Bernhard zur Strassen is to be appointed managing director and chief executive of Lufthansa’s high-speed logistics arm, Time:matters. He will succeed Alexander Kohnen, who left the company in April 2023. Zur Strassen has extensive experience in international management of logistics service providers and shippers and most recently, was chief revenue officer at software company, Shipsta.
Tower appoints two in the Americas
Tower Cold Chain has appointed two senior leaders. Sarah Goschy joins as regional commercial manager – Americas, following 20 years’ experience in B2B sales within the healthcare and pharmaceutical sector.
She was previously director of global business development at Tjoapack, the specialist pharmaceutical contract packaging organisation.
In addition, Sandy Richwalski joins as president and will spearhead operational excellence from Tower’s Americas Centre of Excellence, working closely with Sarah and the U.S commercial team.
She brings over 30 years’ expertise having worked in both clinical and commercial pharmaceutical markets with organisations including Catalent, Va-Q-Tec and Sharp Clinical.
The appointments follow the opening of Tower’s Americas Centre of Excellence in July 2023. The newly designed 26,000 sq. ft facility features expanded warehousing space, as well as laboratory and product testing capabilities and a dedicated Customer Experience Center for customer training days.
Chief executive, Niall Balfour commented: “Demand from the Americas pharmaceutical market continues to demonstrate the importance of our advanced, passive temperature-controlled solutions. The appointments of Sarah and Sandy will be invaluable in supporting the company’s ambitious growth plans.
“At Tower Cold Chain we pride ourselves in maintaining exceptionally high standards in every product to ensure proximity, availability and consistency for our customers when shipping temperature controlled pharmaceutical products in North, Central and South America. Therefore, it is crucial we bring regional specialists and leadership into the global Tower team.”
Aid to Afghanistan
Air Partner’s Global Cargo Division delivered humanitarian medical aid to Afghanistan following the earthquakes which struck the country in October. On 22 October, it delivered 82 tonnes of emergency relief from Copenhagen to Kabul, using a Boeing B747F.
WFS to open bigger terminal in the Big Apple
Worldwide Flight Services (WFS), a member of SATS Group, will increase cargo capacity at New York John F Kennedy International Airport (JFK) by 20% in early 2025 with a new 346,000sq ft terminal.
JFK is one of WFS’ biggest international cargo stations. WFS already operates eight handling facilities at the airport, serving 38 airlines and the new facility will take the company’s footprint there to over 700,000sq ft. and increase capacity to more than 675,000 tonnes per annum. There will be ramp space for three wide-body aircraft.
The new WFS facility will also be JFK’s first dedicated on-airport handling facility for temperature-controlled pharmaceuticals and perishables.
WFS chief executive officer, Americas, Mike Simpson, said: “When the facility opens in Q1 2025, we will increase our ability to offers airlines and the air cargo community in New York the opportunity to carry more special and premium cargos and support the growing demands of businesses and consumers in the US and globally.
“By incorporating scalable systems and forward-looking solutions, the building will remain versatile and responsive to evolving customer and industry needs as well as emerging technological advancements. Furthermore, our customers can be assured that we will continue to deliver the accurate and reliable service they have come to expect from us.”
The new building will use solar panels to lower its carbon footprint and energy efficient windows, lighting, ventilation, air conditioning systems and electric forklifts, pallet movers, and other equipment will contribute to environmental efficiency.
WFS also increased its presence in the US Midwest earlier in 2023 with an additional cargo terminal at Chicago O’Hare International Airport.
WFS to open bigger terminal in the Big Apple
Worldwide Flight Services (WFS), a member of SATS Group, will increase cargo capacity at New York John F Kennedy International Airport (JFK) by 20% in early 2025 with a new 346,000sq ft terminal.
JFK is one of WFS’ biggest international cargo stations. WFS already operates eight handling facilities at the airport, serving 38 airlines and the new facility will take the company’s footprint there to over 700,000sq ft. and increase capacity to more than 675,000 tonnes per annum. There will be ramp space for three wide-body aircraft.
The new WFS facility will also be JFK’s first dedicated on-airport handling facility for temperature-controlled pharmaceuticals and perishables.
WFS chief executive officer, Americas, Mike Simpson, said: “When the facility opens in Q1 2025, we will increase our ability to offers airlines and the air cargo community in New York the opportunity to carry more special and premium cargos and support the growing demands of businesses and consumers in the US and globally.
“By incorporating scalable systems and forward-looking solutions, the building will remain versatile and responsive to evolving customer and industry needs as well as emerging technological advancements. Furthermore, our customers can be assured that we will continue to deliver the accurate and reliable service they have come to expect from us.”
The new building will use solar panels to lower its carbon footprint and energy efficient windows, lighting, ventilation, air conditioning systems and electric forklifts, pallet movers, and other equipment will contribute to environmental efficiency.
