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.