Transport and logistics company, Kuehne + Nagel, has enhanced its network of temperature-controlled facilities for the distribution of vaccines and other pharma and healthcare products.
This follows the opening of airside pharma and healthcare hubs in Brussels, Belgium and Johannesburg, South Africa.
“As many of the temperature-sensitive products have very low to no stability outside of their stated temperature ranges, direct tarmac access at Kuehne + Nagel airside facilities even further minimises the risk of temperature excursions and ensures product integrity during the logistics journey. The new premises have dedicated areas for all ranges of temperature-sensitive products: <-20°C, +2° to +8°C and +15° to +25°C,” Kuehne + Nagel said in a statement. “In addition, these facilities have the ability to change or add dry ice as required for deep frozen shipment where temperatures need to be maintained below -60°C.”
The Air Logistics hub in Brussels is located in the centre of Brucargo at the confinements of Brussels airport. This airport is reported to be the first in the world with IATA CEIV pharma certification.
The new Kuehne + Nagel facility at this site features 15,546 square metres of warehousing space and is connected to the Geel Contract Logistics pharma warehouse as well as the pan-European KN PharmaChain Road Logistics Network managed from Luxembourg.
In Johannesburg, the expanded KN PharmaChain airside facility at the international airport is reported to manage all temperature-sensitive cargo handling, consolidation and storage requirements and offers a number of value-added logistics services before distribution in South Africa or into Africa. Additionally, the new facility provides a unique temperature-controlled plane side solution through the use of state-of-the-art KN PharmaChain cool dollies. Built to accommodate both lower deck and main deck pallet sizes, the cool dollies protect the integrity of the cargo from the aircraft directly into the airside facility’s GxP coolers.
“Today, new pharma and healthcare products tend to be more valuable, more temperature-sensitive and have additional requirements for storage and transportation conditions,” said Yngve Ruud, Member of the Management Board of Kuehne + Nagel, responsible for Air Logistics. “Such capabilities and facilities are not easily available globally. The new hubs in Brussels and Johannesburg will ensure that our pharma and healthcare customers can fully rely on Kuehne + Nagel to handle the specific challenges of integrity as well as provide end-to-end visibility and regulatory compliance along the logistics journey of their sensitive products. So, they can focus on the health and well-being of their patients; because this is what matters the most.”
Kuehne + Nagel currently has more than 230 GxP-certified operations worldwide. Included in the pharma and healthcare network are additional hubs offering solutions for temperature-controlled needs, located in the US, the UK, Denmark, Spain, Luxembourg, Italy, France, Singapore, India, Panama, the UAE and Australia.
(Image L-R: Harsha Ranasinghe, Sales & Marketing Director Kuehne+Nagel BeLux / Tobias Jerschke, Managing Director Kuehne+Nagel BeLux / Geert Torfs, Air Logistics Director Kuehne+Nagel BeLux.)