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Business Reporter
Spanish company, Caldereria Terns SL trading as The Box, has signed a partnership agreement with Zimbabwean fuel solutions company, Garage and Forecourt, to roll out a mobile fuel service station.
Under the agreement, which is set to transform fuel distribution and retailing in Zimbabwe by bringing the precious commodity closer to consumers, Garage and Forecourt, has been appointed the local partner responsible for sales, installations, and maintenance on behalf of the Spanish company.
The coming in of Caldereria is an endorsement of the Second Republic’s Zimbabwe is Open for Business mantra, which has charmed many local and international investors.
The technology, which The Box has so far “rolled out in more than 30 countries across the world, including recently to Zambia,” seeks to bridge the huge initial cost that comes with the setting up of a conventional service station as traditionally known globally through an equally efficient but cost-effective and transferrable solution.
According to the partners, regulatory authorities have issued the requisite greenlight for the rollout, which initially will target rural areas and other remote areas in need of retail fuel services.
With Government on a deliberate rural industrialisation thrust and also in line with the incumbent administration’s economic development thrust of leaving no one and no place behind, the technology will give previously marginalised the much-needed business edge as well as significantly cutting on the cost of logistics through the provision of competitively priced fuel.
The signing of the partnership agreement adds to the existing profile and international endorsement of Garage and Forecourt, already the official distributor of global leading fuel solutions systems manufacturer, Dover Fueling Solutions.
Speaking at the official dealership handover ceremony in Harare yesterday, The Box general manager Xavier Terns, said he was elated to be bringing the technology for awakening the Zimbabwean economy and for entering into an agreement with Garage and Forecourt.
“We are extremely delighted to be finally getting into the Zimbabwean market, particularly at such an opportune moment the economy is showing progress,” said Mr Terns.
“Our product has undergone extensive safety tests across the world over the years in which we have rolled it out and I have absolutely no doubt that it will also do the same on the Zimbabwean market.
We are a company that prefers to work with locals that is why we have signed a partnership with Garage and Forecourt, who I must say have the technical wherewithal to execute the task.
“Basically, this solution is a significant slash on the initial cost of setting up a service station as we have always known it. With this, there is no need for excavations for tank installations and piping for pump connections, so its cost is about three times less than what the market is accustomed to.
“The other beauty about this innovation is that despite a carrying capacity of up to 60 000 litres, it’s easily movable and this is a luxury one cannot afford with the conventional service station. Also, this one can work very well off the usual electricity grid,” he said.
Garage and Forecourt managing director, Omali Jani, said the partnership with The Box will go a long way in his company’s quest to play a part in Government’s development thrust and taking services to previously marginalised communities.
“The coming here of such global brands speaks volumes about the awakening giant in our economy,” said Mr Jani.
“This partnership that will be very handy to our customers, over and above our other products like the 3D laser tank calibration and recalibration service, underground tank and lines integrity leaks test technology and general fuel management systems, is a huge step towards us becoming the ultimate carrier of world innovations.
“You can imagine the cost of fuel for rural businesses and the subsequent passing of such costs to the consumer because such areas lack a compelling case for the setting up of a fuel station leading to speculators providing fuel at very exorbitant prices. But all this is coming to an end.
“Our economy is very unique in that there are consumers and businesses strewn around but do not have the numbers to carry a conventional service station, so that is where we are coming in,” he said.
Online Reporter