JOY ORLEK FOR OVERBORDER specialist Umodzi Transport, service is the key to business growth. “Although the company is 100% black owned and managed, that’s not what gets the business,” says sole owner Fred Mlombwa, whose original focus was the Johannesburg Malawi route. The company has now expanded its portfolio to include Mozambique, Zambia, Tanzania and Zimbabwe, and according to Mlombwa, Mozambique is its biggest growth market. “We’re moving an average of 5-6 trucks a week and see plenty of prospects for further growth.” Umodzi owns 11 trucks with triaxles, using outside contractors from time to time to complement in-house resources. It’s not any easy business, says Mlombwa, who sees rate-cutting and customs delays as the two major challenges. In particular, Customs in Tanzania has introduced strict new measures that require trucks to be cleared at the border rather than allowing them to proceed to bonded warehouses for clearance. “This delays the vehicles by several days, and sometimes up to a week,” says Mlombwa. But despite the challenges he remains optimistic about further growth. “On all our routes we’re moving imports and exports and our rates are based on the assumption that we will be returning with backloads.”
