Charles Luyckx, joint CEO of Elliott Afrovan says the company, founded in 1947, is a substantial business with over 700 employees, a large branded truck fleet and nationwide infrastructure. It services both corporate and private markets locally and beyond the country’s borders. Elliott Afrovan has had a longstanding commitment to Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment which is reflected in its rating as a Level 1 contributor to BBBEE.

According to Luyckx, Phakathi was a natural choice as a partner. “We have worked with Tshepo for several years developing this BEE initiative and have the highest respect for his knowledge and experience in BEE matters.  As a director he will be actively adding value and leading the company’s new business drive both in lobbying government and growing the corporate market,” he says.

Phakathi comments: “Phakathi Investment Holdings is excited to be a part of Elliott Afrovan, which will certainly be a jewel in our investment portfolio. The transport sector is not famous for its colourful empowerment credentials, which makes this deal one of the flagships within the sector. I am looking forward to working with the existing management team and taking the moving industry to its pinnacle.”

Luyckx says that in the past 12 months his company has noted increased movement of corporate staff both in and out of South Africa.  “A significant number of people are coming into South Africa on contract and South African companies are also increasingly investing in Africa and abroad. South African specialists like mining engineers are undertaking tours of duty to get experience abroad as part of the globalisation trend, not necessarily as emigrants”, he says.

Notes to editor:
1. Elliott Afrovan employs over 700 people in Johannesburg, Bloemfontein, Cape Town, Durban, East London, Nelspruit, Polokwane, Port Elizabeth, Pretoria, Richards Bay, Saldanha Bay, Francis Town (Botswana), Gaborone (Botswana), Lusaka (Zambia), Maputo (Mozambique) and Matsapha (Swaziland).

2. Elliott Afrovan is the only moving organisation in South Africa to have achieved ISO 9001:2000 Quality Management Certification and ISO 14001 International Environmental Certification.  It is a member of OMNI (Overseas Moving Network International), the most important world international moving network, membership of which endorses excellence and professional service. It is also a FIDI Accredited International Mover and long-standing member of several national and international moving organisations. www.elliott.co.za

3. Tshepo Phakathi is CEO of Phakathi Investment Holdings.

4. Issued on behalf of Elliott Afrovan by Avril Mills of North & South PR.  For photographs, interviews and further information, please contact Avril on avril@northandsouthpr.com or 011 465 3130/082 782 7991.

According to Janse van Rensburg, business in the Free State and Northern Cape is growing. “While logistics will be run out of Bloemfontein to start with, the Kimberley office brings us 170 kms closer to our clients in the Northern Cape and gives us a springboard to places such as Upington, Kathu, Kuruman and Hotazel,” he says.

Elliott Afrovan has just become the first major moving company to gain a substantial BEE shareholding following the acquisition of 26% of its equity by Phakathi Investment Holdings represented by Tshepo Phakathi. It has a longstanding commitment to Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment which is reflected in its rating as a Level 1 contributor to BBBEE.

Contact details:
Elliott Afrovan Kimberley,
17 Rendalsham Road, Belgravia Kimberley.
Ali Bam 053 831 1350 or 082 372 7879
Kimberley@elliott.co.za

According to Daleen there is considerable movement among families relocating to the Garden Route either in retirement or to enjoy the famous southern coast lifestyle. In addition, organisations based in the area need removals support when they send staff on assignment elsewhere in the country, into Africa, or abroad in line with globalization trends.

“Elliott Afrovan has large branches in Cape Town and Port Elizabeth which handle our logistics. However a local presence half way between those two cities has become a necessity in terms of generating new business and conducting pre-move surveys which determine the extent of the crew, trucks and packing materials which will be used in the move,” Daleen says.

Contact details:
Elliott Afrovan Garden Route
Daleen Thomson
082 056 1254
gardenroute@elliott.co.za

After considering the request to do a removal from Harare in Zimbabwe to Dar es Salaam on Africa’s east coast, Aubrey Bowles, who is Sales Director of Elliott Botswana, decided that the timing and cost requirements could best be met by a road delivery.

“It turned out to be a ground breaking event as deliveries from southern Africa to Dar es Salaam normally go by sea,” says Bowles. However, congestion at the port causes ships to wait for 30 days to enter the harbour. It then takes a further 10 days to clear goods with an added complication that in trying to ease the one month’s back log, officials often move containers to private depots. Chaotic administration frequently results in no one being able to follow the paper trail to where the containers have been moved. “You can spend days looking for your container!” says Bowles.

