15.09.2014 Views

Nickel in demand

Create successful ePaper yourself

Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.

Quattro<br />

mployees built it <strong>in</strong>to the<br />

ulti-million dollar operation<br />

than 500 vehicles”<br />

the <strong>in</strong>itiative once contracts became available<br />

at the next m<strong>in</strong>e site.” There can be little<br />

doubt that this strategy would prove to be<br />

effective, what with Quattro today servic<strong>in</strong>g<br />

five of Zambia’s six largest m<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g operations.<br />

That is not to say that Quattro is a company<br />

happy to rema<strong>in</strong> static once an <strong>in</strong>itial goal<br />

has been reached. Far from it <strong>in</strong> fact, what<br />

with the company mak<strong>in</strong>g strong moves <strong>in</strong><br />

the last several years to further diversify its<br />

service offer<strong>in</strong>g, one that already <strong>in</strong>cludes<br />

the transportation of explosives, hazardous<br />

materials and waste products.<br />

One of the more recent developments<br />

<strong>in</strong>volv<strong>in</strong>g Quattro has been its open<strong>in</strong>g of a<br />

dedicated truck<strong>in</strong>g division. Here the company<br />

operates a fleet of <strong>in</strong>ternational trucks tasked<br />

with the haulage of materials such as copper<br />

or cement. The copper these trucks carry is<br />

typically be<strong>in</strong>g carried to m<strong>in</strong>e sites across<br />

South Africa where it can be processed.<br />

Understandably it is a source of great pride<br />

that Quattro today f<strong>in</strong>ds itself <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> such<br />

a large scale <strong>in</strong>dustry as the copper trade.<br />

“Diversification can, without question, be a<br />

challeng<strong>in</strong>g process, however it has long been<br />

a belief of those of us with<strong>in</strong> Quattro that one<br />

shouldn’t necessarily keep all of their eggs<br />

<strong>in</strong> one basket,” Phiri states. “Hav<strong>in</strong>g honed<br />

our skills <strong>in</strong> the field of passenger transport<br />

it was decided that one of the best ways of<br />

creat<strong>in</strong>g new bus<strong>in</strong>ess opportunities, and <strong>in</strong><br />

turn greater employment, was to branch out<br />

<strong>in</strong>to other fields like truck<strong>in</strong>g.”<br />

The challenge at the heart of any new<br />

undertak<strong>in</strong>g is the time it takes to adapt to<br />

new ways of conduct<strong>in</strong>g operations, a process<br />

that extends to multiple areas of Quattro’s<br />

own bus<strong>in</strong>ess <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g staff tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g, risk<br />

management, and health and safety.<br />

“When it comes to passenger transportation<br />

we are accountable first and foremost to our<br />

clients, the m<strong>in</strong>es themselves, and safety is key<br />

as there is no compromise when it comes to<br />

human life,” Phiri says. “Each client possesses<br />

certa<strong>in</strong> standards that they live by and it is<br />

BE Monthly [ Aug 2014 ]<br />

155

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!