Mitchell Cotts Freight Kenya Ltd is one of the largest logistics companies in East and Central Africa, offering a diverse range of services including air cargo terminal, sea freight services, warehousing services, air freight services, project cargo, CFS terminal services, distribution and collateral management, among others.
Mitchell Cotts Group landed on Kenyan soil in 1926 as a subsidiary of Mitchell Cotts PLC U.K. At the time, the firm only transported coal for the steamships that used it as fuel. This humble beginning helped the company learn a few lessons and, over the years, has managed to steadily grow into the integrated end-to-end logistics company.
In 1989, Mitchell Cotts became fully Kenyan-owned.
The company’s main focus for a while was on stabilising in the Kenyan market and once that was done, decided to spread its wings to Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan.
Since inception Mitchell Cotts’ commercial foundations were built on pursuing strategic regional representation as well as distribution of products for locally based clients and international principals.
Mitchell Cotts share structure
Mitchell Cotts Kenya Ltd—majority, owned by the family of Philip Ndegwa, a former Central Bank of Kenya governor, through their First Chartered Securities Ltd—is the majority shareholder of Mitchell Cotts Freight Kenya Ltd.
The Ndegwas, through First Chartered Securities, hold 252,632 of the 320,000 ordinary shares. The other 67,368 are held by Makimwa Consultants Ltd.
Duncan Nderitu Ndegwa is listed as one of the shareholders of Mitchell Cotts Kenya Ltd. Other directors listed in the company’s CR-12 certificate are Antony Peter Wainaina Kamau, Daniel Kipsang Tanui, Patrick Kithinji Mugambi, Andrew Ndegwa and James Philip Ndegwa.
Clientele
Throughout the years, Mitchell Cotts has collaborated with several prominent industry leaders within their respective fields.
- Distributors
- NGO’s
- Commodity traders
- Manufacturers
- Pharmaceuticals
- Project Cargo
- Airlines
- Healthcare equipment and accessories
Services
- Air Cargo Terminal
Mitchell Cotts Group is East Africa’s leading air cargo terminal operator, serving both scheduled and chartered cargo airlines at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
The firm owns and operates its facility with a potential to handle over 150 million kilograms of cargo per annum. This ultra-modern, 2-floor complex has integrated automated handling systems throughout, designed to handle cargo with the utmost precision and efficiency.
The state-of-the-art temperature-controlled warehouse offers four main benefits to airlines and Cargo Consolidators:
- Direct Accessibility to Airside: Mitchell Cotts has direct access to cargo planes from their refrigerated warehouse, ensuring they don’t break the cold chain and significantly reduce product handling times when picking and loading shipments into cargo aeroplanes (freighters).
- Regulatory Compliance: Their clients, particularly airlines transporting food, pharmaceutical or healthcare goods, require strict compliance with temperature regulations to ensure product safety and quality.
- Product Quality, Safety and Automation: The firm’s temperature-controlled warehouse enables the company to maintain consistent temperatures that ensure product quality and safety. This helps preserve the freshness and nutritional value of perishable goods and prevent spoilage, contamination, and the growth of harmful bacteria.
- Better Customer Satisfaction: The firm helps airlines improve customer satisfaction and loyalty by ensuring that products that are delivered to their warehouse in good condition and on.
Air terminal services:
- Cargo handling facility- we handle imports and exports of dry cargo. We also specialise in handling perishable cargo, temperature-controlled cargo, transit cargo conveyancing, trans-shipment cargo, and dangerous cargo (DGR).
- Import and export documentation services.
- Cargo storage
- Cargo security screening
- Air charter handling
Specialised services:
- Product wilting
- Risk of botrytis (fungal infection)
- Risk of ethylene production
- Pre-mature ageing and bent stems
Vacuum-cooled produce maintains higher product quality and enables fresh produce to achieve homogeneity in cooling to the core.
2. Air Freight Services
Mitchell Cotts Group works with a reliable network of airlines to pick the best option for its clientele. To drive efficiency and offer our customers a one-stop solution, the firm owns one of the six air cargo terminals at JKIA.
The firm has an extensive process of handling both import and export goods. They specialise in last mile delivery within the East African region, offering door-to-door, door-to-port, ex-work and port-to-port services.
Air freight services:
- Export/import air freight consolidations
- Bulk movements
- Customs and excise clearance
- Warehousing, distributing, and door-to-door delivery/collection
- Project freight and other specialised freight (such as fine art)
- Aircraft chartering – part or whole
- Express services
3. Sea Freight Services
Mitchell Cotts Group boasts a vast network of agents that are strategically placed across the world that are able to assist the firm offer its clients the most competitive freight rates.
