Alan H. Paynter
Managing Director

Alan was born in Johannesburg in 1939 and was schooled at Parktown Boys High where he was a Prefect and Student Officer of cadets.  He matriculated in 1956 with a First Class Matriculation and distinctions in Maths and Science.

From 1957, he commenced his Accountancy Articles with GK Tucker and Wilson in Johannesburg, and thereafter held various positions in the UK and SA for several years.  From 1965 to 1970, he was Financial Manager of Harvard/Craft Engineering in Johannesburg, but in February 1970 relocated to Port Elizabeth due to his wife’s severe skin condition. 

From April 1970 to April 1978, he was employed by Ford Motor Co. in its Finance Office.  During this time, he worked in various job positions:

• Financial Analyst in Tractor Operations for 3 years, responsible for financial analysis and control, management reporting and annual budget and long-term projections



• Facilities Manager for 2 years, responsible for corporate capital budget, evaluation of capital projects and overseeing of project expenditures



• Treasury Manager for 3 years, responsible for corporate bank relationships, banking operations, local and foreign financing credit lines, foreign exchange dealings and control of currency exposures, corporate cashflows, corporate legal matters, customer credit control (and assistance with corporate tax matters)

He left Ford in May 1978 to commence his own Financial Management Consultancy, and in the years following, Ford used his consultancy services to handle special assignments, especially extraordinary projects requiring knowledge of Ford’s international systems and its business and the expertise to achieve project objectives, as well as assuming overall responsibility of corporate tax affairs.  In April 1985, Ford announced their withdrawal from SA and sale of business to Samcor in Pretoria.  He was appointed part of the corporate team mandated to handle financial and legal aspects of negotiations with Anglo American and to prepare detailed complex documentation of sale of ownership by Ford in consultation with Ford’s attorneys from US Headquarters.

In February 1985, he transferred his consultancy practice from his personal name into a consulting company (A.H. Paynter Inc.) and formed PTS Inc. to handle all non-consulting activities.  He refused long-term consulting contracts with Samcor, but handled carryover of previous Ford assignments, corporate tax being the last to be handed over in 1989.  During this time, he also contracted his services to Executive Projects.  One of its clients was Welfit Oddy and at the end of 1985 they embarked on manufacture of tank containers.  He was called upon to provide specialist consulting advice on financial aspects of this export project and thereby gained a wide knowledge of tank containers, tank container investment, and a limited knowledge of international tank market.  At the end of 1987, he terminated his contract with Executive Projects and established direct consulting contracts with several of its client, including Welfit Oddy.

In March 1993, it came to his attention that there was an opening in the market for PTS to launch a Tank Container Investment Management Operation.  He researched this possibility and applied to SA Reserve Bank for approval, which was granted in July 1993.  To enable him to devote his full attention to this new Operation, he commenced scaling down the consultancy assignments of AHP Inc.; this was finally concluded in 1995.

As Managing Director, his responsibilities of the Company’s present Operations are to handle all aspects of investor sales and after-sale relationship, assist with marketing material, handle bank relationships, credit facilities, cash management and forecasting, legal matters, tax matters, assist with financial accounting and preparation of Financial Statements, including interface with auditors, issue interim management accounts, assist with handling lease negotiations and contact with lessees, all policy making, strategic planning and project formulation.

Alan is married and has three children, Priscilla, James and David. 

David Paynter
Systems Director

David, who has an electronics and IT background, was born in Johannesburg in 1969 but was schooled in Port Elizabeth, where he was as one of the few pupils to be offered Computer Science as a seventh school subject for four years through to Matric. Subject prizes for the other four content subjects on Higher Grade and Academic Honours for the last 3 years, culminated in a Matric ‘B’ aggregate with University Exemption in 1986.

Post matric, David qualified as an Electronics Mechanician at Volkswagen SA in 1990, which was followed by a period in the highly-automated Paintshop and Final Assembly Hall electronic maintenance department. This involved training and experience on Programmable Logic Devices (PLCs) including involvement with programming and commissioning of new plant equipment projects. This practical experience was accompanied by largely self-taught academic training on the Technical College ‘N-courses’, which he took through to N5 with a distinction in Maths.

He left VW to join PTS in 1992, bringing his experience of process-automation, programming and computers to the fledgling business. The onerous responsibility of setting up and maintaining all the company’s systems was his from inception of the tank container investment management operation in 1993, with the initial overall goal of a permanent staff limited to the four family directors only. 

Initially he oversaw the outsourcing of the design and implementation of a customized database on a completely new computer network using the latest available software. After a patchwork of consultants’ programming efforts allowed basic functionality for the business, he gained enough experience to dispose of these consultants and re-develop the company’s highly sophisticated and integrated database management system.

As Systems Director, he assumes full responsibility for the complete ITC systems, which includes full network design and implementation, hardware specification, acquisition and commissioning, software specification, architecture, programming and commissioning, as well as maintenance and user support for everything.

The overall goal has been the automating of processes to the highest level possible, often using cutting edge technology in order to maximize corporate efficiencies. In this respect, PTS was one of the forerunners in South Africa that assisted two major banks in developing batch-loading functionality to enable PTS to pay its investors electronically in both Rands and Dollars.

