United Container Depots (UCD) has moved from its depot location in Paarden Eiland to larger premises in Beaconvale, Parow. The new premises boast a container stacking area of over 20 000m², warehouse space of 4 000m², dedicated controlled atmosphere (CA) gassing area for up to four trucks, three empty container handling machines, 120 reefer plug points as well as dedicated collection and drop-off truck lanes. With a laydown area double the size of their previous depot, the new depot is able to accommodate more than 3 600 TEUs.
Andrew Sturrock, a member of the Grindrod Freight Services Executive, said: “This is the first new site for UCD since we opened the depot in Paarden Eiland in the early ’90s. Over the years we have adjusted our business model from operating as a general-purpose depot to now focusing on 60-70% reefer-orientated work. Having doubled our current capacity, we can now offer our customers a more streamlined system of container movement through the yard.”
Marcus Twine, CEO of SGM Technical, commented: “The Paarden Eiland depot served us well but we are excited about being able to offer our clients a more seamless, smooth processing of inbound and outgoing trucks. We have cameras recording all in- and outbound traffic with secure electrified fencing around the premises. There is also a larger workshop area now for container repairs and we will look at increasing our technical staff complement to service our growing depot.”
UCD are accredited warranty service agents for Star Cool, Daikin, Carrier and Thermo King reefer equipment manufacturers as well as agents for 3rd party CA suppliers Liventus and Purfresh in Cape Town and Johannesburg. All technicians are well trained and compliant in order to service the units on behalf of the manufacturers and customers. Grant Bahlmann, General Manager of UCD, added: “UCD is proud to have a well-established footprint in added reefer services such as callouts, reefer monitoring, vessel spares deliveries and replenishment kits and reefer part sales, to name a few. Our reefer service in Cape Town is available 24/7/365 and our shift system allows our customers the peace of mind in knowing that someone is always available to attend to their after-hours reefer queries.”
UCD currently has depots in Johannesburg, Gqeberha and Durban. UCD is also looking at acquiring another site in Durban in the near future."Using the Beaconvale model as a guideline for the new branch, we will adjust the site layout accordingly if required."
UCD is owned by Sturrock Grindrod Maritime (SGM) and, along with its sister companies Hesper Engineering, NovaMarine and SwiftNova Engineering, make up the SGM Technical Division within Grindrod Limited. SGM Technical offers solutions ranging from marine safety equipment and servicing to steel/pipe fabrication, mechanical repairs as well as blasting and coating services for all types of vessels.
The new premises allow for a more seamless flow in terms of container movement as well as the added benefit of warehouse storage.
The warehouse has 4000m² of space available for the storage of commodities. The warehouse is monitored by surveillance cameras and permanent on-site security.