Sea freight services:
- Full Container Load (FCL)
- Less than Container Load (LCL)
- Bulk Cargo
- Loose Cargo
- Groupage
- Port agent services
- Cargo/linear agent
- Charterers agent services
- Ships agency services
- Consolidation and deconsolidation services
- Door-to-door
- Door-to-port
- Ex-work
- Port-to-port
4. Clearing and Forwarding
Mitchell Cotts plays a proactive advisory role to its customers during the import and export process:
- Pre clearance
- Clearance
- Post clearance
Other services:
The firm can advise clients on:
- Information on various relevant legislation.
- Tariff schedules and customs facilities.
- Port supervision & wharf inspection services.
- Shipment status reports.
- Immediate investigation and resolution of discrepant, damaged or short landed cargo claims.
- Assisting with the availability of port supervision and wharf inspection staff.
5. Perishable Goods Handling Services
Mitchell Cotts recently acquired a vacuum cooling equipment that can drastically extend the shelf life of perishable produce.
The firm employs a rigorous process that includes several steps to guarantee that produce is well taken care of. The processes also ensure traceability in case it is needed.
Some of the steps taken are:
- Transportation of product under temperature-controlled cargo containers.
- Cool dollies during transit.
- Reefer trucks in cases of road transport and reefer containers for sea freight
- Cold room facilities to ensure that the products retain freshness and maintain the temperature conditions of some of the products.
- Seamless transfer of your cargo with the relevant overseas clearing / logistical agents
- Maintain high level of cargo security
6. CFS Terminal Services
Mitchell Cotts Group has three Container Freight Stations (CFS) that are gazetted and fully licensed dry port. The firm has a BP2 inside Mombasa port, the second and third one are located within a 5 km radius of Mombasa port and these are; Mitchell Cotts Freight (K) Limited CFS that is located in the Shimanzi area and Mitchell Cotts ICD that is located in Kibarani along the Makupa causeway.
The different Container Freight Stations cater to different things and have differing capacities:
- BP2 is adjacent to conventional cargo berths no. 3 and 4.
- Mitchell Cotts Freight (K) Limited CFS has ground slots 353 TEUs, Statistic Capacity 1,412 TEUs and Annual Throughput 50,832 TEUs.
- Mitchell Cotts ICD has Ground Slots 1,280 TEUs, Statistic Capacity 5,120 TEUs and Annual Throughput 184,320 TEUs
Mitchell Cotts can handle full container loads (FCL) and less than container load (LCL), RORO units and packaged cargo that are transferred directly from the Kilindini seaport to their Container Freight Station.
The Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) Container Terminal clears all Full Container Loads and they are immediately transferred to the firm’s Container Freight Station Services (CFS) that is located 500 meters away from the Kenya Ports Authority Gate B.
7. Coffee handling facility
Over the years Mitchell Cotts has taken the steps to ensure that your coffee maintains its quality standards throughout the time thay handle it. They have processes in place that collectively help maintain the quality and freshness of coffee during the storage.
Mitchell Cotts have a motorised coffee bulking facility that is located at their Logistics Center 1 along Mombasa Road, Nairobi.
The silo is capable of holding 24 tonnes of clean coffee. It is made of mild steel with a mild vertical steel spiral screw. The tank is fitted with a bottom feeding detachment to permit effective mixing and is driven by a 20 horse powered gear motor.
8. Warehouse & Distribution Services
Mitchell Cotts Group takes pride in owning strategically located warehouses, including ICD Nairobi near SGR, and others within close proximity to Mombasa port. The bonded and unbonded warehouses, along with additional facilities across Eastern Africa, cater to a diverse range of clients.
To facilitate seamless transportation, the firm utilizes the railway for goods movement between Mombasa, Nairobi, and Kampala. The warehouses boast an open floor plan, maximizing storage space, and allowing for custom racking upon request.
Cargo is professionally stacked to prevent broken stowage and ensure optimal stacking height while ensuring easy accessibility.
Warehousing Services Include:
- Bonded warehousing/Unbonded warehousing
- Open yard storage
- Container packing and unpacking
- Packing and crating services
- Full trailer and container loading facility (Mitchell Cotts Container Freight Station, Mombasa)
- Storage, distribution, and consolidation of imports and exports
- Rail Access
- Sorting services
- Stock control and reporting
- 24-Hour Security
- Fumigation of consignments and fulfillment of phytosanitary requirements
- A fullfilment centre
- A warehouse management system that is specifically for inbound, outbound and storage services
