In August, 2002, Deon de Villiers was made redundant from his 20 year position. “I had become too expensive and needed to be replaced with a cheaper option.” Deon did not have a plan B.
Deon had a vision of creating a dedicated linehaul business. He believed that it required a certain amount of focus and specialization. Unfortunately, he had no capital but decided to canvas for owner drivers and then place them at his customers who he had canvased though his network and 20 years in the logistics industry.
The business grew from strength to strength. It soon got to a point where Deon had to make a decision: to carry on as he had started, not owning any trucks and relying his efficiencies on external parties – or take the plunge and start his own fleet. Deon started with the purchase of a 5T panelvan (he even recalls the registration number NGH674GP!) and the very first Iveco Daily purchased from C Rand Solutions.
The truck had done some 400,000 kilometres and everyone said Deon was nuts knowing the vehicle had been abused. Never-the-less, Deon managed to grow the business slowly and continued to purchase vehicles as the years progressed. Deon was hands on with his sleeves rolled up, he did everything from Sales to Operations to Finance (debt collecting) – and even to driving loads!
In 2009, Deon needed help and appointed his brother Andre in an operational position while Deon focused on sales and finances. The business grew and more vehicles were purchased.
In June 2011, Brett Beukes officially joined the two brothers as Financial Manager. Brett added tremendous value from a financial perspective and still to this day, remains a valuable asset and member of the Strata Logistics team.
In 2010 the company was spending a considerable amount of money on repairs and maintenance to service providers outside Strata Logistics and the decision was made to create an internal workshop, repair and maintenance facility. Doctor Haulage was created and all preventative as well as routine maintenance was and still is done through this channel. A few more customers have been added to the fold where their fleet maintenance is taken care of by 3 full time technicians.
The fleet today consists of 75 vehicles and employs a team of 65 qualified and dedicated drivers.
Each client has different needs. We are able to provide our clients with a wide choice of vehicle types and sizes and carefully tailor our solutions individually ensuring competitive costings coupled with safe and private delivery.
The company has grown ten-fold and is now well known and respected in the industry. Its vision for the future is to be recognised as the preferred supplier of reliable, bespoke logistics and linehaul solutions by delivering a positive and reliable experience to each and every one of our clients.