At the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2012 airshow, LISA Airplanes will unveil for the first time in North America, the AKOYA, the high-end amphibious skiplane with exceptional performance.   Following the European success of the AKOYA and in answer to the increasing interest from the North American market, LISA Airplanes will present its amphibious light airplane at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh (Wisconsin, USA) at booth 446/457, from July 23rd to the 29th, 2012.   EAA AirVenture is the largest airshow in the world. Attended by 500,000 visitors every year, it is the place to be for all aviation enthusiasts.    Thanks to its Multi-Access patented technology and unique design, LISA Airplanes proposes an unprecedented light airplane for the American market. The combination of Seafoils, which are cutting-edge hydrofoils located under the fuselage, the skis integrated with the retractable landing gear and its pivoting wings, offers an unequalled freedom and pleasure of flight. Take off from snow then land on water on sea, lake or river in another region is now within reach of everyone.   As the only aircraft in the world using the Seafoil technology, the AKOYA embodies a new generation of seaplanes dedicated to...

Geodis Wilson, the leading global freight management company and freight forwarding arm of the Geodis Group, has been selected by the world renowned stationery and multi-product manufacturer, BIC as a logistics partner in Dubai, UAE. Geodis Wilson will perform a variety of warehousing and logistics functions for the multi-national. The contract, between BIC Middle East & Africa (BIC MEA) and Geodis Wilson, is for a two-year duration.    Commenting on Geodis Wilson’s successful business acquisition, the Company’s Supply Chain Manager for the UAE Ram Padmanabhan said, “We are, of course delighted to partner with such a global brand as BIC and have already begun to exhibit the high level of customer service, reliability and efficient integration of logistics functions, for which Geodis Wilson is well-known.  We look forward to working with BIC for the duration of this contract and for many years to come.”   BIC is a world leader in the supply of pens, stationery, lighters, shavers and promotional products.  For sixty years now it has been committed to providing high-quality, affordable products to consumers throughout the world. BIC’s net sales in 2011 topped Euros...

Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics (WWL), the global shipping and logistics company, will make its inaugural call to Adelaide, Australia on Saturday May 5th. The call by m/v Aida marks the introduction of a new port call to Adelaide on the WWL route from Europe via North America. The announcement comes on the heels of the recent addition of Galveston on the US East Coast to the route. WWL carries cars to the Oceania region but the trade is increasingly driven by Australia’s mining and agricultural industries and the need for heavy equipment in the country.   “We have for some time seen increased demand in the market place for Adelaide, both from North America as well as Europe, mainly driven by large mining projects. We have had several inducement calls over the years and to support this continued customer demand we now establish a fixed port call”, comments Rob Lord, Head of Region Oceania. Australia has an impressive number of mining projects being planned, with numerous projects approved each month. In 2010, Australia attracted 12 percent of global mining exploration budgets. The mining industry is on track to attract a massive AUD 170 billion in investments for resource projects over the next two...

A new airside service at Heathrow airport has been launched by Kuehne + Nagel to enhance its critical spare parts logistics offering to the aerospace industry. The new solution means Kuehne + Nagel is even better positioned to meet the unique challenges an Aircraft on Ground (AOG) situation presents. It allows engineers to remain on stand with the grounded aircraft while Kuehne + Nagel experts deliver parts directly to them in a matter of minutes, increasing their productivity and helping to reduce aircraft downtime.   A new facility located at Heathrow’s Terminal 3 supports this service. Storage of critical spare parts at the airport itself allows deliveries to be made to stand at any of the currently operating airport terminals within a 15 minute lead time. Supply to the airside facility is managed by Kuehne + Nagel’s 5,000m2 airfreight hub at Uxbridge, Middlesex, with seamless access through airport security controls, thanks to Kuehne + Nagel’s status as a regulated agent.   As part of its global ‘Supply the Sky’ offering, Kuehne + Nagel has spent many years developing services to meet the critical issue...

