Own tankers streamline delivery

The first of four new tankers has arrived and has already moved into action at the premises of CHC Resources in Pomona, Kempton Park. The tankers, which will be managed by a BEE company, will be utilised for local Gauteng deliveries of sodium sulphate and soda ash. “During the course of 2010 we saw a dramatic increase in demand for the products being transported from Durban to Gauteng, and therefore we had a demand for tankers that was often not met,” says CHC Resources CEO Reshaan Laljith. And with the company often having to pay for empty tankers on return trips it made economic sense to purchase its own tankers, he said. “We bring the product from Durban to our warehouse in Pomona by tipper. From here it is delivered to the customer by tanker,” says Laljith. “It is about debottlenecking our business and relying less on outsourced services.” He says with the use of its own tankers the company is confident that lead times will be reduced. “Ultimately our service to our client will be more efficient and we will be able to keep our promises because our dependency on a third party has been removed from the equation.” CHC Resources last year opened a new warehouse with a 5 000-sqm capacity in Pomona for its sodium sulphate and soda ash as the first step in addressing the demand for more of this product as it makes delivery quicker. “We can get to Witbank within three hours from here. This saves the customer from having to wait for delivery from Durban, which then would have to be brought up directly by tanker as all our customers only take delivery from tankers.” The three remaining tankers, which are being custom built for CHC Resources, should be in operation by no later than the end of March this year.