EIGHT COMPANIES are in the running for the prestigious Western Cape Exporter of the Year title, which will be awarded at a dinner function at the Cape Sun Hotel next Wednesday, August 27 .
Guest speaker at the function will be Mrs Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, deputy minister of trade and industry. Normally only six finalists are chosen for the big night. But the judges have been so impressed with the quality of entrants this year that the number has been extended to eight.
These are the stories behind some of them, of the clearing and forwarding agents whose expertise has enabled the companies to achieve maximum efficiency in exporting their goods , and of some of the sponsors of this popular annual event in the Western Cape.
It's a partnership for Meihuizen and Kelp Products Meihuizen Freight's Mark Kilbride ... Kelp Products has contributed towards the positive growth of our company The SEA has been the source of the 12 year relationship between Meihuizen Freight (Pty) Ltd and the Simonstown-based Kelp Products, an Exporter of the Year finalist.
Through our clearing and forwarding services we've been closely aligned with the export expansion of Kelp Products which has, in turn, contributed towards the positive growth of our company, says Meihuizen's operations manager Mark Kilbride.
Handling of the substance drawn from the West coast of South Africa by Kelp - an international name on health product shelves - requires its own unique operations, taking into account that there are various products under manufacture.
Shipments of dried seaweed in full 6m containers are sent to the UK, after being packed in bulk bags and loaded by special machinery. The dried seaweed is also packed in 25kg bags for a particular client in the east.
A more highly manufactured product, Plant Growth Regulator, is packed in five litre cans and 25 litre drums and shipped to various eastern ports.
It is without doubt that a pre-requisite of our function is to appreciate and understand the needs of the client, and to assist in meeting the demands required of a successful exporter, says Kilbride.
The process of securing reliable services within the international transport chain at competitive rates is mandatory to providing a long term international relationship, and that we have done all along with Kelp Products, whom we wish good fortune in their future export growth.
