Societe Ivorienne de Manutention et Transit - SIMAT

Details of SIMAT

Abidjan Rue des Pétroliers, Vridi, 15 B.P. 648 Abidjan 15. Côte d’Ivoire. Tel: (225)21.75.41.01/02/03 Fax: (225) 21.75.41.10/26 / info@simat.ci

San Pedro 01 B.P. 299 San Pedro. Côte d’Ivoire. Tel: (225) 34.71.08.86 Fax: (225) 34.71.08.87 / simatspy@africaonline.co.ci

Abidjan Airport F.H.B. 15 B.P. 648, Abidjan 15 Côte d’Ivoire. Tel: (225) 21.21.62.16 Fax: (225) 21.21.62.19 / aerien@simat.ci

1)Presentation

SIMAT stands for Societe Ivoirienne de Manutention et de Transit. It is a company that was created on May 2001 in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. SIMAT is a limited private company located in Abidjan and in San Pedro and operating in the business of assistance to transport. Its specific areas are: • airfreight • stevedoring and handling • forwarding and transporting assistance • transport and storage • representation

It works with the two main maritime Ports of Côte d’Ivoire but also with the National Airport of Abidjan in assisting transportation, carrying out maintenance activities and consignation
In fact, the work of SIMAT revolves around operations of loading and unloading of ships and those connected to physical services of conventional and containerized goods in custom control areas (warehouses and open air).


• First and only Ivorian Company in the Paris Stock Exchange


After the 2001 crisis the image of Côte d’Ivoire was one of hardship and difficulty, particularly at the political level. At the local level we thought it was, at this point, important for us to try and separate ourselves from such image and show that we were, despite the problems, an extremely reliable partner. When we are talking about the Paris Stock Exchange we are talking about mundialisation, about globalisation. The image we are projecting, by being the first and only Ivoirian company listed in the Paris Stock Exchange, is one of a company with the required strength and capacity to compete against the best of its sector at the regional and international levels.


• Company objectives

The company's central mission is to provide quality service and the most optimal price-quality relation. With such objective in mind SIMAT has invested in specialized handling equipment including forklifts of 4MT, 6MT, 10MT, 35 to 45MT. Such equipment is complemented by advanced computer technology able to provide real time information on the status of goods in stock (computerized management). The business of goods handling has expanded to become a consistent service industry. SIMAT is always attempting to keep up with the most modern service techniques and tendencies in order to remain true to its original goals and aspirations.

• Structure

SIMAT’s capital is 100% Ivoirian and at the level of cadres, gender equality is very important for SIMAT. The company has as many women in the management as men.

• Activities

Stevedoring

The stevedoring /handling activity at SIMAT comprises the loading and unloading of goods, their transfer to warehouses or storage areas by workers accomplishing specific tasks so as to optimize the cadence and reduce the turnaround time.
Due to its important investments in handling equipments and the availability of a staff capable to work 7 days a week, day and night.
Consignation Service

SIMAT Consignment is made up of a motivated team trained to provide a customized service, namely:
1. tankers operations
2. general cargo operations
3. manifest / documentation
4. supervision and coordination of harbor operations
5. disbursement account
6. sea operations
7. operations at lagoon wharfs
8. on platforms
9. crew change

SIMAT Consignment shares with its partners its know-how and its in depth knowledge of harbor and sea operations as well as its knowledge of the market, the receivers, the consignors and ship-owners.

Forwarding

SIMAT offers its clientele a very good level of service. It is fast and efficient and respects the requirements of its field of activity (processes rapidly all orders and cases for all of its customers, respects the terms of delivery, communicates, listens and advises customers…)

Forwarding air

To diversify and develop its activities after having proven itself in the fields of sea, road and rail transit (but also after being urged to do so by some regular customers) Société Ivoirienne de Manutention et de Transit, SIMAT has created an agency at the airport in order to offer its current and future clientele a full range of services.
SIMAT AIR SERVICE works hand in hand with companies based in Abidjan and specialized in the freight processing and transport and owning all kinds of cargo airplanes like “Fokker F27,” “Fairchild,” and “Boeing 727” with loading capacities ranging from 5 Tonnes to 18 Tonnes placed at the disposal of customers at competitive prices.

Warehousing

SIMAT owns warehouses and quay storage areas that permit a smooth rotation during freight unloading operations. SIMAT also owns external warehouses and storage areas covering a surface of approximately 25,000 square meters in Abidjan and 10,000 square meters in San-Pédro.
SIMAT has equipped itself with all the means required to satisfy its clientele for the storage of goods and merchandises. To abide by the laws of the sector, SIMAT has contracted insurance to cover its warehouses as well as its customers’ goods.
Professional and alert people work day and night to manage physically and with the assistance of computers customers’ merchandise inventory (goods receiving – goods delivery). To achieve an efficient real-time monitoring of the inventory SIMAT has developed GESMAN - a software that enables costumers to follow in real time the position of his goods

Consolidation

In order to diversify its activities and for the sake of a permanent search of the satisfaction of the customer, SIMAT, Société Ivoirienne de Manutention et de Transit, set up a consolidation department to enable its customers to import light packages and profit by low freight prices.

• Projects

There are two key ongoing projects being carried out by SIMAT. One is the fertilizer terminal and the other is with the World food program. The project with the World Food program has been going well. The partnership with SIMAT is solid and stable. The fertilizer terminal is in turn a priority for the company. Since the Port of Abidjan is also the natural Port for countries of the hinterland such as Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali there is a real opportunity for us to make the most out of Cote d’Ivoire’s strategic location and its multimodal transport platforms. These are real assets that can allow SIMAT to put its services in the frontline of the current efforts to link these countries to the networks of the international economy and trade in goods. The fertilizer terminal project is in fact one with a great potential given the envisaged evolution of the demographic and economic indicators of the greater regional setting around Côte d’Ivoire that is also being served by the Ports of Abidjan and San Pedro.