New kid on the block casts its net wide

RAY SMUTS AVIOCEAN, Cape Town’s newest freight forwarding and clearing company, has set its sights on capturing a customer base as diverse as the wide range of products manufactured in the Cape. “This is indeed one of our strategies, to have as wide a representation as possible,” says general manager Brian Allan. Starting last month (February) at its Epping premises, which include a 350sq m warehouse Allan, who started his career in Johannesburg 16 years ago, is happy to note that Aviocean (Cape Town) already has on its books several core customers. “We have commitments from various customers which gives us a strong position from which to to trade. I believe there are still many new customers to be had, provided one is able to bring something exciting to the market in terms of service provision. Our entire focus is on delivering exceptional service and communication to our customers.” As to the state of the Western Cape clearing and forwarding industry from a general perspective, Allan says: "Whilst some agents are thriving there are others going through a rough time for various reasons, including exchange rates and weather affected agriculture, but we are determined to become one of the success stories this year.” Aviocean has operated in Durban and Johannesburg for 16 years but never had a foothold in the Cape. ”I guess it was a case of timing and finding the right people at the right time,” he surmises. An exciting development for Aviocean (Cape Town) is that it is in the process of employing a wine industry specialist to handle a large export account gained by its Johannesburg office in conjunction with the company’s overseas agents.