View - Turners Shipping

GroupTimes
Spring
2015
In this issue
A Q U A R T E R LY J O U R N A L
OF THE TURNER GROUP
O F C O M PA N I E S
Service rewarded
Our import volumes
increase against a
downward trend
Success for Conference Team
P.3
Wellness Day
P.5
Celebrating Women
P.6
New IT System for Shipping
P.8
Water harvesting begins
at Turners House
Green Office Initiative
While imports into South Africa from
China have been declining nationally
Turners Shipping has shown a 40%
increase in containers handled since
opening an office in Hong Kong in 2012.
There was a surprise delivery
for Theresa Maseko at the
Johannesburg office of Turners
Shipping recently.
This wonderful bouquet of
Proteas arrived with a note
which read “ Dear Theresa. Just
to show you your outstanding
service does not go unnoticed.
You are a superstar.”
It was sent by La Marina Foods,
one of Turners Shippings
clients.
When we asked Theresa what
she had done to deserve this
gift she said, “I am not sure, I
just do my job.”
But it is not as simple as Theresa
makes out. La Marina Foods
are importers of high value
perishable goods, including
Norwegian Salmon, so prompt
efficient delivery is essential,
and delays could be costly.
“This increase has to do with us being
able to offer competitive rates, but
more importantly we believe it is our
immaculate service,” says Blain Kondiah,
Managing Director of Turners Shipping.
“As a partner of BDP International we are
able to operate in a global network giving
us a presence in the Far East which is
essential to doing business there.
We appointed Vincent Kwan as a Route
Development Manager for Hong Kong
and mainland China, and his local
knowledge and relationships with carriers
in the region has seen us develop a
growing customer base in the east.”
The overall tonnage of imports from China
has dropped, but the weak exchange
rate disguises the fact as the Rand value
remains the same.
“When we began developing our
presence in China Turners Shipping was
handling 12 000 TEUs annually. Today
this number has risen to well over 20 000
TEUs, a 40% growth,” says Kondiah.
A 1500 litre water harvesting tank to collect
rain water has been installed at Turners
House. This water will be used for cleaning
and building maintenance, and there
are plans for this water to be used in the
buildings toilets too. “We will be installing
a second tank before the end of the year
which will enable us to harvest 10 000
litres at a time,” said Cliffy van Druten,
Maintenance Manager at Turners House.
Samantha Maharajh, the Group Office
Manager, explained that the water
harvesting programme is part of a bigger
initiative to reduce the energy consumption
of the head office building: “We want to
achieve the smallest carbon footprint as
possible.”
Did You Know?
Turners Shipping has a global network of 1000 locations in 130 countries around the world.
Staff Profile
An opportunity to experience travel products
XL Turners Travel hosted an Educational visit to
Cape Town for a number of its clients. The group
were flown by BA Comair in business class which
allowed them the chance of experiencing the
Slow Lounges at King Shaka and Cape Town
International Airports. Avis Car Rental sponsored
two vehicles which took the guests around the
Mother City.
Samantha Maharajh began
working in Turners Travel
in 1996 as the Travel
Secretary.
Two years later she moved
to The Turner Group where
she was responsible for
reception and messenger
control. Her organisational
and inter-personal skills
did not go unnoticed and
in 2000 she was appointed
as Personal Assistant to
Conrad Cochrane-Murray,
Managing Director of the
Company.
In 2013 she was promoted
to Office Manager for
the Turner Group with
responsibilities
ranging
from
overseeing
the
building
maintenance
to finalising short term
insurance claims.
Never one to avoid a
challenge, Samantha is
enjoying her new role in
the Company: “ I thrive on
variety and this job certainly
offers that,” she says.
“I might begin my day finding
a venue for the end of year
function and organising a
gift swap, and end the day
dealing with contractors
scheduling repairs.”
While she ensures the head
office environment runs
smoothly keeping an eye
on expenditure is important:
“We treat the building like
a business, so we have
to ensure expenses stay
within budget and we are
continually working on
ways to make it run more
efficiently.”
They called in at the Double Tree Hotel (which is
part of the Hilton Group) where they were treated
to a Tasting Menu Dinner at the hotel’s signature
Liberty Restaurant.
Next on the agenda was a site visit at the Hollow
on the Square Hotel, breaking for lunch at the
Cape Town Hollow Boutique Hotel.
