Swazi operator expands African footprint

2007 SAW an explosive expansion of overnight delivery routes throughout Southern Africa for the Matsapha, Swaziland-based Express Cargo. For years the firm specialised in shipping solutions for Swaziland, and this past year saw it extending to Lesotho and Botswana. More destinations, including Mozambique, are planned for this year. Express Cargo’s facility in Johannesburg is a hub that made possible the overnight delivery service to Gaborone. “Cargo comes through our Durban office. We can facilitate both LCL (less than container load) and Express Cargo FCLs (full container loads) either in bond to Botswana or duty paid in Durban. We do the same at Jo’burg airport for air cargo: bond to Botswana or duty paid. In Botswana, we have a bonded warehouse facility,” Express Cargo director Mark Svenningsen told FTW. Speaking at his Matsapha office at the start of the year, Svenningsen described the past months as demanding but exhilarating. An operation has been established in Cape Town (Cross Border Cargo), while the Botswana service has been contracted to transport agricultural and industrial equipment, clothing and fast moving consumer goods like cookware. Trucks leave nightly from Johannesburg and deliver the next day. From Durban to Gaborone the trip takes two days.