Specialised team to take care of reefer shipments

In line with a

renewed focus

on the reefer

market, Safmarine

has appointed a

dedicated reeferspecific

customer

experience team in Cape

Town which will be

up and running

from October 1.

“The aim is to deliver the

specialised service that the

segment requires,” reefer

manager Craig McCarthy

told FTW. “Perishables is an

exciting segment at present

with growth opportunities for

the next few years. Shippers

are looking for assistance on

logistical challenges and costsaving

initiatives.”

He said the reefer season

had been extremely successful

so far and hopes were high

for continued export volume

growth.

“Despite the challenges

in our country I am positive

about our perishable industry

and the opportunities ahead.

Global population growth

means increased consumption

of food – especially in Asia and

Africa,” he told FTW.

Despite import material

costs remaining a challenge

given the fragile South African

currency, the China slowdown

and the changes experienced

between South America, South

Africa and the Far East, the

shipping line had seen good

growth on all its trades, said

McCarthy.

“It has been a very successful

2016 reefer season thus far and

Safmarine

has been

exploring new

opportunities

with existing

and new

customers and

players.”

He said an

important

game-changer

in the reefer

sector was

Remote

Container

Management (RCM)

technology that would play

a big role in bringing about

better cargo management.

“The philosophy behind

RCM has been inspired by

ongoing developments in big

data and the internet of things.

It is already allowing greater

insight into the root cause of

issues and allows us to take

immediate action to take even

better care of our customers’

cargo,” said McCarthy.

He added

that globally

the shipping

line was

aiming to

carry 1 million

forty-foot

equivalent

units in 2017.

A total of

5000 new

20-foot dry

containers

were being

branded with

the Safmarine logo whilst

the company, which recently

celebrated its 70th anniversary,

was moving its head office

back to Cape Town from

Copenhagen.

INSERT & CAPTION

An important gamechanger

in the reefer

sector is Remote

Container Management

technology.

– Craig McCarthy