Tailor-made service operates Monday to Sunday

When you’re moving
perishables, reliability is
non-negotiable – and that’s the
basis on which road transport major
Rollex Freight has built its service.
Fully-owned by the Lonhro Group,
Rollex was established more than 20
years ago by Paul de Robillard and
provides intermodal international
logistics solutions, with its core focus
on development and sustainability in
various markets.
Zambia is a key route for the
company, and road freight division
Rollex Freight specialises in full
loads and consolidations into Lusaka,
Kitwe and Ndola using a diversified
fleet of owned vehicles.
The company has developed a
balanced mix of business on the
route with general cargo moving into
the region and perishables on the
southbound leg.
“Our vehicles have always been
owned by Rollex,” says airfreight
director Tracy Stafford. “The entire
fleet is fitted with GPS satellite
tracking and satellite phones linked to
an operations room in Johannesburg
so that the location of each vehicle is
tracked in real time.
“This is further supported by
satellite phones in each of the trucks,
enabling 24-hour communication
with the operations centre by the
drivers to alert the operations centre
to any unforeseen circumstances so
that the company can be proactive
with our customers in case the need
arises,” she added.
“We’ve spent a lot of time and
energy with customers in the Lusaka
market to build up and develop
that network,” says roadfreight
operations’ Melanie van der
Westhuizen. “Zambia is a strong
and important route for us and we
have the ability to move cargo as and
when our customers require. On this
route our service is tailored to the
customer’s requirements,” she said.
And while most operators offer
a Monday to Friday service option,
says Stafford, Rollex trucks ply
the route from Monday to Sunday.
“Cargo availability dictates the
frequency.”
One of the company’s biggest
strengths, in the view of roadfreight
manager Michel de Robillard, is its
diversified fleet – which includes
Superlinks, triaxles, reefers and
14-tonners – providing the kind of
flexibility that customers demand.
“Our maintenance is of the
highest order, and that translates into
reliability that you can always count
on.”
Because of the nature of perishable
cargo, which makes up the bulk of
the company’s southbound volumes,
border delays are not an option
“We have our own offices at
Beit Bridge and a network of agents
at Chirundu to expedite cargo
clearance,” says De Robillard.
“At any point in time, there are two
to three Rollex trucks at any of the
borders posts into Zambia.”
The company also offers
extensive warehousing facilities in
Johannesburg and Zambia. “The
bottom line is that we’re serious
about growth and development on
the route – and evidence of that is
the growth in cargo volumes,” says
Stafford.
The company has offices in
Johannesburg, Cape Town, Namibia
and Zimbabwe.