Penetrating profitable niche markets has become one of the paramount tasks of Luxembourg’s carrier Cargolux (CV). In order to become a leading market player in transporting pharmaceutical and healthcare products together with bulky and heavy shipments the capacity provider has decided to reorganize its Sales Division to better serve its customers.
The outcome of Cargolux’s sales conversion is a new product department that focuses on niche markets that require special experience and capabilities such as pharma or outsized items. The special
unit is headed by Stavros Evangelakakis and Eric Reisch, both no newcomers to Cargolux.
First Good Distribution Practice certified carrier
In his future role Stavros will mainly cover the pharmaceutical and healthcare product range. Being a board member of the Cool Chain Association he has both the experience and the necessary
network to further develop this biz. The manager says: “I see my role as bringing pharma and healthcare solutions to the market in close cooperation with the local sales force.” Stavros went on
to say: “Together with the Keepcool Team, we have already achieved many milestones. Indeed, we developed the air cargo thermal covers in cooperation with Dupont and worked hard towards becoming
the first GDP-certified airline worldwide. Finally, we were responsible for the introduction of TEM labels and the acceptance checklist. I believe we are ready for the next steps.”
Thermal mapping
The main deck compartments of Cargolux’s Boeing 747 all-freighter fleet are ideally suited for transporting cool produce since they offer separated temperature zones for the adequate storage of
sensitive items.
“Based on our integrated thermal mapping system we can easily identify the optimum location for positioning the individual cool products within our freighters,” explains Martine Scheuren,
Cargolux’s Head of Communication.
Another interesting point that she also mentions is: the dedicated pharma center within ground handling agent Luxair Cargo’s warehouse at Luxembourg Findel airport. “We capitalize on the
existence of this particular service offered by our partner Luxair Cargo and their expertise in handling these sorts of sensitive goods,” she notes.
One-fits-all freighter
Moving voluminous, outsized and heavy air freight items according to market demand, along with valuables, dangerous goods, live animals and also perishables, will be the main responsibility of
Eric Reisch. The manager has gained extensive experience in the handling and coordination of this kind of special products. “Stavros’s and my main task is to establish a link between the relevant
stakeholders: customers, stations and operations.” Alluding to his new task - the coordination of outsize and heavy freight - Eric adds: “We fly the 747 for a purpose; it is ideally suited for
the transportation of bulky and heavy shipments because of its reliability and loading capabilities”.
Indeed, Boeing’s Jumbo freighter, a one-fits-all aircraft is capable of uplifting the entire range of products, from small consignments of frozen items to big and oversized cargo that don’t
require special temperature arrangements.
Upping China Services
Meanwhile, Cargolux announced a second weekly flight to Beijing and Xiamen commencing this Wednesday (17 September). This is not the end of the line since the carrier intends to up the number of
weekly China flights step by step from currently 14 to 18 services by the end of this year.
The carrier stresses in a release that all flights to China are routed via Baku in Azerbaijan, thus avoiding the conflict zones further north and south and providing a safe and secure link to
China, largely independent of any geo-political clashes.
Heiner Siegmund
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