Think Courier – Think Cargokwik!
In 1983 Len and Cheryl van der Walt started a courier company operating between Oudtshoorn, George and Mossel Bay. At the time there was a need for a reliable courier service and Cargokwik was started in response to that need.
At first Len drove the vehicle himself but soon got an assistant to take over that route and he drove the Knysna, Plettenberg Bay route .
Late in 1983 Len and Cheryl were appointed agents for Sun Couriers in Oudtshoorn, with the George agency following soon thereafter. Their reputation soon spread and at one point Cargokwik acted as an agent for most courier companies wanting to increase their footprint in the area.
By 1985 most of the courier companies had opened their own branches in George. Sun Couriers bought out Cargokwik and Len and Cheryl were offered the Sun Couriers Agency in Oudsthoorn.
Cheryl ran the Sun Couriers agency while Len was employed in the insurance industry.
He began working for Liberty Life as a broker consultant in 1987 and was transferred to Paarl in 1992 as a branch manager.
At that time, Cheryl was offered the Paarl Sun Couriers agency, which she ran with great success until 2006.
In the meantime, Len left Liberty Life after about 8 years and joined Standard Bank as a consultant and later sales manager.
In 2000 he left Standard Bank and took a position as Area Sales Manager with HSBC Bank in Dubai, covering both the United Arab Emirates and the Sultanate of Oman.
After 2 years, he returned and made a conscious decision not to re-enter the corporate world.
In 2006, Len and Cheryl were offered the Regional UTi Agency in Paarl, running 8 routes out of Paarl to various areas including Worcester, Ceres, Malmesbury, Franschoek and as far away as Touwsriver.
At this time it became a proper family business with Cheryl handling the admin, their sons, Jerard and Lyell handling the customer service and operations, respectively. Len operated as the branch manager and their daughter, Kerry, assisted with some of the admin tasks.
This was nothing new though. Jerard, Lyell and Kerry have, in some or other way, been involved with the business since they were in primary school.
They achieved great success in that endeavour, routinely getting good results in their quarterly audits, as well as being awarded the PMR Diamond Award 5 times in a row as the best courier in the Boland/Winelands area.
The decision to close the Paarl DSV branch at the end of 2018 came as a shock to many of the regular clients but because of the good relationships which they built up over many years the family decided to resurrect the Cargokwik name and operate in the Paarl area as a courier broker.
With a substantial customer base and years of experience, Cargokwik has the desire, the skill and the experience to handle all your courier needs very successfully.
Think Courier – Think Cargokwik!
Please call them on 021 862 7735 to find out how they can assist with your courier needs.