Walvis Bay investments woo Zambian shippers

30 Jul 2013 - by Ed Richardson

Investments by the Walvis
Bay-based Manica Group
Namibia have strengthened
the appeal of Walvis Bay
as a port of entry and exit for
Zambia and the Democratic
Republic of Congo.
Over the past financial year
the group has invested
more than
R21 million
in additional
logistics
equipment and
upgrading its
facilities.
New
equipment
includes a 55t
crane, 45t
reach stacker,
side-loader, trucks, forklifts and
f latbed trailers.
The company is also in its
final stages of implementing
a computerised track-andtrace
system, upgrading its
telecommunication system and
creating a whole new section to
provide an “office-away-fromhome”
facility for its marine
clients, known as the Manica
Business Centre.
“This investment was a
strategic
move not only
to meet the
requirements
of some of our
clients and
unusual cargo
types, but also
to provide
other logisticsrelated
services that
are often outsourced. In that
way we constantly improve
our productivity and cost
effectiveness,” says Manica
Group MD, Hans-Werner
Timke.
One such example is the
peripheral services that the
warehousing arm of Manica,
Rennies Consolidated, now
offers its clients.
These include a mobile
and a fixed ramp to off load
vehicles, container repair and
cleaning services, packing and
de-stuffing of containers and
cargo inventory control – to
mention a few.
Rennies also obtained
certification for the storage
of hazardous and radioactive
material such as uranium.
About R5 million will be
ploughed into modernising and
upgrading the warehousing and
depot facilities.
“In other instances Manica
has had to adapt to new logistics
requirements, especially in
the oil and gas field. With
our 89 years of experience,
skilled workforce and our vast
infrastructure resources we
have been able to adapt and stay
f lexible in providing seamless,
one-touch solutions – especially
to the stringent demands of
project freight and the oil and
gas industry,” says Timke.