New legislation spawns new service offerings

Asbestos ruling and wooden fumigation motivate change KEVIN MAYHEW IN THE face of changing legislation to meet international requirements and local needs, the freight industry is rising to the challenge of adapting to the new order. Durban-based Shipping Consolidated Holdings has refocused its activities and warehousing capacity from mainly cross-border dangerous goods to more general cargo. Shipping Consolidated managing director, Bill Benson, says the move was motivated by legislation governing the transportation of asbestos introduced by the Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Marthinus van Schalkwyk, last year. Van Schalkwyk announced the gradual phasing out of asbestos in most products. This adversely affected the company’s ability to handle asbestos at economically viable levels due to impositions made on the transportation of the material and reduced demand. “We have always handled other products but bagged asbestos was a big part of our business. We have switched our emphasis and adapted our warehousing infrastructure to meet the needs of other products,” Benson told FTW. The company now focuses more on fast moving consumer goods, rice and polyurethane products amongst others. The company recently became part of the 100% empowerment group African Heritage Investments – another change which positions it to meet the evolving structural and operational needs of the market, Benson said. Meanwhile Johannesburg-based Mitchell Packers has squarely taken the challenge of new legislation governing the treatment of wooden pallets and packaging to ISPM15 standards by introducing Africa’s first cardboard box and pallet combination. ISPM15, introduced in South Africa on January 1, requires that all wooden packaging and pallets have documented proof that they have been fumigated with methyl bromide and that only heat treated timber is used, or they will not be acceptable at signatory destinations and returned at the sender’s expense. Patented in South Africa, the new, specially waterproofed combination is available in three standard sizes and weighs up to five times less than its wooden alternative, making it ideal for airfreight as well. According to the managing director of Mitchell Packers, Greg Mitchell, the pallets – which can be custom designed - have been tested to at least one ton for stacking strength in warehousing or transportation. They are also available in a knock up design for assembly on site to save warehouse space when they are not in use. “The combination means less paperwork to prove that it has been fumigated, costs up to 50% less than its wood equivalent, and removes the danger of the fumigation formula contaminating certain sensitive cargoes,” explains Mitchell.