Tracking The Heneways Transport And Logistics Journey

The Heneways team are ramping up to our soon-to-be 50th year in operation, which makes us feel a little nostalgic about the road we’ve traveled thus far. We caught up with Ryan McClatchie, our Group Operations Director, to get a feel for the changes that our transport and logistics family has been through during his tenure.

As you can probably tell by some of the stories we’ve shared on our blog (go and give them a read if you haven’t yet), any given work day at Heneways can be riddled with challenges. And that’s not because of us falling short on any of our responsibilities… it’s simply the nature of the business we’re in. The beautiful thing about challenges is that they’re actually opportunities in disguise; roadblocks put in place to test your mettle. We’ve come to realize that if you manage to overcome them, you’re a little more experienced afterwards, and a lot more geared up to face the next challenge. And there will always be a next challenge, but within that are some really cool stories too.

Transport and Logistics From The Early Days To 2024

Ryan has seen it all and he’s also seen it from different standpoints. Having been in the freight industry for 35 years, with 29 of those years at Heneways, he’s been a part of the major expansions that have taken place in the business. When Ryan tells a story and uses the words “in those days…” you know we are speaking about legacy that has evolved over time. And the Heneways legacy is strong.

Following in the footsteps of his father (also in freight), Ryan started at Heneways at the tender age of 19. He left shortly after that and did some time at transport and logistics giant, DHL, but the pull of Heneways called him back six years later, this time to stay. While at DHL, he spent his time wisely in almost every area of the business: import, export, air freight, sea freight, customs; you name it… he got a full understanding of each element that could only contribute to the building of our Heneways service offering on his return.

Watching Heneways Grow

Ryan has seen Heneways expand into becoming the grand presence that we are proud of today. In fact, as we approach our 50th birthday, he’s approaching his 30th anniversary as an integral part of the team. He’s seen warehousing grow from 40 sqm to 60,000 sqm. He’s seen the staff complement grow from 30 to 450+ employees, stretching our presence across the globe with either staff or agents on every continent.

But even with that expansion, it’s still and always will be a family business. Ryan captures it perfectly with his phrase, referring to Heneways as a “small big business”. Yes, it’s big because we can serve our clients from any corner of the globe. But our dynamics are close, our teams are tight, and we are a family more than we are a team. Much like a small business would be.

All Good Ideas Start In the Pub

Ryan and CEO, Mark, are best friends today after having worked alongside one another all these years. They used to do the annual cycle race, The Argus, in Cape Town every year. On one such occasion, they were passing time in the pub, talking about life, which naturally included business too. They conceptualized an idea and put forward their business plan to the shareholders (Mark’s dad and chairman, Rodney Harper). Their idea would entail opening a warehouse in Durban, which we didn’t have, unpacking containers and moving trucks up to Johannesburg, which we didn’t do. They predicted that it could bring in a lot of money, and so with faith and trust, the idea went ahead.

They conceived and started SA Landside Logistics with humble beginnings. They unpacked 12 containers in the first month, employed two people, and moved four trucks to Johannesburg. It has now become a substantial part of Heneways, even though it started as a separate business. We employ 80 people, unpack about 1400 containers, and move about 600 trucks from Durban to Johannesburg every month.

It’s a business that has become a big part of our group and it’s a meaningful contributor that we are so proud of, especially knowing that it came from a conversation in a pub in Cape Town many moons ago.

This is how we roll. We try not to stand still and go about things as usual. We are game-changers and will always continue to innovate.

But even as we innovate for ourselves and future generations, we will always maintain our family business values. If you want to grow with us, or if you simply want to GO with us; drop us a line and let’s chat. We look forward to meeting you.