New turnaround depot set to rev up Gauteng business

Cross-border project transport

specialist Image Freight is set

to grow its Gauteng customer base

with the opening this month of a

turnaround depot in

Roodekop.

It adds significant

muscle to the

company’s service

offering, says

director Anthony

Sivalingam, and is

an essential element

of its cross-border

armoury.

“When you’re

based in Durban,

running a crossborder

operation, it’s

essential to have a

Johannesburg depot. We’ll bring in

imports from Durban, stage them in

our yard and clear them and then the

truck will go back.”

The Johannesburg depot is very

similar to the Durban facility, with

a workshop, operational facility,

training facility and management

and driver accommodation. A

warehouse is on the planning boards

for later development.

Without doubt 2015 has been a

tough year, says Sivalingam, but next

year will be better, he told FTW.

Economic peaks

and troughs are part

and parcel of the

business landscape.

“There are cycles

of good and bad –

and during the bad

times you need to

consolidate.”

It’s a philosophy

that’s worked well

during the company’s

15-year history which

has seen the fleet

grow from one-truck

and one-trailer when

it started in 2001 to 60 trucks and

140 trailers today.

Its one-stop operation includes

not only transport but clearing and

forwarding and bonded warehousing

facilities at its Durban base. Daily

services cover Zimbabwe, Zambia,

Botswana and Mozambique for

project and general cargo.

“What makes us different is

our all-encompassing service. For

example, if there’s a new mine being

set up, we can do the whole turnkey

operation from A to Z.

“We can clear the cargo, get it

out of the port, stage it and arrange

the transport. Transport is just one

element of the comprehensive

service we offer.”

Operating crossborder

is not without its

challenges, and policy

changes and labour issues

related to customs and

drivers require constant

attention.

“We have

runners in

Zambia and

Zimbabwe

and our own

office at the

Beitbridge

border in

order to facilitate swift processing of

customs documentation.”

For Sivalingam it’s about having

the right structures in place,

manned by competent staff. The

Johannesburg depot adds a key

component to the company’s

comprehensive service portfolio

and it will be marketing the

new facility aggressively as it

vies for a greater share of the

Gauteng market.

INSERT & CAPTION

What makes us different

is our all-encompassing

service. For example,

if there’s a new mine

being set up, we can

do the whole turnkey

operation from A to Z.

– Anthony Sivalingam