Djibouti

Djibouti is unlike every other African destination EMM serves, because most of what passes through it is not staying. The Doraleh and Djibouti terminals and the free trade zone handle the great majority of Ethiopia's seaborne trade, plus transhipment for Somalia, South Sudan and the wider Red Sea. So we deal with two quite different sets of buyers here: Djiboutian businesses equipping local operations, and freight forwarders, traders and free-zone operators staging equipment for onward movement.

Equipment for the local economy

Logistics drives it. Warehouses and the free zones buy forklifts, pallet trucks, racking, strapping and wrapping machines, weighbridges, container handling attachments and workshop equipment for truck fleets. Water is the other constant: Djibouti is arid and largely dependent on desalination and boreholes, so reverse osmosis units, pumps, storage and treatment dosing are regular orders. Construction and road maintenance take batching plants, concrete equipment, compactors and generators. Fishing at the port and along the Gulf of Tadjoura buys ice making, cold rooms and freezing plant. Salt extraction at Lake Assal takes conveying, washing, drying and bagging equipment.

Climate above everything

Djibouti City routinely exceeds 40 C from June to September with high humidity, and this is the most thermally punishing posting we supply in Africa. Standard-rated motors, control cabinets and generator sets fail early here. We specify oversized cooling, high ambient ratings, dust and salt protection and, where the duty allows, air-cooled rather than water-cooled packages. Supply is 220 V single phase, 380 V three phase, 50 Hz.

If you are consolidating in the free zone for onward delivery to Ethiopia or Somalia, say so when you enquire - we can mark, pack and document the consignment for the second leg rather than just for arrival.