Takoradi, April 08, GNA –Tacotel Limited, a subsidiary of Ibistek, a handler of import and export cargo at the Takoradi Port in the Western Region, has held its 5th Anniversary celebration to mark its successes chalked over the years in the maritime industry.
The anniversary was heralded with a donation to the Twin City Special School, where the company donated items worth over GHc 10,000 towards the upkeep of the school, and subsequently held a health screening for all staff, screening their eyes, blood pressure, and sugar levels.
Speaking at the ceremony, Dr Felix Nana Sackey, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Tacotel, said although the company was an indigenous organization with success as its ambition, it was not simply set up to make money, rather started to make a difference.
“We really did not know how it was going to go, but we had a dream, and this dream became our vision, which is to be a strong leader in the maritime transport and logistics industry in Ghana and West Africa,” he pointed out.
Dr Sackey explained that for the five years that the company had been in operation, it had recorded a “no casualties,” and “no theft or pilfering” and had also operated a “hazard-free operational environment” using its high compliance attitude and best practices in health, safety, security and environmental requirements for ports operations.
According to him, the company’s well-trained officers who had met the demands of the industry since its establishment have been the first to operate an Inland Container Depot in Takoradi.
Dr Sackey said although the COVID-19 pandemic brought lots of pain to both industries and countries, they were able to sail cautiously through it and thus achieved a 37 per cent increase in exports and a six per cent increase in Imports between 2020 and 2021.
He said the focus of the company was to develop a safe and thriving business and people-centred environment for conducive maritime trade with continuous service to clients, laced with quality, blended with timely delivery, a passionate approach to efficiency and effectiveness in all its operations.
He maintained that Tacotel would continue to respect the interests of all stakeholders, employees, customers, suppliers, and the wider community and would actively explore opportunities to improve the environment and contribute to the well-being of the communities in which it operates.
He, therefore, thanked the dedicated team of staff in all the various departments who have believed in the vision and therefore worked diligently to contribute to the wellbeing and success of Tacotel.
Dr Sackey noted that a satisfied customer was the best business strategy and therefore would always seek to put the needs and expectations of customers first, as it was committed to continuous improvement in service delivery through focused and superior customer service as well as fostering strong working relations with its stakeholders.
He contended that the company had rapidly attracted attention nationwide as well as regionally and globally, because of the competitive standards it brings into the maritime, logistics and transport industry in Ghana and in West Africa.
The CEO added that Tacotel, therefore, aimed to leapfrog to the leading position in the provision of quality service with integrity and value addition through its transformational work approach and technology.
Mr Richmond Adjei Appiah, Terminal Manager of Tacotel, mentioned some challenges the company encountered from the onset and said despite the challenges, they have already worked on approximately 200,000 TEUs over the period of five years with countless successes.
“We have witnessed situations where we tried to sell to a customer and ask the customer to ship through Takoradi port and the first thing he does is to calculate or compute the cost of freight charges, cost of transit delays on the arrival of his container, making reference to unavailability of the truck to carry containers to and from the hinterlands, telling you that vessel calls to Takoradi is not regular and so prefers another port…” he stated.
He, therefore, deemed the theme chosen for the anniversary, “Beyond All Limit: Still Serving with Passion,” suitable for the occasion.
“We smile at customers who frown their faces for reasons best known to them, we explain issues to customers and stakeholders to understand, we help resolve their challenges.
“It can only take passion to resolve one’s challenge when you have challenged yourself,” he stated.
GNA