The collapse of the Kenyan rail infrastructure also supported the decision to pioneer an Elliott International route by road. Intensive planning and liaison with supply structures followed and on 27 September 2008 a 60 cubic metre Elliott truck left its depot in Gaborone, Botswana for Harare in Zimbabwe. There it loaded the client’s goods before heading north-west to cross the mighty Zambesi river into Zambia at Chirundu. The truck then swung north-east to travel through Zambia to a border crossing into Tanzania at Tunduma. Passing through Mbeya and Iringa the truck arrived in Dar es Salaam a mere nine days after leaving Gaborone.

The client was delighted to find that everything had arrived in excellent condition with nothing lost or damaged. The speedy delivery meant that he could start using his household goods almost immediately without the cost of a long hotel stay in Dar es Salaam and demurrage.

“Road conditions were good because the seasonal heavy rains hadn’t started yet and we used local clearing agents at the three borders. Our driver, Richard Nfandiso, covered more than 7 700 kms over the round trip and is justifiably proud of having entered the Elliott International history book,” says Bowles.

Following this successful venture, Rudi Nagel, the Elliott Regional Director for Africa who is based in Botswana, will be exploring other opportunities for expansion into Africa.  “We believe that there is a future in Africa and we are looking forward to pioneering new routes, including Tanzania, Ghana and Nigeria,” says Nagel. “At present Elliott Botswana provides a very efficient road service to and from the Republic of South Africa, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Namibia, southern Angola, Zambia and Zimbabwe,” he says.

Elliott Botswana is FIDI-FAIM accredited and also holds ISO certification, the only removal company based in Botswana to have these achievements.

Managing Director of Elliott International Clearing and Forwarding (Pty) Limited, Dave Hibbert, says that the company had been providing in-house import and export services to its own clients since February 2007.  “Our systems and staff expertise have developed to the point that it is a logical next step to offer our services to the wider market,” he says.

Hibbert adds that the company’s cargo handling expertise is proving itself attractive to medium sized manufacturing businesses. “We well understand the needs of furniture and component importers and exporters for instance because of our relocations background.  In addition to commercial cargos we have also been clearing donations goods and undertaking work on behalf of other clearing agents” he says.
Elliott International Forwarding & Clearing Tel: 031 579 9500

In 2008 Elliott made a strategic decision to acquire Corporate Relocations South Africa in line with its expansion objectives. Corporate Relocations is South Africa’s largest independent relocation company and was established in 1993. They have accredited Global Mobility Specialists trained through the Worldwide Employee Relocation Council’s relocation professional academy among their 38 staff countrywide.

Since the acquisition, Corporate Relocations has brought significant expertise and resources into Elliott, enabling it to provide customers with an integrated service offering including the latest technology in assignment and household goods tracking systems.  In October 2009 Corporate Relocations was honoured with a Commitment to Excellence Platinum award for outstanding performance by Cartus at its 2009 Global Network Conference in Chicago.

The company was rated as a Level Two Contributor to Black Economic Empowerment by Empowerdex on 29 September 2009.  Corallie Pringle, managing director, says that it is the first South African relocations company to achieve such a rating. “It reflects our careful spending and recording under the four elements we selected as a qualifying small business and adds value to the local operations of our multinational clients and partners,” she says.

Elliott International has decided to merge the business activities of Corporate Relocations and Elliott Relocations into a company to be known as Corporate Relocations South Africa (CRSA). With headquarters in Bryanston, Johannesburg, it will provide relocation and immigration services within the borders of South Africa.

In response to increasing demand for an extension of its African footprint, Elliott Relocations Africa is expanding its suite of services to the rest of Africa from its offices located at the Elliott Africa move centre in Johannesburg.

As Elliott International continues to grow and improve its range of customized solutions, we are pleased to announce that Corporate Relocations has aligned itself with the world’s leading immigration law firm – Fragomen. With offices in 14 countries including South Africa, Fragomen provides the highest level of immigration solutions for short and long term international assignments, permanent transfers as well as local recruitment of foreigners globally.

For further information please contact Corporate Relocations South Africa. Tel +27 11 267 2100 or E-mail: info@corprelo.co.za  Website:  www.corprelo.co.za or Elliott Relocations Africa: Tel +27 11 256 3000 or E-mail: relocations@elliott.co.za  Website: www.elliottrelocations.co.za  

The International School in Bangkok was upgrading its library and decided to donate its existing books to Twenty30 as a result of a contact between a South African staff member and the founder of Twenty30. The School approached Asian Tigers Transpo International for help in sending the gift on its way. Asian Tigers collected and packed the books into 108 cartons, loaded them into four cases for shipment and paid the shipping costs to the port of Durban.

