Speed and Quality: logistics partners at the airport

Fast delivery all over the world is essential for many businesses to be competitive and provide good service to their customers. Our Belgian companies need a logistically well-organised airport with competitive rates and quality infrastructure whereby all players - from freight shippers to customs - are geared to each other.

“We save time thanks to rapid handling time"

For the Belgian family company TVH fast delivery is crucial. TVH is the largest supplier of forklift parts and machines worldwide. To ensure that they can fulfill that guarantee, they must rely on the fast connections from Brussels Airport. In 2015 they made 306,000 shipments to 172 countries.

Corporate Traffic Manager Herbert Sercu: “TVH chooses to organise the distribution of spare parts mainly from Belgium. Brussels Airport helps to ensure that our goods find their way abroad, partly because the airport has brought in a number of prestigious airlines from the Middle East.” “Brussels Airport also works well with the customs authorities. This is crucial for fast handling, since it is usually because of the red tape that companies have to deal with delays.” 

“The good cooperation with the various logistics players at Brussels Airport means that we save time and that our goods reach the customer faster." 

“Despite all the valuable initiatives, we must remain alert to foreign competition. That is why it is necessary for our economy to continue to invest in new destinations, smooth administration and modern freight infrastructure."

“Good Cooperation between the players at the airport"

The US company Caterpillar produces machinery and engines for the construction and mining industries. For fifty years they have had a division in Grimbergen. That Belgian division is the distribution centre for spare parts throughout the world. For them too, it is important to be able to supply those spare parts as fast as possible.

Dieter Degryse, director of Logistics and Transportation Management: “Caterpillar Grimbergen is all about service. Speed is of crucial importance. Because a customer who has to interrupt their work because of the failure of a machine part, loses income. Every year, 15,000 tons of Caterpillar parts are exported from Europe to the rest of the world.” 

“More than 60 percent of our air freight passes through Brussels Airport. The largest portion - about 8 tonnes per day - goes with the passenger flights. It's not the quantity but the speed that's crucial for us. That’s why the daily frequency of passenger flights is so important. The Middle East, Africa and Russia are our main markets at the moment."

“The success of an airport stands or falls for us with the flexibility and the efficiency of the entire transport chain. Freight forwarders, cargo handlers, airlines and customs authorities must be perfectly attuned to each other. Brussels Airport plays a hugely important and successful role in this respect. Because they provide the platform for all the players to work together. So we, as the logistical partner, save time and fulfill our service promise to our customers.

“Quality handling at the airport is vital”

Pfizer is one of the top three pharmaceutical companies in the world. They develop, produce and distribute vaccines and medicines. The international pharmaceutical giant opened its first branch in Belgium as far back as 1952, because of its central location in Europe. Today, Pfizer employs nearly 2,500 people in four locations.

Eddy Weygaerts, Senior Manager Logistics Delivery Operations: “One of them is located in Zaventem and is the turntable for distribution to the rest of the world. Medicinal products from all the production companies in Europe come here by road. The medicines then leave by plane from the European Logistics Center, which is part of Pfizer Global Inter-company Operations. For this, we engage the services of the forwarding agents at Brussels Airport appointed by Pfizer.”

“The airport is a vital link between all players at Brucargo Air: both pharmaceutical companies, forwarding agents, freight operators and airline companies. On the one hand, Brussels Airport provides the buildings - how they are utilised is of course a matter for the companies themselves. On the other hand, the airport brings the pharmaceutical companies together a number of times each year in a consultation committee. This keeps us abreast of new developments at the airport, and we get the opportunity to highlight our transportation needs. Brussels Airport encourages everyone to work together." 

“One of our basic requirements is temperature control for our products. Today, cold stores are part of the basic infrastructure of our freight companies. But the biggest challenge is transportation between the warehouse and the aircraft. Even in that short period the correct temperature must remain constant. Here too, the airport has a role to play. Because the shorter the time of that transfer, the better. At the moment they are running a demonstration project with cool dollies. These are special freight containers with temperature control for transportation on the tarmac. The project is co-financed by the Brussels Airport Company. Such innovative projects demonstrate that Brussels Airport actively thinks along with us about the logistics process and its major advantages for the pharmaceutical industry."