Specialized Transportation service provider Jacobs Transport has outgrown its current yard space and will be redesigning the company’s modus operandi to conform with business requirement flow.

The previous piece of land becoming too small prompted Jacobs Transport to purchase 12 ha of industrial land, which it says is closer to its customer base, and will equate to significant diesel and time savings.

The greenfield project, it adds, will allow for the company to conduct all of its services under one roof. Trucks will follow a route throughout the yard that is “the most efficient and ideal” in preparation for the following day’s jobs.

The company says that other obstacles are taking precedence following Covid-19.

These include the state of South Africa’s road infrastructure, labour issues, State-owned Transnet being in a “dismal state”, the ever-increasing petrol price, as well as delays at port which result in lost time, or standing fees, and so forth.

In spite of these challenges, Jacobs Transport continues to serve, inter alia, the mining industry through assorted deliveries – from shaft sinking and yellow metal equipment, to office park/home units, air coolant systems, and a myriad of structures and other mine deliveries.

“The fleet is young enough and mine compliant to ensure that we are able to pass the high health and safety requirements of modern mines,” the company says.

The fleet boasts over 100 trailers of different types, such as Multi-Axles Triaxles or Super link flat beds that can be hooked to either truck tractors with or without cranes. There are also Rollback trucks with winches, and most trailers in the fleet are air-suspension.

Jacobs Transport’s main type of freight has always been moving containers, and it does so with specialised vehicles like Side loaders/Sidelifters that are able to lift up to 36 t in a very level and safe way.

With the company’s tipper division, it can transport chrome, manganese, magnetite, iron-ore, and pig iron.

“Our tipper fleet consists of side tipper links with the state-of-the-art lightweight design capable of super payloads up to 40 t.”

Additionally, the company’s rigging team includes experienced assessors that are able to safely and cost-effectively manage customers’ rigging requirements.

Jacobs Transport adds that a part of the service includes site inspections, as well as risk assessments for deliveries to mine, or rigging studies, as required by HSE.

Jacobs Transport can also assist with explosives transport or UN Class Code 1 type of freight.

In keeping with the advanced technology strategy, each one of the company’s vehicles is fitted with four live cameras, as well as telematics tracking, to ensure that operators remain in control of the fleet 24/7.

“Our drivers are equipped with tablets that have signing-on-glass technology in South Africa, as well as cross border, ensuring that PODs get signed and digitally submitted instantaneously therefore speeding up the job-to-invoice process,” it adds.

Jacobs Transport’s logistics assistance office has highly qualified health and safety personnel in-house and is able to assist with safety files, method statements and lifting plans.