UPS (NYSE:UPS) today announced first quarter 2012 diluted earnings per share of $1.00, a 10% improvement over the prior-year period.  Consolidated revenue increased 4.4% to $13.1 billion.  Operating profit for the U.S. Domestic and Supply Chain and Freight segments increased 13% and 19%, respectively.    “These results demonstrate that UPS is providing its customers with the solutions needed for today’s ever-changing market conditions,” said Scott Davis, UPS chairman and CEO.  “We will continue to invest and develop innovative services that facilitate global commerce, ensuring UPS’s long-term success.” During the period, UPS delivered approximately 1 billion packages, a 4.3% increase.  Rapid e-commerce growth combined with growing demand for lightweight shipping solutions contributed to these results.   In March, UPS announced its intention to acquire TNT Express.  This addition will further expand UPS’s portfolio of solutions and geographic footprint.  The complementary strengths of both organizations will create a customer-focused global platform and a leader in the logistics industry.   Cash Position  For the quarter...

Novacom Europe, a JV of GE TIP Trailer Services, has been awarded the prestigious Frost & Sullivan 2011 European Market Share Leadership Award for Trailer Telematics GE TIP Trailer Services, market leader serving the transport and logistics industry, enriches its services with Novacom Europe telematics solutions DB Schenker, market leader in transportation and logistics, uses Novacom Europe’s telematics solution and GE TIP Trailer Services’ contract maintenance service to reduce tire incidents and CO2 emissions and has been awarded by the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment.   TIP Trailer Services, a subsidiary of General Electric (GE), is proud to announce that its Joint Venture, Novacom Europe, has been awarded the Frost & Sullivan 2011 European Market Share Leadership Award for Trailer Telematics. TIP, the market leader in transport equipment leasing, rental and smart services, with more than 50 000 units on the roads, aims to offer the most complete and sophisticated range of services in the industry.   To support this TIP has integrated the Novacom Europe Vwise telematics solutions into its contract maintenance services – FleetCare - covering...

HID Global, trusted leader in solutions for the delivery of secure identity, today announced its manufacturing innovation that enables use of the world’s smallest integrated low-frequency (LF) chips ever produced for contactless ID applications. HID Global is the first company that can effectively attach an antenna via its patented direct bonding technology to a chip surface less than 0.3 millimeters square, which is smaller than the pinpoint of a needle. This area is 50 to 75 percent smaller than the industry’s smallest chips previously used for deployment in LF radio frequency identification (RFID) tags and transponders.   The integrated chips use less material, which enables production efficiencies for chip manufacturers as well as increasingly smaller form factors for finished RFID tag products. As chip manufacturers developed methods to provide computing capacity into smaller sized chips, RFID engineers were previously restricted by process limitations. Equipment could not handle the tiny chips, nor could effective antennas be mounted to them. Through HID Global’s newly developed capabilities, the company can utilize the latest micro-sized chips to bring to market new innovative tag products that...

SMARTRAC N.V., the leading developer, manufacturer and supplier of RFID transponders and inlays, today announced that it is recognized by Frost & Sullivan with the 2012 European Frost & Sullivan Competitive Strategy Leadership Award.    “The company has showcased steady advancement in its market position through consistent organic growth and acquisitions,” notes Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Ram Ravi.  “With rich industry experience of more than a decade, SMARTRAC lays great emphasis on offering value to all its stakeholders: customers, partners, shareholders, employees and end-users.”   The company’s advances in technology, geography, applications and product lines have consistently anticipated and addressed evolving customer needs. This has been reinforced by strategic partnerships that have enhanced SMARTRAC’s market position and brand equity.    SMARTRAC’s entire solution range of high performance, high quality RFID transponders are an outcome of technological expertise and innovation. They cater to varied industry segments such as automotive, access control, animal identification, eID documents, E-payment, media management, public...

