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UPS to open Dublin healthcare site next year

Logistics

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October 26, 2022

UPS to open Dublin healthcare site next year

UPS is to open its first dedicated healthcare facility in Dublin in late 2023. It will offer nearly 6,000sq m of space to support Ireland’s pharmaceutical and medical device industries in delivering next generation biologics, critical vaccines and vital healthcare equipment to patients around the world. The facility will create 30 jobs initially, and comes at a time when 80% of pharmaceutical drugs in the EU require cold-chain logistics and transportation. More than 50% of all new drugs in the global pharmaceutical pipeline are cutting edge biomedical drugs – such as vaccines – that tend to be temperature-sensitive.

Recently appointed UPS Healthcare vice president for international sales, Cathy O’Brien, said: “This is a significant investment by UPS in Ireland and a demonstration of our commitment to enabling truly global healthcare supply chains.

“Our new facility supports the quality and regulatory needs of manufacturers, many of whom are providing critical upstream activity, and we provide them with resiliency and scale. UPS Healthcare is now offering the first truly dedicated freight, small parcel and logistics offering in Ireland, including cold chain management services. Ireland is a world leader in research, biologics and healthcare innovation, and we are confident that our clinical to commercial service offering will drive value for the Irish healthcare and economic ecosystem in the years to come.”

UPS recently announced its planned acquisition of the Bomi Group, which has temperature-controlled facilities in 14 countries in Europe and Latin America, adding nearly 3,000 highly skilled team members. With the approved completion of this acquisition by 2023, UPS Healthcare will have more than doubled the footprint of its facilities since 2020.

UPS is also investing in UPS Premier, a technology-enabled express delivery service, that upgrades small packages with advanced sensor technology as well as ensuring a priority lane in UPS’s global network. Earlier this year, UPS Healthcare expanded its specialized temperature-controlled fleet across Benelux and Italy, adding to existing cold chain transport services in the UK, Italy, Hungary, and Poland.

Two more years for SkyTeam chief

Chris Lewis

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October 26, 2022

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The 11-member SkyTeam Cargo alliance has re-elected Saudia Cargo chief executive Teddy Zebitz, as chairperson of its executive board. He will lead SkyTeam for a further two years. Other members of Skyteam are Aerolíneas Argentinas Cargo, Aeromexico Cargo, Air France-KLM Cargo, China Cargo Airlines, Czech Airlines Cargo, Delta Cargo, ITA Airways Cargo and Korean Air Cargo. Aeroflot Cargo is currently suspended.

DHL to strut its stuff Stateside for fashion retailer Boohoo

Chris Lewis

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October 26, 2022

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DHL to strut its stuff Stateside for fashion retailer Boohoo

Deutsche Post DHL Group’s DHL Supply Chain arm has to manage UK fashion retailer Boohoo Group‘s first US distribution centre. It will lead the operation of a new 1.1m sq ft site in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, southeast of Harrisburg. The location, expected to open in early 2023, will allow the company to offer next-day service to the New York City metro region.

Boohoo has been servicing the US through the UK since 2006, but growing order volumes and customer demand has made a distribution centre for direct-to-consumer fulfillment in the US a necessity.

DHL Supply Chain will hire 1,000 associates in its first year, with nearly 2,500 more expected over the next three years. DHL Supply Chain plans to introduce highly automated solutions, like an Automated Storage and Retrieval System (ASRS) and a high-speed pouch sorter at the site in the next three years.

Hactl to handle CMA CGM’s new freighters

Chris Lewis

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October 25, 2022

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Hactl to handle CMA CGM’s new freighters

Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (Hactl) is handling CMA CGM Air Cargo’s new Hong Kong services. CMA CGM Air Cargo is the cargo airline of the CMA CGM Group, a global player in sea, land, air and logistics solutions.

It is operating five scheduled flights per week from Paris Charles de Gaulle airport to Hong Kong with new Boeing 777F aircraft. Hactl will provide terminal- and ramp handling, as well as documentation services.

New report details the FedEx effect

Chris Lewis

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October 25, 2022

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FedEx worked with 360,000 suppliers globally employing over 16.5 million individuals and with a combined annual revenue of $700 billion, said the Memphis-headquartered carrier in its latest 2022 Economic Impact Report.

In the document, produced in consultation with Dun & Bradstreet, FedEx analysed its effect on economies around the world in its 2022 fiscal year. It added that its global economic activity supported 193,000 additional jobs beyond the FedEx worldwide employee base in FY 2022, 20,000 more than in 2021.

Small businesses made up 88% of the FedEx supply chain, it added. More than half of the FedEx supply chain spend in each region went to small businesses—which collectively supported roughly 810,000 small business jobs around the world.

•FedEx invested $6.8 billion—a 15% increase over 2021—in facility improvements, network optimization and infrastructure improvements.

The report found that FedEx played an integral role in helping businesses recover from the pandemic while overcoming strained supply chains and economic challenges.

Nearly 550,000 employees worldwide moved an average of 16 million shipments each day through 5,000 facilities.

FedEx Corporation president and chief executive, Raj Subramaniam, said: “All around the world, FedEx helped individuals, businesses, and communities emerge from the pandemic by moving goods and providing services that connect humankind and power the global economy. The report illustrates the ongoing and important work we do every day, including supporting small- and medium-sized businesses which are the backbone of our local communities. We call this, the FedEx Effect.”

FedEx donated over $86 million to charities and local non-profits. The company also served as a critical conduit for food and aid deliveries and donations to Ukraine and Shanghai, among others.

