COMPANY PROFILE
2014
Grindrod Intermodal
27 31 304 1451 | www.grindrod.co.za
company profile
Innovative supply chain solutions Editorial Tim Hands Production Chris Bolderstone
Grindrod Intermodal, a division of Grindrod SA (Pty) Ltd., combines considerable experience across the freight industry to offer its customers a complete solution for containerised cargo, also providing storage and transportation of bulk mineral products.
Grindrod Intermodal (GIM) represents the logistics and shipping section of Grindrod Limited, the holding company of a JSE securities exchange-listed organisation, itself with over 100 years of experience in South Africa’s freight movement and related industries. A global business, with representation in more than 37 countries worldwide, it holds a unique position from which to service African trade flows. The main concern here is moving cargo by road, rail, sea and air, alongside providing integrated logistical and specialised services en route. Grindrod Intermodal’s formation came about six years ago, following the consolidation of the CMC Grindrod depot company, Cross Country Containers transport company, warehousing company Grindrod J&J Logistics and Unitainer, and was bolstered yet further last year by the addition of road transportation specialist Grindrod Stock. The complex warehousing
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and distribution services on offer at Grindrod Intermodal span cross-dock and bonded warehousing, full service countrywide and cross-border transportation of containerised cargo by road and rail, through to comprehensive empty and full container depot services, alongside container sales and leasing. A household name in shipping and logistics for over a hundred years now, Grindrod’s story can be traced back through the annals of time all the way to 1911, when Mr Leon Renaud and Captain John Edward Grindrod purchased a 150-ton steamer as she lay disabled on the Durban breakwater. After work to re-float and re-equip the vessel, the Frontier began trading to Port St Johns and East London, at the time carrying sugar, oil, timber, hides, wool and, on occasion, livestock. Their company, then called the SS Frontier Co., was the predecessor to founding company Unicorn Shipping, which was to later become the Grindrod Group.
Grindrod Intermodal
The crux of the business is all about moving cargo seamlessly from point of departure to final destination, by providing customers with simple and convenient solutions to what might otherwise prove complex operational exercises. Today, the group’s head office is in Durban, South Africa, and is represented by subsidiaries, joint ventures and associated companies in 24 countries. Never a company to rest on its laurels, further growth and development is a central aspect to the company’s vision, and goes hand in hand with its objective of being the leading service provider in the containerised freight industry. CCO George Georgiev suggests that GIM is already a frontrunner within the industry; “Given the number of tonnages we do on an annual basis and the sheer number of containers we move around, we are definitely one of the industry leaders. We are probably the second biggest user of intermodal freight rail services in South Africa.”
Grindrod Intermodal’s operations fall under four broad main categories: Depot, Warehousing, Transport and Sales and Leasing. The transport division specialises in the provision of all landside transport needs, whether by rail or road, taking advantage of the vast rail network in place in Southern Africa. The company’s comprehensive warehousing and depot services are available at all major operating centres in South Africa, with most of its Container Freight Stations (CFS) also having bond facilities, and fully compliant with customs requirements, while its specialised container sales and rental service serve both the international and domestic markets. Rail is extremely important to the continued success of GIM’s operations, particularly in the movement of goods from ports. A strong relationship with Transnet Freight Rail has made rail-based operations that much easier, as Georgiev explains.
