Exciting prospects lie ahead for Groupair SA, which is steadily expanding its reach by producing its own tailormade operational software and growing its presence in Africa.According to commercial director Paul Danvers, the company will launch its bespoke operational software, linked to its legacy systems, this year. “This will allow our overseas and local teams to quote and update our operational information faster,” he said. “We also aim to give our South African customers the ability to do their rate look-ups, allowing them to respond to their customers even quicker than they do today.”Danvers said this was all part of the overarching growth strategy for the company, which continues to make strides into new markets. “It all comes on the back of improvements we made last year and is part of our bigger strategy to extend our footprint, particularly in Africa.”Thanks to the current surge in airfreight volumes, he added, the sector was being propelled forward relentlessly. “We intend to maintain our vigorous pursuit of airfreight growth. We are optimistic that we will continue to see an increase in volumes. “There are, however, some challenges. The airfreight market is impacted to some extent by the Gulf War. The shipping security issues are causing an increase in demand, but more so to the destination that the ships are heading to. “The rand’s weakness versus the currencies of major trading partners has had an impact on our economy and will continue to affect it. While our imports remain strong as a business, the continuance of a weak rand will ultimately be a problem.”