“Asian Tigers has had a long association with the International School, Bangkok. When they approached us for help in arranging this donation, we were more than happy to donate our services for such a worthwhile cause, knowing our African partners Elliott would be also be ready and able to assist us,” said Paul Ware of Asian Tigers.

On arrival in Durban, Elliott International took over the costs of customs clearance, delivery into store and final delivery to Twenty30 in Johannesburg.  “Opportunity for a good education for all is the vital ingredient for the eradication of poverty in South Africa. When Elliott International was approached by Paul Ware of Asian Tigers Transpo International to join them in providing a donation of 8 000 used books to underprivileged schools around Johannesburg, we had no hesitation in confirming our commitment to this worthy cause,” said Brad Barker, Joint CEO of Elliott International.

Suzi van Es of Twenty30 says the majority of the books are suitable for primary school learners although there are also books and multimedia for older learners. These will all be distributed to around 25 schools in the Soweto and Lanseria areas around Johannesburg in the next few months.  Twenty30 is a non government organisation which upgrades infrastructure and skills at needy South African educational organisations and creates avenues for young professionals to widen their personal perspectives through voluntary participation on projects. www.twenty30.org.za.

The company has also set up a centre to co-ordinate moves of goods into and out of Africa and around the continent. Based at their long established branch in Gabarone Botswana the centre is managed by Aubrey Bowles with staff highly experienced in moving consignments around Africa. “No matter how many border crossings or service partners are involved in a move, our client deals only with this office and receives only one invoice covering door to door removals,” says Bowles.

Elliott International has built up a significant presence and reputation in a continent where experience, supplier networks and working relationships are critical. It can for instance deliver goods that have entered through South African ports to African destinations by road far quicker than if those consignments went through non-South African ports, where infrastructure problems cause significant delays.

Apart from its extensive operation in South Africa, Elliott has fully operational offices in Botswana (Gaborone, Francistown and Orapa), Zambia (Lusaka and Kitwe), Mocambique (Maputo), Swaziland (Matsapha), Namibia (Windhoek) and now Tanzania (Dar es Salaam).

“We are already covering moves into and out of all countries in Africa and will be extending our physical presence further into east and west Africa in the near future”, says Bowles.

He adds that business in Africa is booming. “Zimbabwe is preparing for massive investment, particularly in the mining sector. Nigeria is seeking partners for their banking and petroleum industries. Other countries in the sub Saharan region are also looking for business partnerships. As a result, many of Elliott’s corporate clients are moving into sub Saharan Africa from South Africa and from Europe and the United States”, he says.

For information about moves into Africa contact:  Aubrey.bowles@elliott.co.bw

Alex Leite-Pinheiro of Elliott International, the only South African member of ICEFAT and therefore the local host to the convention, says that around 150 delegates representing 79 companies from 34 countries attended.  “With security always top of mind, our industry relies strongly on relationships formed with associates throughout the world. Consequently a lot of time was provided for informal networking, against the backdrop of the best the Western Cape has to offer,” he says.

Elliott International routinely transports large sculptures and art collections, many of which have a high profile like the Picasso exhibition, Brett Kebble’s and William Kentridge’s collections, as well as museum projects such as Saartje Baartman’s homecoming and the Mrs Ples collection.

About ICEFAT:

ICEFAT (International Convention of Exhibition and Fine Art Transporters) is the official, worldwide organization representing 79 of the finest independent art transportation firms from over 34 countries. Each member specializes in handling and shipping works of art, artefacts and antiquities for museums, galleries, dealers, corporate and private collectors and premier auction houses.
It is dedicated to promoting the highest standards of professionalism in the field of museum and gallery shipping and fosters communication and understanding between members and clients by providing an information network which allows for competitive alternatives in the area of art transportation.
For over 30 years ICEFAT has hosted annual conventions where members meet to exchange ideas and establish relationships with associates worldwide in the field of packing, shipping and forwarding works of art, artefacts and antiquities.
The organization is comprised of a select group of companies who apply for membership and are supported unanimously by all other members. Acceptance as a member indicates the applicant has a minimum of three years experience in the field; performed and worked with several members who support the application; has demonstrated responsibility in financial matters.
The group is governed by an elected steering committee comprised of six elected members from specific geographic locations throughout the world. This steering committee meets three times a year to discuss matters presented to the committee and to arrange the annual convention. ICEFAT Secretariat: secretariat@icefat.org