Premier celebrates milestone 25th anniversary

Adding value through financial packages Richard Adamson É a service orientated medium-sized player OCTOBER 17 marked the 25th anniversary of international freight forwarder and customs clearing agent Premier Freight"s activities in South Africa. The company, which was established as a division of the CNA Group, initially offered consolidation services for the book and magazine industry in South Africa. It was then known as Dawson Royle & Willan and was the undisputed market leader in the import of books and magazines by both sea and air into South Africa, says Premier sales and marketing director Richard Adamson. In the early 1980s the merger of the Premier Group"s clearing & forwarding operation with Dawson Royle & Willan gave birth to a new entity called Premier International - trading as Premier Freight. The company further evolved after a partial management buy-out in partnership with the Hollard Insurance Group, which came on board as a major shareholder in the mid 1990s. And this saw a rapid phase of growth for the owner-managed company. When Hollard relinquished its shareholding in 1998, the way was paved for Sasfin to acquire Hollard"s stake, and the resultant synergies between Sasfin and Premier further enhanced the company"s rapid growth, said Adamson. The link up with Sasfin brought to Premier the association with Hong Kong-based international freight forwarding major Hecny Transportation. This resulted in the establishment of a joint venture company in South Africa, Hecny Transportation SA, which gave Premier exclusive access to the Hecny network worldwide. Currently turning over in excess of half a billion rand per annum and with a staff complement of approximately 150, Premier ranks itself within the top 10 in South Africa. "We have two strong, vibrant and growing business relationships. Our association with Sasfin brings an entrepreneurial banking group with an unquestioned reputation and high standing in the industry," said Adamson. "They add value in terms of structuring financial packages for many of our customers, and give Premier an additional service to sell to its customer base that is unique in the South African market." The association with the Hecny Group is a vital cog in terms of Premier"s international freight forwarding capability, says Adamson. "This link enables Premier to compete on equal terms with the majors in the South African market. "Our facilities in all major centres operate as a tripartite alliance, which brings tremendous value-add to both importers and exporters, in terms of our ability to structure financial and logistical packages." Premier Freight continues to grow and expand its operations in South Africa. The Cape Town facility has recently relocated to two new premises. The town office has been upgraded to allow for further growth, and the warehousing and distribution operation in Epping has moved to new facilities, which allow for growth of both its air and sea operations. In Johannesburg the company will relocate to new premises in Electron Avenue Isando in April 2003, which will see Premier's Gauteng-based operation with 2000 square metres of office space and 3400 square metres of warehousing and distribution facility. "The future for Premier Freight looks extremely bright. We have always seen and continue to see ourselves as a service orientated medium-sized player in the South African freight forwarding industry offering quality facilities and long term relationships at affordable pricing," said Adamson.