Warehousing in the heavy league

Operations manager Dean Shaw (left) and Robert Lovemore 'No company in Durban can offer the undercover handling of up to 40 ton single loads and vertical storage up to 16 metres in height.' MACHINE MOVING and rigging industry specialists Lovemore Bros have carved out a distinctive niche in the market, adding an array of related services to their core business. "No company in Durban can offer the undercover handling of up to 40 ton single loads and vertical storage up to 16 metres in height," says director Rob Lovemore who started the business with his brother Bruce in Durban in 1989 to serve the machine moving and rigging industry. "Today we are the largest operators in Natal and operate all over the country, Gauteng being our most important trading region after Natal." The service range has grown incrementally based on customer needs, warehousing now playing a significant role. "It was a natural extension to our machine moving business due to the storage and handling requirements of our customer base," says Lovemore. The original purpose-designed warehouse built in 1996 has since been superseded by a much larger facility in the New Germany area with 10 handling bays and three overhead cranes of 10ton, 25ton and 40ton capacity. "In our search for a 40 ton overhead crane we had an amazing stroke of luck," recalls Lovemore. "We discovered a relatively new building, complete with a 40 ton crane installed, in Johannesburg and for sale. After dismantling and relocating the structure to Durban it now stands solidly on its new foundations and is in daily operation." The design and manufacture of timber crates for packing of equipment is a further addition to the service range, and is proving to be an essential service within the whole operation, says Lovemore. "The efficiency of skilled crews, overhead cranes, crate making, storage and distribution, focused primarily on machinery, is what industry is now demanding " he told FTW. The company has recently installed a custom-designed management programme Ð on which quantities, rates, location, description, dates and signatures are captured - for the control of all services in the warehouse.