Freight Forwarders

Panalpina expands facilities at Nairobi airport

Panalpina continues to expand and invest in Kenya – doubling its cold storage space at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport – to enable more and improved services for its perishables customers in and out of the country.

The facilities have been expanded by 1,500 square metres and it is the only dedicated facility at the gateway with loading bays for skidded or palletised cargo and with separate cold rooms to manage specific temperature requirements for products such as cuttings.

Today, Panalpina flies large volumes of Kenya’s premium perishables out of the country.

Panalpina first started operations in Nairobi in 2015 with a team of five people, which soon grew to 200 with the acquisition of Airflo, and later to 350 with that of Air Connection.

The forwarder said due to its investments in the perishables sector, Kenyan products are becoming more prominent in existing (mostly European) markets, but also in new ones, such as Asia-Pacific.

Panalpina is aiming to grow its business in Kenya from the current 65,000 tonnes of flowers, fruits, and vegetables it moves, to more than 80,000 by 2020, to bring increased benefits for the local community in terms of employment and infrastructure, as well as sustainable development.

Panalpina’s growth in perishables has continued elsewhere in Africa, too. This year, Skyservices in South Africa joined the Panalpina network, and FX Logistics, a new agent in Zimbabwe, also became a member of the Panalpina Perishables Network, which spans 26 key countries worldwide and keeps growing.

“This facility will provide many business opportunities for our customers to pursue in [Kenya], the region and the world, and that is what we are looking to achieve – solutions that foster growth for our customers, Panalpina and the communities where we operate,” said Panalpina president and chief executive officer, Stefan Karlen.

In a speech given at the inauguration of the new facilities today, Captain Gilbert Kibe, director general of the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority, said the Kenyan government “remains committed to ensure that [Kenya has an] integrated and interconnected world-class transport infrastructure that facilitates sector growth and accelerates national economic development.”

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