IAG tests sustainable film

Chris Lewis

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October 25, 2022

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IAG Cargo is trialing a new biodegradable reduced-thickness polyethylene film with manufacturer Verpa Folie and US based BioNatur Plastics. The new sustainable material is 15 micron thick, 100% recyclable and biodegradable by landfill. The UK-based carrier says it will save up to 15 tonnes of virgin polyethylene a year. Not only does the material have an indefinite shelf life, prohibiting unnecessary waste, it can also be used for food and temperature-controlled items.

UPS opens new central France hub in Lyon

Chris Lewis

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October 24, 2022

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UPS opens new central France hub in Lyon

UPS France has opened its new 3,000sq m international hub at Lyon Saint Exupéry Airport in France. The €12 million (£10.5 million) investment complements the international road platform and the delivery centre also located in the city’s Jonage region.

UPS has been present at Lyon Airport since 1985. The new building, on the edge of the runways, id twice as large as the old premises and is equipped with the very latest parcel sorting technology and can now sort up to 3,000 packages per hour – more than double the capacity of the previous installation.

The hub benefits from temperature-sensitive parcel tracking technology for the health sector, with radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology present within the sorting platform and there is an integrated import/export customs clearance service.

Burak Kiliç (pictured) has meanwhile been appointed country manager for UPS France, one of the organisation’s most important markets.

A Turkish national, Kiliç joined UPS in 2009 through the acquisition of Unsped-UPS ASC in Turkey, where he was supervisor of systems development and rose rapidly through the UPS ranks, being promoted to Country Manager of UPS Turkey in April 2018.

British airport brings customs in house

Chris Lewis

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October 24, 2022

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Cargo First, Bournemouth Airport’s dedicated cargo handling service, has brought its on-site customs bonded warehouse facilities fully in-house. Cargo First previously worked with a global logistics partner to handle customs processing at the airport in the south of Enfland but says it now has full control over the whole cargo process, from offloading aircraft through to processing, onward loading and delivery. The company spent 18 months benchmarking freight deliveries via Bournemouth to London warehouses and found it could halve the time of delivery to the same end destinations compared with using a London hub airport.

IAG Cargo restores Dublin-Miami route

Airlines

Chris Lewis

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October 20, 2022

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IAG Cargo’s Aer Lingus arm is to restart services from Dublin to Miami from the end of October. Flights will initially operate twice weekly, increasing to three times a week on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays from 31 October using an A330-300 offering up 20 tonnes of cargo capacity, or the equivalent of seven aircraft pallets.

IAG Cargo says the capacity will support the pharmaceutical industry in Ireland, with some 120 overseas companies operating plants in Ireland including none of the 10 largest firms in the world.

IAG Cargo is certified under the Irish Exporters Association (IEA) GDP passport program to move pharmaceutical and medical products that require temperature sensitive handling.

Daniel Byrne, regional commercial manager UK and Ireland at IAG Cargo commented: “It’s great to see our once popular Dublin to Miami route back in action. Dublin Airport is home to our sister airline, Aer Lingus, and is a central hub for our Constant Climate network. I’m very pleased to be offering our customers the opportunity to transport vital pharmaceutical cargo and medical equipment between Europe and the US. As the air cargo industry heads into the busy Q4 period, it’s important as a company that we continue to revive and introduce routes across our expansive wide-body network.”

Pravin Singh, vice president commercial, Americas at IAG Cargo added: “Miami is one of our latest transatlantic routes to resume on Aer Lingus and we’re excited to be building back our US connectivity this year. We look forward to providing this service for our customers to our base in Dublin, following a temporary pause. Miami is an important part of our network, allowing customers to also move their products from Central and South America through our interline partners, supplementing our own capacity.”

IAG Cargo now offers 10 destinations into the US and Canada from Dublin including New York, Boston, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.

Avensis offers freighter flexibility without the commitment

Aerospace

Chris Lewis

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October 20, 2022

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Avensis offers freighter flexibility without the commitment

Aircraft conversion specialist Avensis Aviation has launched a new freighter aircraft fitted with elevators to the main deck, allowing palletised and containerised freight to be loaded without the need for a large cargo door.

The Medius Elev features forward and aft lifts on the main deck floor, which will also significantly reduce loading and unloading times, says the company.

Avensis chief executive Cristian Sutter, said: “Medius Elev allows for full freighter operations with no limitations. By adding a main deck cargo loading system and two main deck lifts, pallets and containers can be loaded in the main deck whilst still retaining the flexibility to reconfigure the aircraft back to a passenger configuration if needed.”

The company is targeting aircraft operators and lessors that need to transport pallets and containers without committing to a main deck cargo door conversion.

The lift platform can take a 96”x 125” (2.4m x 3.2m) container or pallet base, and the system can safely load or unload containers or pallets weighing up to 2.2 tonnes. Main deck cargo capacity can range from a maximum capacity of 44 tonnes / 285sq m payload and volume for an A330-300 and up to 54 tonnes of payload and 360sq m of volume respectively for an A340-600. This offers operators the flexibility to distribute different types of cargo between main deck and cargo hold, as combining the maximum payloads of both will exceed the aircraft’s maximum structural and take-off weights.

Sutter adds: “We designed the lifts with maintainability in mind to maximise component efficiency and reliability. Low maintenance requirements and extended service intervals are important to our customers to ensure that down time is mitigated. Our built-in redundancy systems minimise any likelihood of in-service failure that could prevent the loading and unloading of cargo. Each lift comprises two independent operating systems as well as a backup manual override for the lift and corresponding floor locks.”