After more than 15 years of operating in Mozambique, Steinweg has taken an important next step with the development of its own facility in Dondo. Strategically located along the Beira Corridor, the new site has been purpose-built to Steinweg’s standards and creates a strong foundation for further growth in Southern Africa.
“We’ve been in Mozambique for a long time, but we’ve never really had roots in the ground”, says Kevin Hutton. “Now we do. We have our own facility, built to our standards. We’re here and we’re serious about making it work.”
From rented warehouses to a home of our own
Steinweg has been active in Beira since 2009. Until now, the company has operated from rented facilities, which offered limited possibilities to adapt buildings and infrastructure to Steinweg’s own requirements. “We needed our own place”, Kevin explains. “A facility that we own and that is built to the standards we require as a group. That was really the starting point.”
The result is a purpose-built facility in Dondo, near Beira Port and directly connected to one of Southern Africa’s most important trade routes. The site currently comprises approximately 12,800 square metres of covered warehousing, with a 7,500 m² warehouse and a 5,300 m² covered open shed. It also includes an 8,770 m² reachstacker yard, 80 reefer plug points, two weighbridges and a 3,400 m² truck staging area.
Moving away from Beira’s congestion
The choice for Dondo was deliberate. During peak periods, congestion in and around Beira can be significant. Trucks can wait for days to reach the port, while even short journeys through the city may take hours. “Dondo takes us out of that congestion”, Kevin says. “We deliberately positioned ourselves further away because we want to remove congestion from the city. Trucks should be moving, not sitting on the side of the road waiting.”
A new port access road, scheduled for completion by the end of 2027, will further strengthen Dondo’s position. Cargo moving between Beira Port and inland markets will be able to bypass the city centre. At Dondo, drivers have access to a dedicated truck staging area and facilities before continuing their journey.
For Christiaan Venter, this is also an important part of operational capacity. “We want no trucks sitting around waiting to be loaded or offloaded. We want them to be on the road to bring or take more cargo. That is fundamental to our way of thinking.”
Built for the realities of Mozambique
Resilience against extreme weather was another important starting point. Mozambique regularly faces heavy rainfall, flooding and high wind speeds. The entire Dondo facility has therefore been built on a platform approximately 1.5 metres above natural ground level. The buildings are also designed to withstand the high wind velocities that occur in the region.
“We face both one-in-ten-year and one-in-a-hundred-year flood events”, Christiaan explains. “We addressed that from the beginning. The entire facility is elevated above natural ground level, and the structure has been designed for the high wind speeds we can encounter in this part of Mozambique.”
Martin De Villiers particularly appreciates that combination. “For me, it is the architecture itself. It looks great, but I also like the fact that it is built above natural ground level and designed for those wind speeds.”
Designed around tobacco, ready for more
Tobacco was an important consideration from the start. The commodity requires a high level of protection during storage and handling. “Tobacco was one of the fundamental reasons behind the design”, Christiaan says. “We wanted to address the risks associated with that cargo properly.”
At the same time, Steinweg deliberately created a multifunctional facility. Dondo can accommodate soft commodities, minerals, fertilisers, general cargo and containerised cargo, allowing the operation to serve different markets throughout the year. “We want this to become the preferred warehouse on the corridor for the commodities we are targeting, particularly tobacco and soft commodities”, says Kevin. “But tobacco is seasonal, so the facility also needs to work throughout the year.”
Security and sustainability built in
Security was incorporated into the design from day one. Dondo follows the Bridge Secure model used across Steinweg’s Southern African operations. Digital slot planning, pre-authorised truck arrivals and biometric identification help control the flow of vehicles and cargo. “We know who is arriving, what they are bringing onto the site and what they are taking away”, Christiaan explains. “The infrastructure and security of the facility were designed around those requirements.”
An on-site control room is connected to Steinweg’s regional control room in South Africa, providing additional oversight and supporting the group’s wider risk management strategy.
Sustainability is closely linked to operational resilience. Solar-supported systems and substantial on-site water storage reduce dependence on municipal supplies.
“In Africa, sustainability is also about being able to sustain your daily operation”, says Christiaan. “You need electricity and water. We have worked to take that dependency on municipal provision out of the equation and see ourselves as more self-sustained.”
Plenty of room to grow
The current development is only the beginning. The facility has been designed with the potential to grow to approximately 30,000 m² of covered warehousing, while retaining enough space for efficient cargo handling.
A direct rail connection could eventually become part of the site as well. The facility has been designed with the possibility of bringing rail directly into the operational area, further strengthening its connection with the hinterland. “The future plan is most certainly to broaden the facility to 30,000 square metres and potentially add a rail siding on site”, says Christiaan. “Being able to bring rail straight into our facility would be a very exciting next step.”
Kevin’s ambition is equally clear: “We want the facility to be busy throughout the year and hopefully reach the point where we need more space. The site has the potential to develop into a hub for tobacco, soft commodities, minerals, fertilisers and general cargo.”
A blueprint for Southern Africa
Dondo is more than an investment in Mozambique. Within Steinweg Southern Africa, the facility could become a model for future developments in the region. “For us, Dondo has become a blueprint for how we would like to develop our facilities in the region”, Christiaan says. “This is the first regional development where we can really say: this is the standard we want our facilities in Southern Africa to follow.”
For Kevin, the significance is even simpler. After years of working from rented locations, Steinweg has made a long-term commitment to Mozambique. “We now have roots in the ground”, he says. “We’re not going anywhere. This shows the market and the country that we are serious about being here.” And, as Christiaan concludes, that fits Steinweg’s wider promise perfectly: “We are there.”