SACD expands warehouse ahead of expected upturn

Despite a global recession
that saw the mining
industry severely affected,
SACD is expanding its warehouse
to handle more products from the
north of South Africa’s borders.
According to Dennis Trotter,
SACD regional director, the
decision was taken despite the
recession as all expectations are
that 2010 will be a good year.
“The warehouse will be fully
operational from January 2010.
It has been a tough year, but
by applying good management
strategies to deal with cost controls
we are able to expand and that
means we will be around to take on
the challenges of the future and the
expected growth in Africa.”
SACD Gauteng has handled
Africa export cargo for many years.
Initially the company focused on
agricultural products, but made a
successful switch to predominantly
mineral products because this was
not a seasonal commodity affected
by the weather.
“The recession has been a
challenge as the commodity prices
collapsed and cargo stopped
moving. The only consolation was
that the warehouse has been full –
waiting for the prices to recover,”
says Trotter. “At the moment
everything is going out quicker
than it is arriving, partly due to
some mines that have closed down
and also an apparent shortage of
vehicles on the routes we serve.
But the good news for us is that
things are moving again and we
expect to be back to normal in the
next six months.”