Social upliftment plays big role in Bakers Transport plans

BEE company caters for long and shorthauls JOY ORLEK THE BAKERS Transport catch line says it all – ‘We move anything, anytime, anywhere’. Established in 1973, the Pietermaritzburg-based company specialises in long and short haul logistics solutions for multinationals countrywide. Current chairman AS Tayoob, who established the company, is still an active member of the family-run operation. As a 100% black-owned company, its liability in apartheid South Africa has turned into a significant benefit. “The staff is 100% HDI managed and controlled in terms of the Department of Trade and Industry standard,” says Tayoob. “Its contribution to social upliftment and its status as an equal opportunity employer resulted in a platinum overall score in a recent audit, showing Bakers to be a good contributor to broad-based BEE,” said Tayoob. Known to some as ‘Mr Baker’, Tayoob’s generosity feeds over 40 school children daily on a lunch of bread and milk. The company has also partnered with the Transport Education and Training Authority (Teta) to provide learnerships for unemployed drivers in the community. Twenty unemployed individuals are currently being trained and will be offered employment with Bakers on completion of the eight month course. Its owned fleet of Mercedes-Benz mechanical horses are all fitted with sophisticated tracking devices to ensure safety of staff and cargo. An in-house maintenance workshop provides round-the-clock service to ensure that its fleet is kept on the road.