New Ghana handling facility set to open

Swissport Cargo
Services is
expanding on the
continent and is
poised for further growth
with the addition of two new
cargo handling depots to
its existing infrastructure.
The company’s senior vice
president cargo Africa,
Colin Baldwin, said the
company’s new cargo
handling facility
in Accra, Ghana,
which had been in
the pipeline for
a few years,
was nearing
completion
and would
be opened
later this
year.
“We
have
also just
completed
our new
import
cargo
handling
warehouse in
Dar es Salaam.
Both facilities will give our
airlines the opportunity
to grow their business
further,” Baldwin said.
Swissport is currently
present in eight African
countries, operating at 36
stations in several lines
of business, including
cargo handling, ground
handling, executive
aviation and security
services provided by
Checkport Security.
Baldwin said
although cargo
volumes for South
Africa had shown
a decline in the last
quarter of 2015 due
to the weak rand,
the company had
grown its overall
volumes by 0.6%
year on year.
“We experienced a 6.8%
decline in volumes in Cape
Town versus 2014, and a
marginal improvement of
1.9% in Johannesburg versus
2014,” he said.
Swissport
International
handled
four million
tonnes of
cargo through
its network
globally, of
which
300 000
tonnes were
in the African
region in
2015. Baldwin said the major
challenge to growth remained
the global slowdown, in
particular the slowing of
the Chinese Manufacturing
Index. “Competition is and
will always be a factor in our
business. In South Africa,
with inflation creeping
up over the Reserve Bank
targets, 2016 will be another
year of “tightening the belt”,
so cost
controls and
improved
productivity
will be a key
focus for
the various
business
units,”
Baldwin said.
The
company was
currently
rolling out a new cargo
customer portal which
enabled users to track and
trace shipments on a live
platform, he added.
“We are implementing
our HHT system (Hand Held
Terminals) so customers
are receiving their Cargo
2000 KPI statistics on a live
platform. We are also rolling
out a door management system
so that our freight forwarders
can manage their pick up
and drop off times with us to
ensure smooth handling of
their cargo,” Baldwin said.
He added that despite
difficult economic times clients
still viewed Johannesburg as
the hub to southern Africa and
beyond followed by its Kenyan
operation in Nairobi.
“Kenya is predominantly
an exporter of perishable
goods, and in months like
February – with St Valentine’s
Day – hundreds of tonnes
of flowers are exported
into Europe for this special
occasion,” he said.
INSERT & CAPTION
We are rolling out a
door management
system.
– Colin Baldwin