THE SA freight forwarding major Safcor Panalpina is combining a new expansion programme at the Johannesburg International Airport (JIA) with a valuable consolidation of its air and seafreight activities in Gauteng – tied in with changes in senior management. It completed a substantial new logistics centre at JIA last year, and intends to add additional capacity at these premises - taking its operations there from the current 12 000m2 to approximately 25 000m2. According to current chairman, Philip Womersley, this will allow the company to conduct all its air consolidation and deconsolidation on the airport premises – “giving speed and transit time advantages, plus some security advantages to boot”. It will also allow an expanded, combined air and sea logistics function to be conducted at the same centre. These new premises should be complete within 12-months and will complement the existing Isando premises at Wrench Road and also at Skietlood Street. A second plan being put into effect is consolidating its entire Gauteng regional forwarding staff at Wrench Road, giving an integrated air and sea operation to its Gauteng client base. “To complete this picture, all Gauteng operations now report to Maria du Preez in her new role as regional director for Gauteng.”