The customized database that has been developed by him runs most core business processes based on a Access 2010 database with embedded Crystal Reports reportwriter producing billings, payment batches, automated emails, imported bank statements, automated bank statement reconciliation and generation of accounting batches for import to the multicurrency Accpac accounting system.

The 2010 year has seen him rollout a complete new Dell system with enterprise-class hardware running MS Windows Small Business Server 2008 Enterprise Edition, supporting new Dell laptops running Windows 7 and Office 2010 Professional.

David is married with two children.

James Paynter
Technical Director

James, who has a mechanical engineering background, was born in Johannesburg in 1967 and was schooled in Port Elizabeth, where he obtained Academic Honours for 2 years, matriculating in 1985 with a University Exemption.

Following matric, James qualified as a Press Toolmaker at Volkswagen SA in 1989 (being awarded Toolmaker of the Year in 1986), and then spent some years in the motor manufacturer's Product Engineering Design & Drawing Office, where he became one of the first VW employees to become proficient in the use of the automotive/aerospace CAD package CATIA and was responsible for the layouts for various facelifts of the local VW/Audi ranges.  During this time he obtained his Mechanical Engineering National Diploma, through correspondence, with distinctions in all subjects.  In September 1988, he became a shareholder and director of PTS. 

In 1992, he left to join PTS where he gained considerable experience in business management and financial analysis. In 1993, he was jointly responsible in the development and launch of the tank container investment management operation, and assisted in development of the business plan and structuring, to planning and implementation of both accounting and operational systems.  In addition, James was responsible for the development of our complex financial modelling programs, used for structuring, analysis and marketing of tank container investment and leasing opportunities.   His artistic flair has also been a valued element in his ability to oversee the preparation of the Company’s marketing material.

As Technical Director, he is responsible for all technical aspects of business involving liaison with overseas lessee clients and local manufacturers regarding tank container specification, production, quality control, inspection, delivery and maintenance.  In 1999, he attended the New Alchemy Course for Transport of Dangerous Goods in Tank Containers along with representatives from all the South African tank container manufacturers.

In addition, he assumed responsibility for the exchange control and foreign currency exchange aspect of the business, and this led to a fascination in market analysis, foreign exchange and global economics.  In 2005 he qualified as a Certified Elliottician market analyst, which led to the launching of the Group’s separate market forecasting business, under the name Dynamic Outcomes, in recognition of the importance of this aspect of the tank investment to investors and ourselves wherein he generates the data for daily forecasts and analysis on various financial markets, especially the Rand.

He also participated in the preparation of the detailed research into the Rand and its future, undertaken by the Company, resulting in the formulated document “The Rand Exposé – the Fundamental Truth”, which is updated quarterly to maintain the currency of the economic analysis and the near and long-term forward rate forecasts of the Rand.

James is married with two children – a son and daughter.

Priscilla Paynter
Administrative Director

Priscilla was born in Johannesburg in 1965 and was schooled in Port Elizabeth, where she matriculated in 1983 with a University Exemption and distinction in Accountancy.  During her school career, she was chosen to be a participant in UPE (local) and ICL (national) Business Game teams (runners-up in both competitions).

In January 1984, she started working for her father, Alan, in his Financial Management Consulting business, AH Paynter Inc.  From 1984 to 1985, almost all consulting services were contracted to Ford Motor Co. where she gained foundational practical training in financial analysis and hands-on training in computer skills such as word processing, spreadsheets and basic programming. 

From 1985 to 1987, consulting services were continued to be contracted to Samcor in Pretoria (who took over Ford’s business), and in addition to Executive Projects (a consultancy set up by three past directors of Ford), to handle specific management projects for some of its clients, biggest being Industex and Welfit Oddy.  (It was during this period that Welfit Oddy commenced to manufacture tank containers.)  Her tasks during this time included financial analysis, capturing and processing financial data, word processing and accounting.  This contract was terminated at end of 1987, but consulting services to Welfit Oddy and Industex continued, along with smaller clients.  Her tasks for some smaller clients included full accounting responsibilities and preparation of annual Financial Statements and corporate data files for auditors.  She became a shareholder and director of PTS in March 1990.

At the start of 1992, her brothers, James and David, left their employment at VW to work fulltime at PTS.  During 1992 and 1993, she worked on various non-financial projects for PTS alongside of completing some financial management contracts still being handled by AHP Inc.  In July 1993, PTS launched the Tank Container Investment Management Operation and she started working fulltime for PTS.

As Administrative Director, her major responsibilities are accounting and office management including filing, banking and secretarial tasks.  Her accounting responsibility includes generating data using Peresoft Cashbook and ACCPAC, preparation of schedules analyzing and reconciling Balance Sheet accounts, preparation of draft Financial Statements, and preparation of corporate data files for auditors.  Apart from overseeing accounting and corporate documentation records, there is the onerous filing requirements of the Reserve Bank which require copious storage of all original investor and tank documentation! 

She is also responsible for daily monitoring of bank accounts and handles all local electronic payments, as well as other secretarial duties and administrative tasks, including switchboard, preparation of letters and spreadsheet data, handling post, documentation for investors, preparing VAT Returns.  She also provides valuable customer support via phone and email and to those investors and others who visit. 

Priscilla is included in group management discussions, planning and overall agreement with regard to major decisions and Company policies.