Page 30 - Logistics News - August 2021

C O MPANY NE W S

CCS Logistics joins the Serco steps up production to

fight against COVID-19 restore damaged supply chain

Commercial Cold Storage (CCS), an Oceana Group Truck and trailer building
company, has answered the call from the Mitchells company Serco is fast-tracking
Plain Hospital and donated a specialised fridge the construction of vehicles and
that keeps COVID-19 vaccinations at the correct repairs in a concerted effort
temperature. to help the transport and food
sectors return to some form of
The fridge will allow the public hospital to store normality in the wake of the
vaccines at temperatures lower than what their current recent burning and looting in
fridge could reach. Now, with the help of CCS, they’re KwaZulu-Natal.
able to drastically reduce the distance between vaccine
holding and the vaccination site. Serco CEO Clint Holcroft
said it was clear this sector was
Hospital CEO Evan Swart says, “Something as hit hard by the unrest and that
simple as a fridge has helped us enable access to it was imperative to restore Serco CEO Clint Holcroft.
vaccinations for the Mitchells Plain community since supply chains as quickly as
we can now safely store vaccine stock on site. This possible. Holcroft estimated that
donation will benefit the district for years to come.” more than 100 trucks had been destroyed and even more had
been damaged during the rampage.
CCS has been keeping products cool for the past 50
years and understands the importance of temperature A major portion of Serco’s builds are for perishable
control to maintain quality. CCS Executive Director Ina food distributors, although recently it has focused on
Botha says, “It was a natural fit for us to answer the call growing the range of dry freight options it offers to better
and provide the hospital and community with the best serve the transport market arising from the current ‘new
equipment available in our collective fight against the normal’ market conditions caused by COVID-19. “We have
COVID-19 pandemic.” • stepped up our production and repairs in the short term to
accommodate the demand, but there are limiting factors
involved – availability of truck chassis, as well as a four-to-
Mitchells Plain Hospital CEO Evan Swart and
seven-week manufacturing lead time from confirmed order,’’
CCS Supply Chain Executive Lundi Sishi.
says Holcroft.
Holcroft said the economy had been under severe strain
prior to the violence, with the third wave of the COVID-19
pandemic taking its toll on business and industry. “There
is a lot of turbulence in the market at the moment, but
with the COVID-19 vaccine rollout gaining traction, it is
anticipated that business will improve as global economies
start reopening, and locally businesses start rebuilding as the
SASRIA funds make their way to the businesses impacted by
the recent unrest.”

L O GI S T I CS NEWS introduced drop side bodies, single skin van bodies and
Serco recently broadened its product range and
curtain-sider truck bodies. “With the shortage of trucks and
imported components starting to improve, we hope to enter
the second half of the year on a more positive note,” says

28 A U GU S T 2021 Holcroft. • www .l o g ist i csn e w s .c o .z a