Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1024340
SHIPPING & LOGISTICS S2 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 9 SEPTEMBER 2018 Food transportation is an art EXPRESS Trailers has re- cently launched its latest campaign promoting its service of food transporta- tion and how this, just like the transport of other frag- ile and sensitive cargo such as personal effects, antiques, fine art and pharmaceutical products requires special- ised attention. Express Trailers has been transporting food for many years. Today, it has a fleet of around 80 reefer trailers ded- icated solely to the importa- tion of food to Malta. With its food transport service op- erating over 60 weekly export and import departures, Ex- press Trailers ensures timely deliveries and collections from all depots together with customs clearances, NSO declarations, domestic deliv- eries and lifting services. "We understand that food transportation is a very deli- cate business not only be- cause of the time factor but also because this depends on transport in the right tem- perature conditions. In fact, our service proposition is built on three key features namely the quality of our vehicles, our GPS tracking system and our adherence to international guidelines that help us provide a food trans- portation service of the high- est level," explained Franco Azzopardi, Chairman and CEO at Express Trailers. "We service over 20 consol- idated depots across Europe located in Spain, France, Italy, UK, Belgium, Nether- lands and Germany amongst others. We work with es- tablished partners who like us, adhere to the strictest controls and have invested in the right equipment and t e m p e r a t u r e - c o n t r o l l e d hubs," he said. The handling of food, as with other perishables and fragile cargo does not only boil down to having the right equipment or adhering to strict regulations. "Handling food is far from a straightforward task. It re- quires insight that only logis- tics managers like us who are responsible for the smooth flow of goods, from order and storage to transport and distribution. Today, through our proven track record, we service the main food im- porters and distributors on the island with the transport of dry and refrigerated food, full or part load shipments as well as groupage services for both palletised or non-pal- letised cargoes," he added. Express Trailers' reefer trailers are fully-monitored, temperature-controlled and operated according to the EU's strict Good Distribu- tion Practice guidelines to meet all of its customers' re- quirements in terms of regu- lation, security, quality and handling of food transport. "Being well-equipped allows you to be flexible enough to adapt to specific require- ments. In fact, we also sup- port those companies that require a groupage service. When handling food, time is the most crucial aspect and this is where our GPS track- ing system comes handy be- cause this gives us visibility of each and every trailer on its way to Malta. This enables us to provide clients with timed collections and deliveries es- pecially when time is of ut- most priority." Express Trailers' invest- ment in this sector goes beyond vehicles and equip- ment. Today, IT is playing a very important role in shap- ing the way operators like Express Trailers manage the huge food deliveries and consignments. "Our GPS system is con- stantly monitoring the tem- perature inside our reefer trailers and temperatures are measured every fifteen min- utes. In case of any sudden change in temperature, the person managing the deliv- ery receives an instant notifi- cation to be able to look into the matter and through an automated system, and make the necessary adjustments. Upon arrival and consign- ment, the client is given a log of all the temperature read- ings throughout the whole trip from pick-up to final de- livery." "All this would never be possible without the huge in- vestment we have been put- ting into this GPS tracking system," added Azzopardi. Today, IT is playing a very important role in shaping the way operators like Express Trailers manage the huge food deliveries and consignments