In its constant drive to offer additional value and competitive advantage to its customers, Cargo Carriers has re-evaluated its business processes and strategies within the local sugar industry. The results include the adoption of an innovative trailer design boasting larger capacity bins

Cargo Carriers has a long and illustrious history in the sugar industry at all levels, from the small growers up to the largest growers and millers. The company has been in the business for over 40 years and currently operates in excess of 140 truck units in its sugar operations, which are found throughout Southern Africa, but especially in Swaziland and South Africa.

Cargo Carriers currently transports more than three million tons of sugarcane annually into respective mills and has, over the past three years, diversified its operations to include mechanical harvesting, infield loading, infield transport and direct deliveries. Members of management within the sugar division have been in the industry for many years and both they, and Cargo Carriers itself, have been pioneers of change in the industry, in response to sugar's numerous specialised transport and logistics requirements.

The company's new bin design has replaced the previous system consisting of five smaller bins offering a capacity of 8t each. In the old system, the bins were transported to the loading zone on a truck and individually trans-loaded onto a tractor-drawn trailer, before finally being taken infield for loading.

Once all the bins were fully loaded, they were transferred onto a transport vehicle for onward delivery to the sugar mill. At the mill, offloading was uneconomical and time consuming, as only one bin could be handled using the Cameco system that was in place. Delays in turn-around times made the operation inefficient, time-consuming, costly and ultimately untenable.

Cargo Carriers' new trailer from Afrit has replaced the old, tractor-drawn system seen above		The new design reduces costs by alleviating double handling and improving delivery throughput, bringing with it a host of other benefits

The new trailer design brings a host of operational benefits, including the fact that the design alleviates double handling, improves the constant throughput of daily rateable deliveries into the mill and reduces costs all round.

Nine custom-designed rigs, purpose-built to suit Cargo Carriers' operations in Swaziland, are now successfully operational. These nine trailers are interchangeable to any position within the train and are also fitted with axle units, or bogies, which are able to slide. This not only ensures that the mass distribution is kept within specification, but also assists with infield turning, thus protecting crops and irrigation equipment when entering or leaving the field. High flotation tyres have been fitted to all of the trailers to meet ground pressure specifications, resulting in a significant reduction in the rate of field compaction and, consequently, potential future crop damage.

Individual trailers are taken into the field by tractor and a purpose-built dolly (a height-adjustable hitching fifth wheel, mounted onto two axles). Once loaded, the trailers are coupled together at the loading site to form a train made up of three trailers and providing a hefty payload of 51t. This is a substantial increase from the previous total payload of 40t.

Thanks to the new trailer design, apart from higher payloads being achieved, less equipment is required to carry out the same amount of work, both infield, field side and within the mill yard, meaning that less capital outlay is necessary while simultaneously reducing the cost to the mill.

Additional supply chain strategies include a conversion from a "push" to a "pull" strategy for loads being moved into the mills, as well as a change in the haulage process from a mixture of bin / spiller deliveries to an all-spiller process. The conversion from a bin process to a spiller process allows for higher tonnages to be handled by the mill offloading system, resulting in impressive savings in both time and money.

In response to milling requirements, Cargo Carriers also transports finished products ex mills both to internal and external markets. These products include bulk sugar, bagged sugar, molasses, alcohol and CMS. By creating operational efficiency and client service in these areas, Cargo Carriers has been successfully accredited with ISO 14001.

"Cargo Carriers, together with the mill, had to dig deep to improve on previous systems used in this type of operation. It was a steep learning curve for us and we have all benefited from the expertise gained. More than this, there have also been great increases in operational efficiency for both Cargo Carriers and the mill, as well as substantial cost benefits," says Cargo Carriers Solutions general manager, Johan Myburgh.

Another major feature of Cargo Carriers' long-term involvement in the local sugar industry has been its commitment to real business empowerment in the industry. A combination of operational efficiency, innovation and a clear empowerment strategy is beginning to reap rewards in the various regions where the company operates. In line with its corporate strategy, Cargo Carriers has put "wheels under empowerment" and established a R4-million, empowerment-focused sugarcane transport venture in this region - Buhle Betfu Carriers. The entire venture is based on an empowerment model designed to maximise community benefits and ensure that the sugarcane transport business is self-sustaining.

With Carriers' track record for innovation, careful strategy and relentless operational efficiency in the sugar industry, it has established itself as much more than just a sugar transporter and is poised for serious growth and partnership with all stakeholders in this sector.