air cargo Europe was worth attending

Diana Schöneich, CEO Georgi Handling
We used the trade show as a platform to present the entire Georgi Group to business partners and trade visitors. Our aim was to show that our service portfolio covers all areas of the supply chain. We offer customers a single point of contact for all services, ranging from pick-up, handling and delivery. Thanks to our large fleet of 400+ trucks, road transports naturally remain our core competency.  

Despite the current restrained market development, the talks and presentations here at the trade show prove that the industry is optimistic. We are back in forward mode, is the general feeling we noticed. In addition to the many discussions and the tightening of existing contacts as well as the establishment of new ones, participation in the ACE has really paid off. Georgi Handling will be back again!

Martin Tobolski, MD red\line
This fair is a good opportunity to meet all business partners in the logistics industry at a single place. All three pillars of the industry are represented here: air, road, ocean. For us, the aforementioned cultivation of personal contacts is extremely important in order to exchange information, getting to know each other better, and to initiate, deepen or expand business. After all, as red\line, we offer the market all three modes of transportation. Based on our impressions here in Munich, we are very seriously considering setting up our own stand at the Shanghai-held Air Cargo China next year. China is, despite all geopolitical problems, a very strong market for our company and Shanghai is a center for logistics people doing business all over Asia, not only in China. Prior to that, we will run an own stand at the upcoming Intermodal in Sao Paulo, which is traditionally attended by industry representatives from all parts of the Americas.

Robertino Veltman, VP Cargo Europe, Qatar Airways Cargo
After four years without air cargo Europe, I very much welcome that the fair is taking place again. Here, I am given the opportunity to meet our forwarder partners at a single location, from small to big.  So, it was worth the money attending the show and running a stand. Since we are expanding our fleet continuously, an increasing number of airports reach out to us, asking to add them to our intercontinental network. Airports are very important partners because in cargo the product is made on the ground. So what’s needed to be successful is a proper coordination between airlines, ground handling agents and airport management, including modern facilities to secure a fast and efficient throughput of shipments. In addition, attending the show is also a great opportunity for our team because they can show their face to the customers for deepening the mutual understanding.

Kirsten de Bruijn, CEO WestJet Cargo
Reliability beats speed. That’s what I tell our people. And this is my message to the attendees of air cargo Europe as well. To offer customers reliable services you need the right aircraft, well-managed cargo facilities but above all people, that are dedicated and burn for their job 24/7. At WestJet Cargo we secured this by hiring ambitious, hungry young talent that roll up their sleeves and identify with our company. Just to illustrate this: I hired a 21-year-old who was controller at Shanghai Pudong Airport. He couldn’t spell the cargo alphabet when he started but has since given 110 percent to do the job as well as possible. He’s an example of our staffing policy, hiring ambitious people, no matter if Canadian, Chinese, European or belonging to another nationality.  What counts is dedication, identification with the job and the ambition to climb up the career ladder once given the opportunity. Is this different to Air Canada Cargo or CargoJet, our main Canadian competitors? I don’t know. Customers will decide.

Jorge Carretero, Saled Director Central Europe, Latam Cargo and head of the BARIG Air Cargo & Logistics Committee, Frankfurt
air cargo Europe is an absolute must for LATAM Cargo. It is not a regional German trade show but an international event and we as LATAM Cargo are a global carrier as Frankfurt, I am speaking now as BARIG representative, is an intercontinental hub. By walking through the halls you can see for yourself the cosmopolitan character of this trade show, where companies from all over the world are running stands and fly their flags. The biennial frequency preferred by the show management, unfortunately interrupted by for some time by the Corona pandemic, is good timing. People look forward to the fair and the opportunity to meet old and new customers at a single place.

Face-to-face events like ACE are eminently important, at least more productive than online conferences with interlocutors you don't know at all or don't know well. In my experience these are advisable after direct relationships have been established beforehand.

Moritz von Wysiecki, Global Head of Marketing, va-Q-tech
The concept of Messe München is quite convincing. Air freight is very strongly represented and logistics companies, i.e. their business partners, are located under the same roof. In my eyes, this is a convincing combination, also thanks to short distances and many opportunities to meet and talk. We have been present at various trade fairs or are planning to take part in them, such as transport logistic and Logipharma. The latter event is likewise important to us because we do not offer our users an active cool solution, but exclusively passive transport options. To keep the temperatures inside the packaging constant, we have developed PCM (Phase Change Material), a special liquid that ensures uniform temperatures for a longer time.

Trade shows are also important to us because they strengthening existing relationships or enable new ones. We operate 3,500 containers and run 40 rental stations worldwide, which service our roughly 100 partners, whether forwarders or airlines.

Compiled by Heiner Siegmund

NB: The result of further discussions at ACE with leading representatives of the logistics and air cargo industry will be published in subsequent issues of our online portal.

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