“We ended the day with a two hour wander
around Access Park Factory Shops where a few
of us spent more than we should have,” says
Rachelle Smith of XL Turners Travel. “These are
valuable events as they give our clients a chance
of seeing, and more importantly experiencing,
some of the hospitality products on offer.”
The event is jointly sponsored by XL Turners
Travel, BA Comair and Avis.
In the front is Francois Steyn, General Manager of
Cape Town’s Double-Tree by Hilton who were one
of the hosts of a group of clients taken to the Mother
City for an educational visit. The group included, from
the back, Emmanuelle de Vitto (Blake & Associates),
Zama Mzila (The Playhouse Company), Martie Gunter
(Dystar Boehme), Rachelle Smith (XL Turners Travel),
Myendhrie Frankie (Turners Shipping), Grazi Cochrane
(Defy Appliances), Kevin Pillay (Avis Car Rental),
Rebecca Lewis (Rock Solid) and Ashika Boodram
(Hesto Harnesses).
Insurance benefits extended to staff members
The Turner Group’s short term insurers are now
extending their services to employees of the Group
who could benefit from the long standing business
relationship.
“HTI Insurance Brokers have been our short-term
insurer for three years,” says Samantha Maharajh,
Turner Group - Office Manager, “and we would like
our staff to benefit from our relationship with HTI.”
HTI has sixteen staff members all of whom have
the necessary qualifications required in terms of
the FAIS Fit and Proper regulations. “Together
we possess a wealth of Insurance knowledge and
experience – over 300 years in total!,” says Hamish.
The brokerage was founded in 1994 by Hamish
Thorpe who built on the foundation laid by his father
Patrick. “Many of our clients today were my father’s
clients, which is evidence that relationship building
is an important part of our business” says Hamish.
The company’s slogan - Short Term Insurance,
Long Term Relationships - reflects this philosophy.
In 2006 HTI made a strategic decision to become a
member of the Garrun Group of Brokers, now one
of the largest independent Short Term Insurance
Broking Groups in South Africa. The partnership
with Garrun has given HTI the bulk buying
power necessary to compete in an increasingly
competitive market.
Beth Hollaway is handling The Turner Group
account and will be able to advise staff members in
matters related to short-term insurance.
Beth Hollaway, on the left, will be advising members of
staff who want HTI Insurance Brokers to provide for their
short-term insurance needs. With her are the founder of
the Company Hamish Thorpe, and The Turner Group
Office Manager, Samantha Maharajh.
Sweet Success for Conference Team
As usual, the second half of the year is a busy one for the staff
at Turners Conferences and August saw the team move into
Durban’s ICC for the South African Sugar Technologists Association
Conference.
The event was hosted in the Arena at the ICC which does not have
a dedicated registration area so it meant building a stand-alone
registration office to register the delegates.
The trade exhibition was well supported with equipment
manufacturers, suppliers and businesses in related industries
participating.
The conference drew 560 delegates from several sugar-growing
countries around the world. Following the success of this year’s
event, Turners Conferences have been contracted to host this
conference for the next two years.
The 560 delegates from sugar-growing countries and allied
industries registered at the specially constructed office facility in
the foyer of the ICC Arena.
Enjoying the first day of the Conference was Gavin Smith,
President of the South African Sugar Technologists Association,
flanked by two of the Council members, Warren Lawlor and
Alana Eksteen.
A large format image of lush sugarcane fields set the scene in the
registration booth. The conference team: Nolwando Mtantyana,
Sinothando Shabalala, Deveena Naiker, Lethisha Narayan and
Leanne Armoogam, were on hand to help delegates with their
registration.
Around 60 exhibitors participated in the trade exhibition which
formed part of the event. Everything from heavy industrial and
farming equipment to laboratory supplies were represented in
the exhibition.
Energy saving initiative pays dividends
Electricity usage at Turners House is down by 40% in under three years. The average monthly
spend on electricity has dropped from R 51 000.00 in 2012 to R 26 000.00 in 2015.
Energy saving measures implemented
include the installation of low
energy lighting, upgrades to the air
conditioning units, turning off unused
appliances and geysers outside of
working hours, and reduced lighting in
the parking area.
