Zambian company provides strategic presence

Zambia’s growing status as the springboard out of southern Africa was what motivated a “strategic’ decision to establish a Zambian-registered company and fleet, according to Mike Koch, a founder shareholder of the Greendoor Logistics Group. “With exporters no longer being 100% reliant on shipping out of South Africa, we decided it was strategically important,” he told FTW. The group’s Zambian based operation, Hauloads, has found its feet and is expanding, says Koch. Initially a fleet of 20 triaxles was sent to Zambia – but soon sub-contractors had to be brought in to pick up the excess workload. “We are expecting rapid growth in demand not only in Zambia, but also in neighbouring countries such as Mozambique, Tanzania, Angola and Namibia,” he said. As the trade patterns shift east-west from the current northsouth routes, Hauloads is gearing up for this growth. Last month it added 20 Freightliners to its fleet, bringing the total to 40 truck tractor combinations. Over and above the heavy haulage vehicles, the company runs a fleet of smaller trucks and LDVs, used mainly for distribution within Zambia and for express/emergency loads into the DRC. Hauloads is supported by “Big Brother” Cargo 2 Congo which specialises in project transport between South Africa and the DRC. At present it is running 140 trucks pulling both superlinks and 15-metre tri-axles. “Hauloads allows us to offer our existing customers a far wider range of transport solutions than ever before,” says Gary Hall, who heads up the Cargo 2 Congo operation. The Group’s Ka Go 2 Go fleet, which specialises in consolidated and express cargo from South Africa to Zambia, adds a third service within the group. “There has been steady growth over the last few years with 2014 being no exception,” says Ka Go 2 Go managing director, Richard Hall. “To accommodate the increase in volumes we have added a number of superlink and tri-axle taut liners to our fleet over the past six months,” he said. Whitelion Carriers rounds off the group’s list of transport services, focusing on transport to and from Mozambique and more recently into Zimbabwe. Head of Whitelion, Sandra De Kock, is confident that demand to Mozambique is growing, “The increase in project cargo has been astronomical over the past five years and a lot of these projects have started production now.” The Hauloads operation is based at the group’s Chingola warehousing and distribution centre – Crossloading. In addition to its warehousing and distribution function, Crossloading runs a full-time workshop and mobile breakdown vehicle which looks after the Hauloads fleet and provides support to Cargo 2 Congo and Ka Go 2 Go vehicles throughout Zambia and the DRC. INSERT & CAPTION As the trade patterns shift east-west from the current north-south routes, Hauloads is gearing up for this growth – Mike Koch CAPTION Individual units... holistic solutions.