Newport Cargo S.A. lays claim to be Argentina’s undisputed air freight market leader and perishables specialist. The latest acquisition is again geared towards end-to-end solutions for perishables and will not only increase Panalpina’s foothold in Argentina but also neighbouring countries. Stefan Karlen, CEO of Panalpina explains the company’s philosophy, saying:
“Panalpina’s perishables activities originated in Latin America, which is one of the world’s high-production regions for fresh produce. By acquiring Newport Cargo, we are not only gaining control over Argentinian perishables exports, but from neighbouring countries too. Fish, fruit, and seeds for example, are trucked from various regions across the border to Argentina and flown out of Buenos Aires. So with this acquisition we are expanding our perishables footprint in an entire region and again strengthening our global end-to-end capabilities for perishables.”
Newport Cargo handles 24,000 tons of air freight exports per year being headquartered centrally in the capital and with offices at the Ezeiza International Airport. Main exports are fish and berries to the US, where the company has a strong customer base and an office in Miami, while Panalpina traditionally imports high tech and consumer goods into Argentina. The cargo flows from South America northbound can be connected with or integrated in the unique Panalpina Charter Network with its gateway in Huntsville, Alabama. Roberto Fernandez, CEO and majority shareholder of Newport Cargo, commented:
“Over the past forty years we have built very strong relationships with customers and airlines, a very broad perishables expertise and a successful niche business with live animals. We can bring this expertise into Panalpina’s global network and benefit from established structures and processes that will upgrade our service offering and enable sustainable growth, also in the future.”
The 40 year old Argentinian group was fully owned by the CEO, the CFO Jose Gancedo and the CCO Federico Calvo. The company’s 42 staff, who serve 150 customers, and the 60 employees of Panalpina Argentina will be joined under one roof in Buenos Aires. Once the deal is closed, Calvo will join Panalpina and be responsible for the company’s Air Freight operations in Argentina. He will be accompanied by Fernando Loureiro in the perishables business. Laurent Riesen, Panalpina’s managing director for Argentina and Uruguay, concluded:
“Soon our workforce in Argentina will almost double and we are very excited to get the top-notch concentrated perishables and equine knowledge of our new colleagues at Newport Cargo on board.”
Photo: Blueberries are sorted by hand before packing for immediate export.
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