Green Office Initiative
A Tasty Prize for
Client-of-the-month
Winner
Every month XL Turners
Travel nominate a ‘client of
the month’ who receives a
prize.
A recent recipient was Judy
Thomas, of Garlicke &
Bousfield Inc. Attorneys.
Judy
works
in
the
Commercial,
Corporate
and
Construction
Law
Department and she won
tickets to attend the popular
annual Taste of Durban
festival held at the Suncoast
Casino in July.
Together with her family,
Judy enjoyed the day, but
like most who attend, admits
to having eaten a little too
much.
More space for long-haul division
Vishal Haripersad, centre, the CEO of the Westmead Group, shows Vick Gopalan, National
Petrochemical Manager, and Neren Dayanand, Branch Manager - KZN of Turners Shipping around his
new city premises situated next to the Durban Station. In the foreground is part of a shipment of drilling
rods destined for an inland mine.
When Jay Haripersad began his business
with a couple of tippers 35 years ago he could
not have known how Westmead Carriers
would grow to become one of the biggest
family owned operations in the Province.
His son, Vishal, has been running the business
since 1996 which today employs over 450 people,
and operates 250 vehicles and 300 trailers. Their
long-haul division has just moved into the former
Transnet Bus Depot near the Durban Station.
“The move is long over due,” says Vishal,
“We outgrew the 23000sqm yard in Edwin
Swales Drive and this site, apart from being
7000sqm bigger, has a good infrastructure as
it was purpose built for a transport operation.”
There is a massive building with ample inspection
pits which will house Westmead’s maintenance
and workshop division. Other sheds on
the site will be converted into warehousing
facilities which will include a bonded store.
Neren Dayanand, Branch Manager of Turners
Shipping - KZN says the Company uses
Westmead Transport as they are a ‘one
stop shop’. “Their fleet can accommodate
everything
from
abnormal
loads
to
containers, break-bulk and general goods.”
He said this during a visit to the new city site
where steel girders were being loaded onto
newly acquired adjustable trailers. Vishal
explained that the trailers can be extended
to 22 metres to carry over-length loads.
Westmead Carriers operates throughout South
Africa and its sister company ACM, is based
in Johannesburg, and extends the Group’s
operations into the neighbouring countries
handling
its
cross-border
business.
Casual Day benefits others
Sporting their Casual Day stickers Head Office staff celebrated
the arrival of Spring by dressing-down for its Casual Day at the
beginning of September.
There is a serious side to Casual Day, the money raised by
selling the stickers goes toward providing services for people
with disabilities. Shedding their uniforms for a day were, from left,
Melanie Vasar, Youvane Moodley, Nirona Govender, Nola Rich,
Brigitte Dewar, Avikash Bhim, Desiree Pillay and Shogan Naidoo.
Communications
Upgrade
Wellness Day assists with
Personal Healthcare management
A record number of ninety two members of staff
at head office made the most of the opportunities
on offer at the annual Wellness Day in September.
Qualified nurses were on hand to test blood
pressure, sugar and cholesterol, HIV status and
to give advice regarding lifestyle and diet.
“It is important for us to take responsibility for
our personal health, and the wellness day is an
ideal time to get answers to questions you might
have regarding health issues,” said Samantha
Maharajh the Turner Group Office Manager.
She was assisted by Myendhrie Frankie, Lucky
Mabaso and Vanessa Gaxela whose help was
invaluable in planning and hosting the event.
“Our healthcare programme offers incentives
for fitness and healthy lifestyle choices, and this
event is geared towards helping members make
positive changes that will benefit them in the long
term.”
Turners Shipping’s offices are
now connected with a dedicated
inter-branch fibre line which offers
enhanced internal data transfer
rates.
Zandile Mdakane, one of the Discovery
nurses checks Kevin Chetty’s blood
pressure.
Roxanne Govender, Joleen Govender, Roseann
Soobramoney and Terrence Govender took the
opportunity to get more information about the
Wellness programme.
"Our business is based on
information that is current,
accurate and can be shared
quickly, and this new data line
will facilitate this," says Andrew
Dewar, IT Administrator for
Turners Shipping.
In addition to this, a new Neotel
8mb line has been installed at the
Head Office in Durban.
The upgrade from the previous
2mb will mean that customers will
be able to acquire digital copies
of documents much quicker as a
result of the quicker connection
rate.
