Kapele plans Durban office

JOY ORLEK
AS IT prepares to celebrate its fifth anniversary, Kapele Freight and Logistics Services is on an upward curve. “We’re growing exponentially,” says sales manager Lesley Haw. “Our staff has more than doubled from 12 to 25 people in the last two years, we opened an office in Port Elizabeth at the beginning of January, and Durban is next on our schedule – hopefully by the end of the year.” And she believes it’s flexibility and staff accessibility that make the difference. “We’ve turned the corner in terms of efficiency and productivity and because we’re small we can offer a tailor-made service. “Our prime target market is smaller companies looking for a range of services. Our BEE status has been the cherry on the cake,” says Haw. “We have invested a lot of money in BEE, which we take very seriously. And this extends to skills development. Three staff members have, through our skills development programme, moved up within the company. And Kapele has introduced a learnership programme, which was stated this year with our first learner.” The company handles a variety of general cargo from electronic equipment to pharmaceuticals for small to medium-sized companies, although it has several large corporations on its books. “We sell ourselves as a partner rather than a service provider. We partner with Röhlig’s international network, and are able to offer a first rate global infrastructure to meet all our customers’ requirements.” The company sells a range of logistics services from clearing and distribution to pick and pack and localising. “We’re looking to grow our warehousing as a value added service to our customers as their business grows. We have a state of the art Warehouse Management System offering our clients all aspects of inventory management and stock control.”