Following an intensive validation process, Swissport’s warehouse operation at Nairobi Kenyatta Airport has been awarded the CEIV certificate for pharmaceutical logistics by IATA. The ground handler’s Kenyan “Center of Excellence for Independent Validators” (CEIV) is the first of its kind managed by the company on the African continent.
It is a pioneering act and a USP for Swissport’s business in Kenya and East Africa, since no other cargo terminal at airports located in that region has been awarded CEIV certification up to now.
No wonder that Jeroen de Clercq, Vice President Sub Sahara Africa & Israel and Chief Executive Officer of Swissport Kenya Limited, is enthusiastic: “We are very pleased to officially open
our latest CEIV-certified facility for our customers. The certification by IATA reflects our strategic commitment to superior air cargo handling,” states the Nairobi-based manager. He goes
on to say: “The CEIV Pharma standard guarantees air freight customers the highest quality for the transport of sensitive pharmaceutical products.”
Wide range of climate zones
Initially set up in 2010, the Nairobi facility has been expanded over the years, becoming one of the largest run by Swissport in Africa. The ‘Pharma Center Nairobi’, which is part of the
warehouse, is equipped with a state-of-the-art temperature-controlled area containing 208 rack positions, offering the storage and throughput of 250 tons of sensitive pharmaceutical shipments per
year. It secures an end-to-end cool chain from the delivery of shipments to the freight terminal until the consignments are loaded on board an aircraft. Swissport states that the
temperature-controlled area accounts for 13% of the total warehouse space of 10,400 m². The dedicated pharma rooms have temperature ranges of +15° to +25° Celsius as well as +2° to +8° Celsius.
Additionally, there is a special cooling unit for goods which require a temperature range of -10° to -20° Celsius.
It is an unmatched offer to the global pharma industry doing business in Africa, catapulting Swissport Nairobi into a higher league.
Growing network of Pharma Centers
With annual growth of nearly 10% and a turnover of more than 57,000 tons in 2019, Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta International Airport is an important cargo location in Swissport’s global network of 115
warehouses. The Nairobi facility is the 9th location in the agent’s expanding global network of Swissport Pharma Centers. Later in the year, Melbourne, Australia, will also be going online with a
pharma cooling infrastructure.
Last year, Swissport International AG handled roughly 4.6 million tons of air freight in 115 cargo warehouses worldwide. At the end of December 2019, Swissport was active at 300 airports in 47
countries on six continents.
When asked about the consequences for Swissport should the HNA Group go bust, a company speaker referred CFG to the Chinese majority stakeholder for comment.Heiner Siegmund
Heiner Siegmund
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