Ruslan International – the company which markets and manages the combined Antonov An-124 fleets of its shareholders Antonov Airlines and Volga Dnepr Airlines – has completed a programme of 15 flights using the giant An-124 freighter aircraft, for the Japanese peace keeping contingent of the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS).   The flights – each covering 13,000 km from Narita and Chitose in Japan to Entebbe, Uganda – carried non-combat vehicles, containerised freight, power generators, communication equipment and other supplies for the Japan Ground Self Defense Force (JGSDF).   On arrival in Uganda, the cargo was transferred to the JGSDF in southern Sudan using a combination of smaller aircraft and road transport.    Says Michael Goodisman, Business Development Manager of Ruslan International: “The whole programme went off without any problems. We were very pleased to have the opportunity to play a significant role in this important peacekeeping mission.   “The An-124 once again came into its own because of the variety and bulk of many of the items being moved. The large fleet at our disposal also enabled us to provide the assurance of performance that...

Despite continuing shortfalls in its top two markets of Asia and North America during the first three months of 2012, gains in other markets have seen Amsterdam Airport Schiphol’s total cargo throughput hold up well, to end 3% below 2011 at 358,220 tonnes.   Asian traffic for January-March 2012 was down 15% on 2011, at 129,974 tonnes. Although the region continued to dominate Schiphol’s traffic, its share of the total fell from 40% throughout 2011 to 36.3% in the first quarter of 2012. Meanwhile North American traffic, down 3% to 66,045 tonnes, took second place with 18.4% of the total.   But cargo tonnages between Schiphol and the European-, Middle East- and Latin American markets all showed healthy growth in the first three months of 2012, largely offsetting the weak performance elsewhere. European imports and exports rose 53% to 29,223 tonnes; meanwhile Middle East cargo totalled 43,973 tonnes (up 5.1%) and Latin American tonnages increased 6% to 44,139 tonnes.   Freighter aircraft movements through the airport from January to March grew to 3765, up 2% on 2011. This was despite the cessation of Jade and other carriers’ freighter services in December and January.   Comments...

As malnutrition reaches emergency levels across the Sahel region of West and Central Africa affecting at least one million children, UNICEF partner UPS has sprung to action to provide transport for the first aerial shipment of lifesaving UNICEF supplies to Mauritania this year, a country within the affected region.    The UPS flight, departing from Cologne, Germany, early yesterday morning contained more than 46 tonnes of critical UNICEF relief supplies including nutrition, health, education, water, sanitation, and hygiene items.   UPS worked quickly with UNICEF to coordinate the shipment of relief items from various locations including UNICEF’s Supply Centers in Copenhagen, Madrid, Lier, and Toulouse for delivery to Mauritania on Sunday, April 22.  Flying in supplies dramatically reduces the delivery time to affected communities.   “UPS understands that during humanitarian emergencies, the need to move supplies quickly is essential and can mean the difference between life and death,” said Caryl Stern, President and CEO of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF. “We are extremely grateful that UPS has once again donated its expertise and services, this time to help UNICEF deliver...

The global multimodal service provider Geodis Wilson will be exhibiting at this year’s LogiPharma Europe which starts today at the Hotel President Wilson, Geneva, and runs until Thursday, 26th April.    Martin Svantesson, Director Vertical Market, will be attending this event together with other senior executives.  Geodis Wilson understands the enormous pressures facing the industry to reduce global logistics costs.  It has a proven track record of partnering with pharmaceutical companies to meet industry-specific challenges and reduce costs by providing personalized solutions that optimize the supply chain.  A full list of Geodis Wilson attendees is listed below and they will be present throughout the event and available to discuss these issues in detail.   The 11th annual LogiPharma Europe 2012 is the only end-to-end life science supply chain conference where over 300 strategic-level pharma, generics and biotech professionals meet to benchmark, network, share best practices and assess latest industry approaches to optimising supply chain performance and security.  Source: Geodis Wilson  