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company profile
“It is not a secret that South African rail has had its ups and downs over the last couple of years, but we have a very good relationship with Transnet Freight Rail, and meet on a regular basis. They understand our strategies and we work together to make the transition smooth for our customers.” At its core, intermodal freight transport is generally defined as the transportation of freight in an intermodal container or vehicle, using multiple modes of transportation, without any handling of the freight itself when changing modes – as such reducing damage and loss, and improving security and transportation times. Of these four divisions, transport is by far the busiest at present, although a recent drive in the warehousing sector has proven very successful for the company, as Georgiev explains. “Transport and warehousing are the most active and probably currently the biggest of our four divisions, but our
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success is very much related to the fact that we have the four different legs. A couple of years ago we took the decision to concentrate our work around our warehousing capabilities and alongside warehousing offer depot and transport services. That contributed a lot to our success because in logistics you always have ups and downs, with the four different divisions helping to smooth out any fluctuations.” In partnership with Mozambique’s Maputo Port Development Co., Grindrod plans to invest $1.7 billion over the next five years to upgrade ports in Mozambique, in line with the growing demand currently being seen in the country. This will more than triple capacity at the Maputo and Matola ports, to 50 million tons by 2020, from its current capability of 15 million tons, according to the MPDC. The Maputo Port Development Company (MPDC) is a joint venture, whose ownership is divided between CFM, Grindrod, DP World and local partners, who
Grindrod Intermodal each hold 49%, 24.7%, 24.7% and 1.6% respectively. This venture comprises approved investments of $355 million in 2013 and 2014 in order to boost capacity at the Matola port terminal. The coal terminal aims to be handling 7.2 million tons by the end 2014, from the its previous capacity of six million tons per annum, while completion of its phase four improvements will see this expanded beyond 26 million tons. The nature of this development phase will necessitate much complex excavation and land reclamation, however, as well as the construction of two new berths, a stockyard and railway infrastructure. Upon completion, this will give the terminal a final footprint in the region of 120 hectares. Significant investment is also planned by both MPDC and the sub-concessionaires, in line with a Port Master Plan, which details a strategy for the future development of the Port and provides a framework for berth and channel improvements, as well as the development of landside facilities and expansion of service corridors and other associated infrastructure. A further aspect of Grindrod’s expansion plans includes significant development of its car terminal at
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company profile
the Maputo port in Mozambique, which is emerging as a strong competitor to Transnet’s car facility in Durban. This follows the second phase expansion of Grindrod’s car terminal, only commissioned last July, which brought an increased annual capacity of 121,000 units, a significant rise from 52,000 units previously.
“In logistics you always have ups and downs, with four different divisions helping to smooth out any fluctuations” Encouragingly, Alan Olivier, Grindrod’s chief executive, said its Maputo terminal was operating at full capacity despite the recent expansion, adding that this third phase expansion, to increase annual capacity to about 191,000 units, had been originally planned
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when the terminal was developed back in 2007. Grindrod’s car terminal still lags some way behind Transnet’s annual capacity of more than 500,000 units, but last year in particular saw a significant increase in volumes through Grindrod’s Maputo car terminal, which Olivier put down to increased volumes from the export contract signed with BMW and other vehicle imports into the terminal. Depending on their final destination, these vehicles would come to the terminal from Europe or Asia, be offloaded and reloaded onto another ship going to Australia, Europe or other locations. However, clearly the challenge in this instance is to find a company like BMW to contract with, with Olivier explaining that if BMW had a good experience from using the Maputo car terminal, “everybody will come to talk to you”. Confident that Maputo’s success so far is but the precursor to increased volumes, he added: “Most of the motor manufacturers want some volume to go through Maputo, either from an export point of view or importing units. I suspect over the next while we
Grindrod Intermodal will contract more.” This is a viewpoint supported by figures from the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa, which has projected that exports of locally produced vehicles will increase by almost 30 percent to about 361,000 units this year from 277,893 last year, with Bodo Donauer, BMW SA’s managing director, stating that about 20 percent of its exports, or 14,000 vehicles a year, would be exported using the Maputo car terminal, despite BMW SA remaining committed to working closely with Transnet. Construction of Grindrod Intermodal’s new multi-purpose logistics site in Denver, Johannesburg, commenced during April 2013, and is of characteristically impressive scope. Spanning an area of approximately 13.2 hectares, the facility comprises an 18,000m² warehouse as well as a container yard spanning 70 000m² capable of storing approximately 3400 empty containers and 500 full containers. Additionally, a two-storey office building featuring approximately 4200m² of office-space will
accommodate the Gauteng team, alongside certain key customers. This state-of-the-art facility has over 1000 tons of structural steel in its design, with roof-sheeting and side-cladding spanning an area of approximately 30,000m², giving GIM the perfect base from which to undertake its quest to become the very best in the field. Additionally to its own expansions, Grindrod-Intermodal’s partnership in March this year with St Anne’s Education in Partnership Programme (STEPP) underlined its unending commitment to its social responsibility. Louise Taylor, STEPP Director, detailed how the company, “undertook the logistics and seamlessly coordinated the arrival of the container of books at the Durban Port to delivering them to the door of STEPP,” in an operation which saw Grindrod Intermodal subsidise the delivery of 22,000 books to disadvantaged children. Ideally positioned to help in this way, GIM worked closely with various sistercompanies within the Grindrod Group as well as service-providers, with its staff orchestrating a colossal project to further the lives of thousands of children.
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