Faster microwave lines have
also been installed at the
Johannesburg and Cape Town
offices resulting in a more efficient
IT network for the Group.
Priya Moonsamy shows Rita Bijou some
of the glasses frames available. Eye tests
should form part of your annual medical
check-up.
Simple quick blood tests can give you valuable
information about sugar and cholesterol levels
which are essential in managing your health.
Nurse, Pamaela Ngcobo performs a simple test for
Natasha Chetty.
With
Andrew
is
Vedanth
Kissoonlal who recently joined
the IT team.
Sign up for the latest industry news
Our core businesses, logistics and travel,
depend on information that is accurate and,
sometimes more importantly, received in time
to react. With this in mind we endeavour to
keep our clients, and those who need this
information, up-to-date with the latest news in
the industry.
Turners Shipping sends out regular News
Flash bulletins which keep you ‘in the loop’
regarding local and international industry and
Company news. Up to date news from the Port
such as closures due to weather conditions,
delays and congestion or any other news
that might affect the smooth running of your
business.
Likewise, XL Turners Travel issues regular
Travel Communiqué bulletins which offer
similar news related to the business traveller.
You can sign-up to receive these valuable updates on our websites. Visit www.turnersshipping.co.za, or www.turnerstravel.co.za
Celebrating Women’s Month in style
In August South Africa celebrated Women’s Month and Turners
Shipping hosted some of our clients at the Annual Women’s Breakfast
organised by the Mercury newspaper. This year the popular event
was held at the Coastlands Hotel in Musgrave. There were two
very inspirational guest speakers; Hixonia Nyasulu, Founder
and Executive Chairman of Ayavuna Women’s Investments, and
Professor Quarraisha Abdool Karim an epidemiologist who was
awarded South Africa’s highest honour, the Order of Mapungubwe,
in addition to being the first woman to receive the international
TWAS-Lenovo Science Prize which she was awarded last year.
From left are, Annette Pather Turners, Shainaaz Mustaffa and
Navlene Pandaram of Ferro Coating Resins, Myendhrie Frankie
of Turners and Ishara Buthamanathan from Brenco Reelin.
Standing are the Turners hosts Nitasha Sonny and Punitha
Pather. Seated from left are Simangele Khumalo and Pam
Reddy from Total SA, and Pam Pillay of MS Industrial Supply
& Distribution.
Standing are Melissa Ramkilawan from SA Funeral Services
and Myendhrie Frankie of Turners. Seated are Mandy Knowles
and Sushie Naidoo from IOEC and Pamela Devadas of Turners.
From left are: Fiona Calitz of Mainport Africa, Samantha
Maharajh from Turners, Megan McGregor, Kumarie Pillay and
Nicolene Pillay all from Navern Tech.
A chance to network
There were also Women’s Day celebrations in Cape Town and members of Turners
Shipping hosted some of their clients at the Women’s Breakfast at the Southern Sun
Hotel, Newlands. The programme for the event included a presentation by the SABC,
and talks by Therese Cupido, MD of the ATN Group, and Wendy Appelbaum, owner of
De Morgenzen Wine Estate.
Enjoying the festivities were Sarah Heale of MSC, Catherine Webster from Turners
Shipping, and Safmarine’s Kerry Melville.
Much needed goods delivered to
Sizakancane Crèche
The crèche owner, 82 year old great grandmother, Emma Ngubane is joined
by some of the Turners team, from left, Sagie Govender, Philile Mbongwa,
Nikita Mahadeo, Lucky Mabaso, and Vick Gopalan. Standing are Zanele
Nqubane and Aphiwe Dlamini, Emma’s two grand daughters who help with
the day-to-day running of the crèche.
Durban Venue Gets Thumbs-up
The South African Association for Food Science
& Technology (SAAFoST) held their 21st Biennial
International Congress and Exhibition in September. Gill
Slaughter, Operations Director of Turners Conferences
says that the venue, the Elangeni Maharani Complex
on the Golden Mile was a popular choice with the 380
delegates and 50 trade exhibitors participating in the three
day event.
At the trade exhibition, Lake Foods were represented by,
from left, Winnie Rasifudi, Robyn Clark, Sandile Khoza,
Luis Girano and Monique Barnard.
