MILLTRANS FEATURE by TNT Multimedia Limited

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Milltrans is a transport and logistics company with branches in Port Elizabeth, Cape Town and East London. Jansje Strijdom tells South Africa Magazine more. By Ian Armitage

illtrans is one of South Africa’s container and freight transport industry’s leading competitors. Established in 1997, the company has branches in East London, Port Elizabeth, and Cape Town and a fleet of 52 trucks and 101 trailers. This, in the words of Jansje Strijdom, HR Administrator, makes it “the right company to deal with any freight transport requirement you have”. 2

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“We give customers our best whether transporting a one ton or 100 tons,” she says. “We have the knowledge and experience to handle a number of needs including abnormal loads and bonded cartage” What makes Milltrans different is that it treats every load the same and is commitment to service, she says. “That certainly makes us stand out,” Strijdon explains. “If something is urgent, we deal with it urgently. We also make abnormal loads, normal and even offer the option of obtaining permits for you. We will listen to customers and develop

Milltrans FEATURE

solutions. We want to make it as easy as possible for customers to put their load on us.” This fits in well with the company’s mission statement - to “offer the best possible service at the best price while not compromising quality, ensuring that loads are received on time and in good order”. “I think we have a better follow-up service and better quality of service than anyone

We give customers our best whether transporting a one ton or 100 tons

else,” Strijdom continues. “That is something that we concentrate on; we want to offer a higher level of service than most transport companies. “We have the quality, excellent follow-up service and superb pricing,” she says. The result is that Milltrans has performed well, even during the downturn. “In the last 12 months we have continued to grow, even with the downturn,” Strijdon explains. “We did slow down a little bit because of that, but in the past year it has picked up – so we have continued to grow all the way. “We are looking to expand in Johannesburg at the moment www.southafricamag.com

and that process will take time. Basically, we want to open a branch there because we do a lot of loads from Johannesburg and it would be very convenient for us if we had our own premises there. “We are also looking to expand the fleets at each of our current branches so we can handle more cargo and to do more specialisation when it comes to abnormal loads.” This is all a move to improve competitiveness, she says. “Right now the main priority would be to expand our Cape Town branch, brining it inline with our Port Elizabeth and East London operations. Then after that it would be to get the Johannesburg branch going.” Johannesburg is a strategically important city and has been labelled the ‘gateway to Africa’, enabling access to a number of markets in the world’s second largest continent, which contains 30 percent of the globe’s mineral reserves, and one billion people. Despite that, Strijdom says there are no plans to increase cross-border logistics. “It is expensive, while border crossings are slow because of the poor port facilities, railways and highways,” says Strijdon. “Now we do we sometimes do cross-border loads but they are on special request; mainly our loads are in SA because there are a number of complications when it comes to taking loads across the border.” Fuel costs and skills development are increasing logistics costs, she adds. 4

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“We always try to put contingency plans in place. But the biggest challenge in SA is the continual increase in the fuel price. I think that is the biggest challenge for any transporter, as well as changes in regulatory environment. “Indeed, companies are increasingly citing fuel among the prime challenges and are adapting to higher fuel levies and other operational costs. “In South Africa, fuel costs are twice as high for logistics as they are in any other country.” Driving costs down will be a significant challenge, she says. “And also, skills development is a significant challenge for the logistics industry in the region. The growing lack of skills not only impedes development but also has a significant cost attached to it.” Milltrans currently employs 110 staff.

Milltrans FEATURE

We have the quality, excellent follow-up service and superb pricing

“This will obviously grow when Johannesburg is up and running,” says Strijdom. “This is, regardless of the challenges, an exciting time. “The first step for opening Johannesburg would be to find the right person to run that branch because each branch we have is run by one of the family members and currently we’ve run out of family members,” she adds. “We don’t have one for Johannesburg so we are looking for the right type of person.” The roots of Milltrans can be traced back to 1990, when JJ Stapelberg started a small transport company by the name of J+F Vervoer. Starting small and transporting mainly maize in the Eastern Cape, the first expansion of the idea took

place in 1997 with two additional trucks added to the fleet. The company website elaborates: “This was the start of transporting scrap and containers. With the coming of the new millennium, the company changed into a CC and given the name of Milltrans (short for Millennium Transport). The original head office of East London has grown over time to include offices in Port Elizabeth started 2002, and Cape Town in 2005. Milltrans continues to go from strength to strength with each expansion fuelled by the same passion of providing the best customer service possible.” To learn more visit www.milltrans.co.za.

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