A group of prominent Cape Town entrepreneurs has identified the opportunity in the warehousing industry to offer services and facilities to small local wine producers and allied operators.
A wholly new company, Celmep Logistics, was incorporated, promising general third-party warehousing and handling services, but specialising in SARS (Dept of Customs & Excise) certified and approved bonded storage facilities for both imports and exports.
“It is expected that our services will ultimately be extended to a range of industries, enterprises, products, and commodities, but the main focus initially will be the local wine exporters, who find it difficult to access the level of service and expertise this specialised industry requires,” says MD Celeste Walbrugh.
The business will operate from a brand new state-of-the-art 6 500 sq m warehouse purpose-designed to handle and accommodate up to 6 000 full pallets loads, in an upmarket and secure warehousing complex conveniently situated in Montague Gardens, close Cape Town.
Walbrugh says that services and activities will include unloading, loading, packing and unpacking of containers, as well as storage and handling of loose and palletised products. Included as an essential component of their service are combined loads and re-distribution.
From the client perspective one of the most important benefits will be Celmep’s integrated management system, which will not only maintain electronic bonded registers and inventory control, but will offer clients the facility to be able to Internet access real-time information regarding all aspects of the stock being held or handled on their behalf at any time. Management, accounting, admin, and operations personnel are fully backed by computer hardware, with dedicated Internet server and state of the art software for warehouse management and control.
Additionally, the facility is provided with the most modern equipment including purpose-designed high-rise pallet racking, a fleet of forklift trucks, dock-levellers, and extensive internal fenced cages to divide up and secure various areas for bond regulations adherence, as well as client peace-of-mind.
The board of the company comprises five directors, all well-known and respected in their respective current undertakings. Between them they have a total of some 125 years combined experience in general and financial management, IT, import / export, materials handling and transport logistics, and warehousing, while the operations staff are all fully trained and experienced in their respective fields of expertise.
