Samskip launched its new air freight business, called Samskip Air. Samskip Air is a new air freight division at Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands. Goal of the new air business is to grow the company’s existing air freight volumes and to develop opportunities for cooperation with Samskip’s pan-European multimodal network.

“The opportunity to help Samskip Air become a force in airfreight logistics was too good to miss, in a market that is currently under-served on quality”, says Hans Blauw, the new manager at Samskip. Blauw previously held executive positions with KLM, Hellman Worldwide, FedEx, TNT and ALM (Aircraft Load Management). He reports to Mon Verstegen,  general manager of freight forwarding at Samskip Logistics. “The group has exceptional skills in temperature-controlled goods, pharmaceuticals, electrical goods and automotive parts, and there is always room for services that offer reliability, cargo handling expertise, security and robust documentation”

Annually the Dutch airports handle freight volumes between 1.6 million and 1.8 million tonnes. Around 93% of this freight is handled at Schiphol, Europe’s no.2 airport for freight. Samskip itself handles 850,000 TEU in container traffic each year, as well as sizeable general, breakbulk and project cargo volumes.

“Schiphol is a global gateway for air freight and provides a European gateway to Samskip’s multimodal network of trucks, trains, barges and short-sea vessels”, says Martijn Tasma, director global forwarding at Samskip Logistics. “Hans’s track record speaks for itself and we are delighted to welcome him aboard as the entrepreneurial engine driving Samskip Air.”