Goscor earns it stripes at Zebra Hub of Excellence in Gaborone

With the delivery of Botswana’s first ever Crown TSP VNA (very narrow aisle) turret truck to Zebra Hub of Excellence (ZHE), Goscor Lift Truck Company (GLTC), distributors of Crown in South Africa, has cemented itself as one of the fastest growing material handling equipment (MEH) suppliers in the sub-Sharan region.

“This is an important milestone for us,” says Darryl Shafto GLTC MD. “ZHE is one of the most respected companies in the warehousing and logistics industry in this region and to get our first VNA turret tuck in Botswana into their operation is something we can be proud of.”

He adds that in these challenging economic times with warehousing space at a premium, VNA warehousing equipment is becoming more and more important with respect to bottom line saving and the Crown TSP 6000 Turret Truck, the model which ZHE bought, is the best of its kind.

The Crown TSP 6000 Turret Truck has a lifting capacity of 1000-1250kg and a lift height of 11.7m. Its 48-Volt AC motor allows for faster handling and control. Innovative features like its Monolift Mast, excellent visibility and easy serviceability ensure the highest performance in the VNA applications. “This machine – and all our turret trucks – has the unique ability to cope with some of the most demanding tasks in material handling, tasks that set the pace for every other process in the warehouse,” Shafto says.

ZHE, a 100% Botswana citizen owned private company has its head office in the country’s capital Gaborone with additional hubs in Francistown, Maun, Palapye and Jwaneng. The company’s main services include freight forwarding, customs clearance, couriering and 3PL. Its warehousing facilities stand at over 8,500m² with complete technology-driven automation capabilities.

Brenda Gerber, director of Coastal Hire in Gaborone who did the deal with ZHE, says that this has been a most exciting exercise. “The machine is state of the art and is performing beyond all expectations. The installation went very smoothly and the Goscor team’s training was very professional,” Gerber says.

She adds that the efficiency of the Crown TSP 6000 Turret Truck, especially in the important VNA warehouse environment, augurs well for more of these to be placed in Botswana warehouses in the near future.

Meantime the successes in Botswana are indicative of GLTC’s successful drive into Africa, especially the sub-Saharan and Indian Ocean Islands regions, which, according to Shafto, are directly benefiting from the rollercoaster cycle of investor confidence in South Africa.

“We are already represented in Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Swaziland, East Africa and Mauritius and so far our ‘Africa footprint’ initiative looks good but there’s still much work to be done and we will not be resting on our laurels,” Shafto says.

He adds that one of the priorities is the setting up of fully professional Goscor service centres. “There are large numbers of people who have bought, for example, Crown material handling equipment direct from Europe or elsewhere because there was no Crown representation in their respective countries. We are now taking Goscor to these people, initially through servicing their equipment and then by developing a full commercial relationship with them,” he concludes.

About the Goscor Group

Industrial equipment group Goscor is part of Industrial Services Holdings (InServe). Goscor represents leading equipment brands across several sectors. These include Crown, Doosan, Bendi, Hubtex and Taylor Dunn (forklifts and materials handling equipment); Bobcat (compact & construction); SANY (earthmoving); Tennant, Elgin, Maer, Delfin, Kaivac and HighPoint (industrial cleaning equipment); HPower, Weima, Meiwa and Rato (industrial power solutions); Genie (aerial lift equipment); Sullair and Ozen (compressed air solutions), and many more.

For more information please contact Goscor Lift Truck Company on 011 230 2600