Swedish cool chain logistics company, Envirotainer has opened a new office in Singapore to improve customer access to its active temperature-controlled air cargo containers and cold supply chain management services across Asia Pacific, which it says is now the world’s fastest growing pharmaceuticals market.
The company expects the Asia Pacific’s regional market to grow by 97% and account for 29% of global pharmaceutical sales by 2016 and Envirotainer’s increased investment in Asia is part of its strategy to be leading the market and to build on its partnerships with healthcare companies and its air cargo and freight, shipping and logistics partners across the region. Gustaf Ljunggren, CEO of Envirotainer, said:
“Envirotainer is today locally represented in Australia, India, Japan, New Zealand and Singapore and we intend to actively develop further in the region. Thanks to our airline partners the Asian pharmaceutical industry can standardise their cold chain packaging as these partners can connect more than 50 Asian cities within 48 hours or less. In 2011, Envirotainer served more than 300 unique airport-to-airport combinations which originated from nearly 20 different Asian countries. Growing our presence in the region is about meeting the goals of an industry that relies heavily on predictability and by providing even higher levels of availability and reliability as we expect to gain more market share.”
“The global pharmaceutical companies entered Asia ten years ago but the acceleration of research, development and manufacturing seen in the last 2-3 years is unparalleled compared to that of earlier years. Driven by its large population, growing economies and improved access to life saving medicines, the Asia Pacific region is expected to see substantial growth in the coming years thanks to these changing market conditions and access to lower cost manufacturing.”
Singapore has become an important biopharmaceutical, medical, and logistics hub in the Asia Pacific region with major companies in the sector building strong commercial, manufacturing, distribution and warehouse presences there. Australia and Japan are also showing promising growth, and the pharmaceutical industries in South Korea, China and India are also developing rapidly.
The new Singapore office will work closely with Envirotainer’s Asia Pacific Operations Centre located in Sydney, Australia. The company has appointed Suat Toh as Head of Healthcare Sales for Asia Pacific, based in Singapore. Further new appointments in the Asia Pacific region include Theng Hui Low as Regional Sales Manager, Paul Seet as Regional Partner Manager, and Sunny Jaggi as Global Service Network Coordinator. Suat Toh said:
“The Asian market is maturing today production of advanced medicine, vaccine, blood plasma and so forth is growing in the Asian countries. Previously it was more generics and these are often transported by sea freight or general cargo. Now, these manufacturers are coming to the next step in their evolution, with new needs and demands, and we need to make sure that these potential customers are aware of what Envirotainer can offer and are assured that they are in a position to access it easily and quickly. The vast geographical area of Asia Pacific means that air transport is even more important, because most of the time trucking is not an option. We will be demonstrating how our active solution helps healthcare manufacturers meeting the most stringent quality requirements.”
Recent statistics demonstrate how vast this market has become. In 2011 Envirotainer worked with more than 400 companies in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry, helping to transport the equivalent of 75,000 pallets to more than 100 countries around the world. In the Asia Pacific region, the company works closely with leading airlines and freight forwarders to move these temperature-sensitive products inter and intra continent.
