also allows us the opportunity to diversify and grow our business extensively.”