Woman-owned project specialist handles massive consignment

Understanding that the devil is in the detail is a key contributor to the success achieved by African Project Logistics (APL), a project division of the ICM Group. Having moved not only the biggest piece of equipment brought into the continent to date, the company has also handled the most expensive. Based in Bedfordview in Gauteng, this black womanowned project logistics company is able to serve all sectors of the South African and sub-Saharan markets, says commercial manager Sunil Kalu. One of its strengths is its ability to assess risk upfront and bring cargo into the country without any damage, says Kalu. “Our key focus has been on the energy and mining sectors where there is no room for error. Controlling the movement of very specialised and expensive equipment means having very strict and detailed quality assurance and control procedures in place.” The company was responsible for the transportation of the Medupi transformer, the single biggest MVA rated piece of equipment brought into Africa in February this year. With little infrastructure to repair bigger transformers locally, any damage would have required the transformer to be sent back to the overseas factory – resulting in cost implications and time delays. “We place a huge emphasis on risk assessment and take every conceivable risk into consideration long before we even take responsibility for the cargo we are transporting.”