WFS also increased its presence in the US Midwest earlier in 2023 with an additional cargo terminal at Chicago O’Hare International Airport.
Ukraine carrier keeps the lights on in Japan
Ukraine’s Antonov Airlines has delivered a power plant rotor from Atlanta, Georgia to Nagoya, Japan on board one of its An-124-100M aircraft.
The 53-tonne piece was transported in a bespoke specific frame manufactured specially for this mission along with a ramp manufactured by Antonov`s in-house engineers.
The rotor had been repaired in the US and was urgently needed before the beginning of the winter season in Japan.
Swiss signs deal for Sonoco’s ThermoSafe
Swiss WorldCargo has signed a deal to deploy Sonoco ThermoSafe’s Pegasus ULD temperature-controlled bulk shipping containers. Pharma freight forwarders will be able to access fleet directly through the carrier from the winter timetable 2023/24.
Constructed with composite materials, Sonoco says that the ThermoSafe is both lighter and more damage-resistant than metal containers and also incorporates a fully integrated, FAA-approved telemetry system.
Recently, Swiss WorldCargo announced the launch of its SWISS Pharma and Healthcare service.
No winter blues at American Airlines
American Airlines Cargo says it is operating 1,100 more flights in the November 2023-March 2024 winter schedule than last year – a total of 12,500 widebody roundtrips.
Flights between London Heathrow (LHR) and key US destinations account for nearly half of the trans-Atlantic increase at 490 more flights compared to last winter season, with Charlotte Douglas, Chicago O’Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, New York John F. Kennedy and Los Angeles seeing the highest year-over-year increase.
Other notable routes between Europe and the US include Barcelona to Philadelphia (PHL), Dublin to Dallas Forth Worth, Rome Fiumicino to Dallas, Lisbon to Philadelphia and Madrid-Barajas to Charlotte – all of them previously summer seasonal routes and now year-round.
In Latin America, Buenos Aires Ezeiza sees the largest increase with added service to Dallas, Miami and New York JFK, an increase of 100 compared to the previous winter.
In Asia-Pacific, the carrier is introducing a new winter route between Los Angeles to Auckland whilst Dallas to Tokyo Haneda becomes year-round and Los Angeles to Tokyo increases to two flights per day. Overall, Asia-Pacific flights are up more than 370 from last year.
Vice president, commercial, Roger Samways said: “These new frequencies allow us to offer our customers more space on important routes and, supplemented by our US domestic network and trucking schedule, more solutions for connecting freight across the globe.”
Canada ready for the Releye
Envirotainer’s Montreal station is now fully equipped to handle its Releye containers. Customers can now release their orders directly from the station and make returns more efficiently and reduce the risk of delays. Envirotainer now has over 40 stations supporting Releye equipment.
Envirotainer has also moved to a larger ground handling facility in Toronto offering 40% more storage space and facilities and is geared for faster container charging, essential for the Releye platform.
Chief operating officer, Niklas Adamsson, said: “This investment demonstrates our commitment to making global pharmaceutical access a reality and supporting Canada’s growing biopharmaceutical sector. We believe these enhancements not only extend the reach of Envirotainer’s solutions but also equip our customers with cutting-edge tools to serve their clients better.”
A modern freighter for Modern Logistics
Brazil-based Modern Logistics has taken delivery of its first 737-800 Boeing Converted Freighter aircraft, the first of its type for the country’s logistics industry it says.
The current acquisition, leased through Babcock & Brown Aircraft Management is the first of two freighters to be added to Modern’s fleet over the next few months. Next Generation 737s are more cost efficient and have a 10% larger cargo capacity than the previous generation of 737s.
The BCF is undergoing certification by PCA Airworthiness in advance of final approval by ANAC, Brazil’s aviation regulator.
Modern Logistics chief executive Cristiano Koga stated: “The additional capacity and efficiency of the new aircraft will assure the future success of the company by better responding to the needs and requirements of our clients.”
Currently, Modern Logistics has three Classic 737s in its fleet (pictured) and the new 737-800s are part of a fleet renewal. The company will operate both classic 737s and NGs over the near term.
Modern Logistics, founded in 2012, is an integrated logistics company based in São Paulo and offers a one-stop-shop including using aircraft to speed up supply chains. It provides logistic services throughout Brazil and is authorized by ANAC to serve international destinations.
It also has access to 6,000 vehicles from approved partners for ground operations and runs seven distribution centers and cargo terminals.
Photo: Keith Pisani | ID 1486899 | Planespotters.net
Rock-it revs up customs capabilities
Entertainment and live event logistics specialist Rock-it Global – a Global Critical Logistics Company – has acquired Dell Will Customs Brokers. The Detroit, Michigan-based company primarily serves the motorsports and automotive manufacturing industries, and will add to Rock-it Global’s existing customs brokerage capabilities.
Founder and vice president of Motorsports Customs Brokerage, Marty Bloch, will continue to lead Dell Will following the acquisition.