Transporter to open Gauteng facility

Durban-based Image Freight is set to open a Gauteng facility – which includes a warehouse, workshop and administration building – by January next year. “We have 150-200 loads going out of Johannesburg into southern Africa every month so it makes sense for us to establish a strong presence in the province. To that end we have acquired 10 000sqm of virgin land in Roodekop near Germiston to develop our own facilities,” said director Anthony Sivalingam. He told FTW that the company also started a regular daily service to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in May this year, transporting mainly steel structures and other equipment. “To meet additional demand in Africa, we have boosted our trucking fleet to a total of 60 units,” he said. One of the greatest challenges facing transporters currently is to stay competitive but also to provide a sound, reliable service with a good turnaround time. “I am very aware of the fact that our customers’ credibility is built largely on the service we provide and therefore Image Freight will not cut corners and lower its rates but rather find innovative solutions to cutting costs,” said Sivalingam. Part of that cost-cutting strategy is to allocate two or three trailers to each truck, enabling the company to carry 90 loads on 60 trucks. “We also ensure our trucks are in optimum condition and we operate only with new Freightliner Argossy trucks, with the oldest truck in the fleet dating back to only 2011,” Sivalingam said. CAPTION & INSERT We will not cut corners and lower our rates but rather find innovative solutions to cutting costs. – Anthony Sivalingam