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The fleet of helicopters
is kept in tip-top condition by fully qualified in-house
engineers. Nothing is outsourced.
 This board describes
the foundation of the companys operations. Many activities have
been added over the years but this remains the core. |
It's been some time since FleetWatch paid a visit to Capital Air, a company which over the years has been hugely instrumental in helping not only to reduce the number of truck hijackings and theft but also one which has recovered hundreds of vehicles of all makes and sizes through its ace air and ground recovery teams.
Patrick O'Leary visited the company at its Rand Airport premises and found that it is flying higher than ever before.
Perhaps it's because of an historical link that goes back to around 1994 just after
FleetWatch first started that Capital Air remains one of this writer's favourite companies. But no - it's more than that. The link is certainly there but overriding that is a deep respect for a group of people who daily put their lives at risk in protecting the lives and recovering the assets of others. And that's exactly what Capital Air does - plus a host of other things that have been added along the way.
When FleetWatch was launched, it was linked to the South African Transport Security Association, a body formed to tackle - among other tasks - the rising tide of truck hijacking and theft which was becoming a scourge as evidenced by the fact that from 500 trucks hijacked in 1991, this rose to 599 in just three years. We all thought that was bad but in 1994, the year of our famous elections, this rose to 836 trucks hijacked.
These easy pickings obviously caught the attention of the syndicates who in 1995, hijacked a massive 1 692 trucks giving them a taking of R310,4-million. This represented a 103% increase over the year before. Year after year the numbers rose until in 1998, a grand total of 5 773 trucks were hijacked. That, by the way, was an increase of 1 477 trucks hijacked over 1997 and a massive hike of 2 079 from 1996 when 3 694 trucks were hijacked. It was obvious that open season has been declared on South African trucks by the hijackers and it was imperative that measures be implemented to curb this growing scourge. Thus the existence of the SA Transport Security Association.
It was while serving on the committee of this association that I met Joćo Vinagre, a man of small stature but as I was to learn over time, of big heart and massive guts.
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Capital Air pioneered
vehicle recoveries in this country using air and ground crew tactics
to beat the thieves. |
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Ferdi Gobey executive
manager of Capital Air Security Operations is a man of passion and
commitment.
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Fighting crime
Joćo, along with his wife Antonieta, founded Capital Air with him putting his skills as a helicopter pilot to good use in fighting crime.
FleetWatch can state without any hesitation that it was Vinagre who was one of the first pioneers in devising methods and techniques of vehicle recovery using both air and ground tactics to get the vehicles back into the hands of their rightful owners.
Over the years, FleetWatch stayed close to Vinagre watching as the impact of his company's actions helped in making a definite dent in the growth plans of the hijacking syndicates. Not only did he and his crews do recovery work as an appointed service provider for various major tracking companies - as they still do today - but Capital Air also introduced its own fleet management and recovery system aptly called Sting. This is working on many fleets today and its record of success is well documented.
Those early days were 'hairy'. In fact, there was one recovery mission where Vinagre was shot out the sky over Thembisa. He survived the crash only to step out of the wreck and get mugged. Yep, can you believe it? He survives a horror crash and then gets mugged. Nice place this South Africa isn't it! No need to add that he changed his tactics after that by flying higher while directing his ground crew in.
Tracking and recovery operations are the foundation of the company's success but now Vinagre has expanded his staff which gives him more time to run the two newly opened Mozambique branches of Capital Air.
The decision to open branches in Mozambique was based on the fact that the gateway for South Africa's smuggled vehicles is Mozambique. From there, they go up into Africa as far afield as Tanzania and even Ethiopia. In the case of some of the more expensive cars, they end up in overseas countries. Trucks also go up through the Mozambique corridor so having a presence there makes sense.
Important to note is that the company's network extends far beyond just Mozambique. Capital Air also has recovery capabilities in Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Angola, Malawi and Tanzania. It's extensive and has taken some time to build up but is one of which the company is justly proud.
When I visited the organisation for this article, Vinagre was in Mozambique and it was Ferdi Gobey, executive manager of Capital Air Security Operations, who showed me around. It wasn't long before I realised why Vinagre had appointed him to the position. Like his boss, Gobey has an air of humbleness about him while at the same time exuding a strong passion and commitment both to the company and the task at hand.
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Years of intelligence
gathering has enabled Capital Air to identify hot spots of
where crime syndicates operate.
Madi Brand, maintenance coordinator, ensures the
helicopter fleet doesnt miss a beat.
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Capital
People |
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Traditional values
As we walk through the hangers where I'm shown the fleet of six magnificent JetRanger helicopters, two LongRangers and one Bell 407, he talks of how the company has grown and yet retained its traditional family values imbibed from day one by the Vinagre family. Yes, the kids are involved as well.
"Here you are not just a number. Everyone is treated as an important individual where the personal touch is all important. We care about our people and this is a culture that is ingrained throughout the organisation. It is thus we do not have a high staff turnover," says Gobey.
This personal touch extends into the company's dealings with its clients as exemplified by the fact that when a vehicle is recovered, it is brought back to the company and given a complete valet before being handed back to the owner.
"We know that a hijacking is traumatic for an individual and we try ease that trauma by giving the car back as new. There are no strange or foreign smells - such as that of alcohol - when the owner gets back into the vehicle," says Gobey. The company also offers a counseling service for hijack victims. It's the small things like this that makes this company special.
When one considers the harshness of the task and the nature of the people required to do the task - many being ex-military men and ex-cops - it is incredible to find this soft touch in such people. But it's always been there and always will be. However, don't let this fool you into thinking these people are 'soft touches' when it comes to conducting their business.
Operating in a high-risk arena where every day your life is put on the line, they are deadly serious about being the best in every way. Proof of this can be seen on the walls of the offices where certificates of various training achievements of staff members literally line the walls. Training is on-going in this company and spans across the board from the helicopter pilots and ground crews through to the control room personnel, all of whom are fully qualified medics.
"It has happened that our control room staff have had to advise callers over the phone on applying medical procedures to a wounded victim while waiting for an ambulance to arrive," says Gobey.
Apart from vehicle tracking and recoveries, other services include power line and pipe aerial inspections; corporate and tourist charter travel; game capture; evacuation of personnel from dangerous situations; aerial film and photography. In fact, anywhere a helicopter can provide a service, that's where you'll find Capital Air.
Guard Division
Back on the ground, the company was asked some years ago to provide a security service for Rand Airport where its head-office is situated. From a small start, this Guard Division has now grown into a huge division employing some 400 people - and its reputation for outstanding service and success is sure to see it grow even further.
Perhaps one of the highlights to its offering came about when a UK-based vehicle tracking and recovery company which does cross border recoveries into the whole of Europe, started operating in Africa. Capital Air was contracted as the recovery company to do the job for them in this region.
"Not only has this broadened our footprint and influence in Africa but it has also given us access to Europe which means we can track and recover vehicles not only in South Africa, but right up through Africa and now even into Europe," says Gobey. And this has already happened.
From humble beginnings, Capital Air has grown into a multi-facetted company whose activities have expanded way beyond what Joćo and Antonieta Vinagre originally envisioned. But while change and growth has been the order of the day, what has remained constant are the core values which have always stayed firmly embedded in good old mother earth type ethics.
This is a company of which South Africa can be proud and one which FleetWatch, certainly, is proud to know. We salute the men and women of Capital Air.
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