Walvis Bay operators reap benefits of port business growth

King & Sons eyes landside opportunities
JOY ORLEK
BUSINESS GROWTH in Walvis Bay, combined with internal restructuring by parent company Grindrod, has opened a host of new opportunities for the Namibian operation of ship’s agency King & Sons. And they’re opportunities that the company, headed up by branch manager Reinhardt Küsters, has converted into lucrative business. The decision to move Ocean Africa Container Lines and Unicorn into the King & Sons stable has boosted business significantly, says Küsters. “Because of congestion at South Africa’s ports, a lot of deep sea lines like Safmarine and Maersk Sealand are now dropping off containers in Walvis Bay and relying on us to feeder the cargo into South Africa, which has resulted in major growth in our feeder business. “We’ve also been proactive in marketing coastwise cargo for OACL to South Africa. At this stage 60% of Walvis Bay’s container volumes are handled by us.” In addition to this container success, bulk handling continues to play a big role. The company is involved in exports of up to 60 000 tons a month of bulk salt to South Africa and Nigeria, the movement of lead concentrate which has expanded in line with growing demand from China, its top revenue earner fluorspar, as well as coal imports from Richards Bay and Maputo for the Ongopolo mine. All of which is handled through the Walvis Bay Bulk Terminal, now owned by Grindrod. The challenge going forward, in Küsters' view, will be greater involvement in land-based operations, and this is the focus from a Group perspective as well. Grindrod’s recent acquisition of rail operator Sheltham is an indication of its intentions in this direction. “It makes good sense,” says Küsters, who also believes that King & Sons has a lot to gain through greater utilisation of the group’s in-house opportunities and expertise – from warehousing and container handling to stevedoring and even the Sure Travel arm. At time of writing, CEO Ivan Clark was planning a visit to Namibia – so watch this space!