HID Global, trusted leader in solutions for the delivery of secure identity, today unveiled at this week’s EURO ID 2012 in Berlin its expanded portfolio of radio frequency identification (RFID) solutions from its Identification Technologies business segment, including many new tag designs never before shown in Europe. This showcase of new and existing RFID tag solutions reinforces the company’s commitment to driving innovation through quality solutions that meet the changing requirements for a broad spectrum of industries, including animal identification; logistics; automation and manufacturing; medical and health care; returnable transport items; and waste management. A company representative will also speak during conference session.   HID Global will demonstrate its advanced RFID transponders for a wide range of applications in Booth #312 in Messe Berlin Exhibit Hall 2.1 from April 24-26. Innovative HID tag designs span from low frequency to high frequency to UHF, providing customers a highly differentiated set of solutions that meet the broad array of today’s asset tracking and identification requirements. Key demonstrations of the company’s recent RFID tag innovations include:   •...

20 years ago Kuehne + Nagel founded its national company in Poznan. Today, this anniversary was celebrated with numerous customers and business partners as well as national and local political representatives.   “In the past 20 years, Kuehne + Nagel Poland has continually expanded its customer base by providing high quality logistics services,” said Reinhard Lange, CEO of Kuehne + Nagel International AG at the event. He expressed his confidence regarding the further positive development of the Polish organisation.   Kuehne + Nagel was among the first logistics providers to enter the Polish market after the profound political transformation in Eastern Europe. Today, the company ranks among the leaders in the national logistics market. Its 1.900 experts offer the full range of air, sea, road & rail, contract logistics services and lead logistics solutions. The warehousing space under management amounts to 190.000 sqm.   While initially Kuehne + Nagel offered international forwarding services for local customers, it opened its first warehouse just one year later. The company is proud of its long-lasting partnership with...

The Middle East is seeking a gradual movement away from its dependency on oil and gas production to diversify its economy and create a positive environment for the development of its plastics industry, according to a new report by industry intelligence company GlobalData. The new report* suggests that the region has been witness to the emergence of an impressive upstream petrochemicals industry in the last decade, which is now the most competitive in the world thanks to its low-cost feedstock advantage. However, the region is now taking steps to establish a stronger downstream petrochemical industry, attempting to replicate this previous success in order to achieve even higher profits.   The Middle East has long sought diversification in its economies, which are all extremely dependent on oil production and exports. Middle Eastern countries all derive a significant portion of their gross domestic product (GDP) from petroleum exports, and this high dependency on the oil sector has led to their vulnerability to the frequent fluctuations in crude oil prices. This exposure to economic instability has driven many countries to attempt to diversify their sources of income by establishing petrochemical industries.  ...

Sephora, the leading retail beauty chain and member of the luxury products group LVMH, has extended its logistics partnership with Kuehne + Nagel for a further three years. Kuehne + Nagel has been managing Sephora’s national distribution centre in Italy since 2005. With the newly signed agreement, Kuehne + Nagel will expand its services to supply the customer’s outlets in various European countries including Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Poland and Turkey as well as in the Middle East and in Asia. In total, over 300 stores, 112 of them in Italy, will be served according to the new agreement. As a result, Kuehne + Nagel expects to handle up to 40 million pieces of fragrances, make-ups, skin care and other beauty care products per year for the customer.   The Sephora logistics operations will be provided on a dedicated basis, in a newly built 12,900 sqm facility, fully compliant with the latest security and “green building” standards and equipped with large photovoltaic solar power installations.   Located in the Logistics Park of Santa Cristina e Bissone in the Lombardy region – some 50 kilometers southeast of Milan -...

True to the motto “My home is my Egger and my warehouse is my castle” the METALAG WMS is now also in use at the new automated high rise racking store for private brewery Egger and Radlberger-Getränke!   Egger and Radlberger warehouse in Unterradlberg At the end of March 2012 the newly constructed high rise racking store of the private brewery Egger and beverage specialists Radlberger went into operation in Unterradlberg near St. Pölten (A). The warehouse extension was a necessity due to both beverage companies’ extremely successful development. For this, METASYST Informatik provided their well established warehouse management software METALAG. “This project allows us to double our warehouse capacity, which means we are optimally equipped for even more growth in the future”, states Manfred Speiser, general manager for engineering, purchasing and logistics at Radlberger, “In cooperation with the brewery Egger we could draw on synergies and developed an efficient warehouse solution, opening up new potential for both companies.   Egger...

Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (Hactl) – the major air cargo handler at the world’s largest air cargo hub – has set up the first IATA Authorised Training Centre (ATC) for cargo in Hong Kong.   To increase the level of competency and the qualification of air cargo practitioners in the industry, the IATA Training and Development Institute (ITDI), - a leading source of international training and professional development programs serving all sectors of the transportation industry - develops the IATA International Cargo Training Program, which incorporates distance learning and e-learning modules for students wishing to upgrade their professional competence or start a career in the industry.   These courses are delivered in hundreds of classrooms worldwide leading to internationally recognized certificates or diplomas through IATA’s network of ATCs. The ATC operators abide by a comprehensive procedure manual, training staff must meet strict criteria regarding experience and qualifications, and the ATC premises and instructors are regularly audited to maintain consistent teaching quality.    The Hactl ATC, which will go live in the second half of 2012, will provide a wide range...

Accellos, a leading provider of supply chain execution software solutions, today announced AccellosOne Warehouse Version 6.4, the latest iteration of their highly successful warehouse management system.   AccellosOne Warehouse is an end-to-end suite of products aimed at increasing the productivity, efficiency and visibility of activities that take place in a company’s warehouse and distribution operations. Seamlessly integrated with leading ERP systems from publishers like Microsoft, SAP, Sage and Infor, AccellosOne Warehouse provides rapid ROI for companies with two to several hundred warehouse workers.   The V6.4 release adds some significant new capabilities to the already rich solution: • Advanced Workcenter functionality  o Orders o Receipts o Inventory o Tasks o Integration • Extensible hold code system for increased traceability • Integrated document imaging • Enhanced shipping workflow • Integrated order consolidation • Integrated load and route planning • Advanced reporting system • Enhanced, scalable wave labels • Tighter integration with Accellos One Workspace framework   “Customers are looking for more than just a...

Drewry Maritime Research and CargoSmart Limited have entered into a cooperation agreement that will introduce a wider range of container Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to help importers and exporters benchmark their carriers’ service levels.   Drewry will incorporate the additional KPIs into a new quarterly report, the details of which will be announced later this month.   “The new container KPIs will add value as they will measure performance at the box-level, which is more important for shippers than at the ship-level,” said Philip Damas, director at Drewry.   Drewry has chosen CargoSmart for its comprehensive, high quality data, which is necessary for KPIs to be effective for decision making.   “Measuring KPIs is critical for shippers to optimise their business operations,” said Kim Le, director of CargoSmart North America. “Drewry’s and CargoSmart’s complementary data and analysis provide a unique perspective and in-depth analysis for shippers to make informed decisions about their carriers, ports, and routes.”   The new KPIs will monitor not only the performance of the physical port-to-port shipping operation, but also the...

Behind those 7 million TEU is a world as flexible as the rectangular box is rigid - 4 years of high waves and deep troughs in international container shipping during which makers showed capable of varying annual production between less than 400,000 and more than 3,400,000 TEU - lessors acted as co-savers of their main customers during their darkest of times - users managed to survive against all odds.    Like its 24 million TEU 2008 predecessor, 31 million TEU CONTAINERS (2012) offers an unrivalled insight into the world’s primary container supply industry of manufacturers and leasing companies, as well as the world’s largest shipping lines. Nowadays, lessors own/manage some 44% of world's container fleet - carriers own 50% of all oceangoing containers - the balance …? is explained in this expanded and fully updated report with many new features vis-à-vis our well received 2008 edition. Main subjects covered include:    Principal container (and reefer machinery) manufacturers  - accounting for well over 95% of all production capacity [over 97% of dry boxes; 100% of reefers] - deploying over 50 manufacturing plants/factories, including those outside of China Full profiles...

Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics (WWL), the global shipping and logistics company, announced today that it is on track to reduce its relative green house gas emissions with 30% by 2015, compared to a 2005 baseline. In 2011, CO2 emissions in grams per tonne kilometre were reduced by 4% compared to 2010. The company attributed the change to improved fleet utilization, improved energy efficiency and new vessels entering the fleet.   The figures cited above are part of the company's 2011 Environmental Sustainability Report. In the Report the company also highlights the significant environmental regulations coming into effect this decade to reduce the environmental impacts from shipping, including air pollution, greenhouse gases and the transfer of marine species.   “We actively work to reduce our impact on the environment, cutting emissions and increasing efficiency through investments in vessel design and technology,” declared Arild B. Iversen, President & CEO of Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics. “So far this has kept us one step ahead of environmental regulations, but to go further we need to work closer together with customers and partners to adjust to this new reality.”   WWL also...

IJS Global, the worldwide, world-class logistics service provider, has further expanded the senior management team of its ocean freight division with the announcement of the appointment of Matthew Deer as its Head of Ocean Freight EMEA and Senior Vice President. Deer brings extensive experience from the global logistics to IJS Global, having held various positions within global shipping lines as well as senior positions in the logistics business.    He reports directly to CEO EMEA, Mike Gillett and functionally to Sven Boekhorst Head of Global Ocean Freight and Executive Vice President.  In this newly established role Deer will be responsible for ocean freight procurement and operations as well as the further development of the company’s sea freight services in the EMEA region.    Based from the company's EMEA head office close to London's Heathrow Airport he has wide experience of Ocean Freight procurement as well as operations and sales activities across the EMEA region he will focus on strategically growing and solidifying IJS global market share in the ocean freight sector by specifically targeting new business sectors for the company through which it can further extend its rapidly growing...

Cargo throughput at Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (Hactl) – the major air cargo handler at the world’s largest air cargo hub – showed a strong recovery in both exports and transhipment traffic in the first quarter of 2012.    March 2012 saw exports up 0.4% on the previous year, at 137,598 tonnes: the best figure in 16 months. At the same time, transhipments were up 7.7% at 58,543 tonnes: the best showing ever. And, despite another disappointing import figure of 57,630 tonnes, down 10.0% on 2011, Hactl’s March total of 253,771 tonnes was also the best in a year, narrowly missing the March 2011 throughput by just 0.7%.   For the first quarter of 2012 as a whole, Hactl handled a total of 633,935 tonnes: just 2.5% down on the same period of 2011, which was to prove the final quarter of the post-recession boom. The quarter’s top export market was Europe, at 27.9% of the total; imports were led by South East Asia at 40.4% of the total; the region also dominated transhipment traffic, with 42.5% of the total.   Says Lilian Chan, Executive Director of Hactl: “We have progressively closed the gap which opened up during 2011, when we experienced a fall to as much as 12%...

The huge global demand for methanol is set to build up business in the Middle East, while China looks to keep the title of leading petrochemical hub, according to a new report by business intelligence experts GBI Research.   The new report* anticipates that China and the Middle East will benefit in the coming years from the burgeoning methanol market, potentially gaining gigantic revenue thanks to the chemical’s multiple uses.   Global methanol demand is approximately 44.9 million tons per year, with almost 25% of this demand stemming from applications in the energy sector. Methanol and its chemical derivatives are traditionally used in a variety of industrial and consumer products, such as packaging, paints and adhesives.   The greatest demand drivers are likely to be gasoline blending, methanol-to-olefins (MTO) and methanol-to-propylene (MTP), with the MTO/MTP growth being partially due to attractive cost advantages compared to traditional crude oil based naphtha-cracking. In North America, natural gas derivatives are already poised to displace naphtha-based cracking within the petrochemical industry, due to the high cost of crude oil relative to gas-based derivatives.   A significant...