“Durban is growing as a central location for businesses and a distribution hub of goods via shipments into South Africa and Southern Africa. The refurbished facility, with its modern features and excellent location, will improve delivery times and efficiencies for Thrutainers,” said David Rosmarin of Investec Property.

The property, which forms part of the Investec Property portfolio, has been redeveloped in a joint venture with Thrutainers and will serve as a central storage and distribution centre for the company. Refurbishment of the centre, which began in January 2012 and will be completed at the end of September, was required to meet strict standards for storage and distribution and included a complete upgrade of both the warehouse and office facilities.

The 22 000m2 building has been fitted with state-of-the-art fire equipment and a 1 000m2 flammable store. The facility has been altered from an on grade operation to a warehouse that now has 42 dock levellers. The existing hard stand was removed and reinstated at the reduced level to accommodate the dock levellers. The height of the water table and the bad soil conditions were two factors that had to be addressed and major earthworks were required to achieve the necessary bearing capacity.

Commenting on the redevelopment, Andre de Oliveira from Thrutainers said: “Our vision is to become a powerful market leader in the logistics industry. This new facility is both well-equipped and superbly located to help us achieve that.”