Panalpina’s Air Connection acquisition expands Kenya perishables position

Freight forwarder Panalpina has made another move in its effort to become a market leader for perishables forwarding in Africa with its acquisition of Air Connection, Panalpina announced today. The purchase of Kenya-based Air Connection, a specialized flower and vegetable forwarder, follows Panalpina’s acquisition of another Kenyan perishables forwarder, Airflo, which was completed in 2016.

Air Connection’s perishables business has operations near Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi and in Mombasa, and will be merged with Panalpina Airflo, which will position Panalpina as “a clear market leader in perishables in Kenya,” said Panalpina CEO Stefan Karlen, who added that the acquisition “will also allow us to develop our perishables presence in the neighboring countries of Tanzania and Uganda, where we see a lot of potential.”

With the approval of the acquisition by the Competition Authority of Kenya, Panalpina Airflo’s combined cold-storage capacity will increase to 4,200 square meters as the combined business expects to handle about 70,000 tonnes of perishables airfreight per year, Panalpina said. The company has also begun construction to increase its cold-storage space in a project that should be completed by 2018, according to the statement.

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