RAND-Air Durban’s Branch Manager Rudi Devry and his team recently took occupation of new premises, a move they hope will assist in realising their growth objectives.
Devry said their former premises was rented and, after six years, the lease had come to an end.
“That was part of the reason for the move, but we also wanted to find premises in Durban’s South Basin which would be closer to our major customers such as the oil refineries and the motor manufacturers, and which would give us room for future expansion,” he added.
Devry said the demand for hire equipment in Durban has been increasing recently and that the new, conveniently situated premises would assist in meeting these elevated levels of demand.
The new depot in Transport Drive, Prospecton is a major upgrade. The new offices have been adapted to suit staff requirements and a much larger warehouse means that the depot’s equipment will now all be kept under cover.
“We have always placed a strong emphasis on excellent equipment maintenance, so we are very pleased with the new warehouse, as it allows us to keep our equipment protected,” said Devry. The new premises also has much larger wash bays which can accommodate more machines at any one time.
However, moving the depot from one site to another was not without its challenges. “At Rand-Air, we need to be available to our customers 24/7, so during the month of the move, we had to plan really carefully to make sure that our customer service remained at its usual high standard. We could not take two or three days off and close our doors during the move,” Devry said.
In addition, before taking occupation, the company had to carry out many modifications, including building wash bays and painting the warehouse floor to make the premises suitable. “At Rand-Air we set very high standards, and before we opened the doors of our new premises, we wanted to ensure that they would be a showpiece for our company in KwaZulu-Natal.”
Among the Durban depot’s key customers are the local petrochemical refineries. Devry believes the convenient availability of hire equipment – for example, during annual shutdowns – represents a real value-add.