THERE’S A new man at the helm of Safmarine in KwaZulu Natal. Greg Rohrs, until March this year Safmarine Australia’s country manager, is back in his home country and ready for the challenge. South African born Rohrs (34), who has spent the past three years in Australia, says improving communication at all levels and between all parties will be a prime focus. “I’ve always had fond memories of Durban having visited the port numerous times during my 10 years at sea and while holidaying with my family on a farm outside Greytown.” Priorities for the KwaZulu Natal region, he says, will be on meeting the needs of current Safmarine customers, on proactively increasing the line’s presence in the market, and on furthering the collaboration between Safmarine and the various business units within the AP Moller-Maersk Group. Rohrs believes that the KwaZulu Natal region can make a significant contribution by increasing carrier haulage and becoming a market leader in providing an overall logistics service. “This will be achieved by meeting the needs of over-border and South African import and export customers. It is Safmarine’s aim to work closely with our business partners to provide a seamless consolidated logistics package.” With the port of Durban set to receive a multi-billion rand upgrade, he says Safmarine will actively support Transnet, local government, Sapo and the NPA wherever necessary. “All players in the logistics chain need to work together in order to provide solutions for shippers and grow the economy of this region.” Commenting on the similarities between the Australian and South African markets, Rohrs says in both markets it’s important to “only sell what you can deliver”. And while both countries produce similar goods, Australia – because of its size – is a bigger market with a higher production capacity. It also has certain advantages in markets such as the Far East, based on its geographical location. However, from a Safmarine perspective, Australia is the smaller market when compared to South Africa.