Since beginning work at the Sizakancane Crèche in March 2014 Turners
Shipping staff have just about achieved their goal of helping get the
infrastructure up to the standard required for the crèche to qualify for a
Government Grant.
A team of fourteen staff members from Turners Shipping make monthly
visits to the crèche where they spend the day working on the building and
its surrounds.
Their last visit was to deliver a vehicle full of donated goods which
included clothing, sports equipment and toys for the youngsters. And,
Lucky Mabaso, the maintenance man from Turners House was there to
attend to the building’s plumbing problems.
Turners Shipping has adopted the Sizakancane Crèche as a project
in its Social Responsibility Programme. Together with the non-profit
organization Angel Project, Turners is working towards readying the
crèche, which is situated outside Hillcrest, to qualify for a government
grant that will be of invaluable assistance in running the crèche on a day
to day basis.
The event is an ideal opportunity to network. Here on the
IMCD exhibition stand are, from left, Louise Robertson of
ARC, Meta Ngombe and Anisha Moodley of IMCD, Gerald
Schell from Carst & Walker, and Ingrid Woodrow, also from
IMCD’s office in Johannesburg.
Reducing power while still keeping cool
The recently installed variable speed
drives are making a huge difference to the
power consumption of the air conditioning
units at Head Office, without reducing the
effectiveness of the cooling system.
They do this by controlling the speed of the
motors in the air conditioning system.
“Before the installation the units would run
at full speed when in operation which is not
Green Office Initiative
always necessary,” explains Cliffy van Druten,
maintenance manager at Turners House.
“The motors now start-up at around 20Hz
compared to the 50Hz before the drives were
fitted. The drives then control the speed of the
motors as required.”
This is part of the Turner Group’s Green Office
Initiative which aims to reduce the Company’s
carbon footprint.
Software provides complete shipping environment
Telephone:
+27 (0)31 368 8000
www.turners.co.za
The ShipShape training team have been spending time in Durban with Turners Shipping
staff making sure they are familiar with the new software. Thia Pillay and Anneline Naidu
were part of the group of Turners staff members to undergo training in September. On hand
to answer questions were J-L Koekemoer, Dave Gray and Wayne McCarthy of ShipShape.
Turners Shipping is making the transition
to ShipShape Software which is a fully
integrated system designed specifically for
the freight forwarding and customs clearing
industry, focusing on Imports, Exports,
Warehousing and Invoicing.
“We have found this Windows based
software provides ease of use and
integration with our own systems,” says
Andrew Dewar, IT Administrator at Turners.
“It is also important that it is easy to use as our
clients will also be logging into the system to
gather information. The new system offers
an order to delivery environment in which
accurate, real-time information is available
to our staff and clients.”
The importer places his order on the system
and a Purchase Order is issued. Our
clearing and forwarding staff get the notice
and are able to prepare for the shipment’s
efficient passage to its final destination,
where ever that may be.
The software has been designed by a team
who work closely with SARS, IATA and
TNPA making it a system that is relevant to
the South African customs environment.
Durban
+27 (0)31 368 8000
Richards Bay +27 (0)35 788 0953
Pretoria
+27 (0)81 713 6334
Johannesburg +27 (0)11 400 6300
East London +27 (0)43 726 9883
Port Elizabeth +27 (0)41 581 1103
Mossel Bay
+27 (0)44 691 3218
Cape Town
+27 (0)21 506 6200
Walvis Bay
+264 64 203 959
www.turnersshipping.co.za
Durban
+27 (0)31 368 8000
www.turnerswarehouse.co.za
Appointments & Promotions
Shipping
Neaven Salickram
Credit Controller
Durban
Travel
Teresa Maseko
Airfreight Controller
Johannesburg
Enid Jamieson
Senior Travel
Consultant
Johannesburg
Sindy Christianson
Sales Executive
Durban
Dean Munsamy has been promoted
to Administration Manager (Finance)
of Turners Shipping. We wish you
all the best in your new position.
Congratulations and good luck!
Vedanth Kissoonlal
IT Administrator
Durban
Durban
+27 (0)31 368 8000
Johannesburg +27 (0)11 400 6300
Cape Town
+27 (0)21 506 6200
www.turnerstravel.co.za
Durban
+27 (0)31 368 8000
Johannesburg +27 (0)11 400 6300
Cape Town
+27 (0)21 506 6200
www.turnersconferences.com