Purchase of Focus adds muscle for Sturrock in Mozambique

THE PURCHASE by Sturrock Shipping of
Focus Clearing, which serves the Golela
and Komatipoort border posts, has laid the
foundation for further growth of Sturrock in
Mozambique.
“Focus is a well established company which
has handled everything from the building of
the Mozal aluminium plant to the export of
500 blue wildebeest. They help us offer clients
an advanced standard of service,” says Alan
Bremner, general manager of Sturrock Shipping
Mozambique.
“We are a truly regional player being the
only ships' agency with own offices in all South
and East African ports. With the democratic
elections in 1994, Africa opened up as a market
for our expansion drive. Having opened offices
in Mombasa in 2000, Sturrock Shipping has gone
on to open in Dar es Salaam, Tanga and recently
(2005) bridged the gap between South and East
Africa by opening up in Nacala, Beira and Maputo
in Mozambique.
“Now, with the purchase of Focus, we have
enhanced coverage of the important inland route
through Komatipoort and Golela to complement
our Johannesburg operation in servicing clients
on the reef and in Mpumalanga.”
Calling on nearly four decades of ships’
agency and clearing and forwarding experience
in South Africa, the company has been
diversifying its product offering and today is
active in the handling of all types of cargo,
from iron ore to cement to car carriers as
well as numerous other bulk and breakbulk
commodities, says Bremner.
“In Maputo we recently handled two large
cement import shipments and are becoming
increasingly involved in clearing and forwarding,
warehousing and other logistics services,” says
Bremner.
Working closely with all aspects of the
logistics supply chain, Sturrock is able to tailor
packages to meet the specialised needs of
customers. “Being a medium-sized organisation
we are more flexible than most and this allows
us to provide a tailor-made management service.
The client only deals with us and we handle the
rest,” he says.
The recent acquisition of the majority shareholding
of our South African parent company
by Calulo Services means that the organisation
is now a fully certified BEE company, opening
the way for further growth in a robust trading
environment.