TOWER Cold Chain Solutions has exclusively partnered with India’s top cargo airline SpiceJet and global supply-chain and freight forwarding company Expo Freight Ltd (EFL) to realise a seamless, multi-skilled approach to pharmaceutical and vaccine deliveries across India and the subcontinent.
The combination of TOWER’s containers and EFL and SpiceJet’s transportation skills will give to the market a very powerful solution to what has been seen by many as a very complex and fragmented market.
With over 1.3 billion people in India, the process of vaccinating is a huge undertaking that cannot be taken for granted. The partnership has already tested out their cold-chain solution with containers at various temperatures to ensure that any and all issues are ironed out regardless of the compliance requirements the vaccines may require.
“We’re delighted SpiceJet and EFL have chosen TOWER as their strategic partner to supply temperature-controlled solutions to support the distribution of vital vaccine across the Indian subcontinent,” commented Niall Balfour, CEO, TOWER. “TOWER is extending its global reach and our ambition to offer capability across India and the subcontinent is now realised with this exciting tripartite partnership.”
“Being part and working alongside EFL and SpiceJet is an honour. We have already learnt so much and this is just the beginning as we work together to supply vaccines and other pharmaceutical products across the Indian subcontinent. We are very proud that our containers were exclusively chosen above all our competitors for this venture and are incredibly excited to be part of this global team. The innovation and knowledge we will gain from this unprecedented opportunity will be of great benefit,” said Sean Petzer, General Manager- Africa & India, TOWER.
Sanjiv Gupta, CEO of SpiceXpress commented, “The COVID-19 pandemic has brought forth the fact that Indian cold-chain infrastructure for pharma products is rudimentary and will take time to evolve. The tripartite agreement signed between SpiceXpress, Expo-Freight and TOWER, envisages providing the pharma companies a speedy and reliable end-to-end cold-chain logistics solution. This strategic partnership is believed to lay a strong foundation for cold-chain infrastructure not only in India but overseas too.”
SpiceJet will provide narrow and wide-bodied aircraft to carry TOWER containers and COVID-19 vaccines across India. With over 90 aircraft, SpiceJet will look at distributing across 63 domestic airports and 11 international airports to ensure the supply chain and distribution objectives are met.
“With TOWER’s expertise in manufacturing temperature-controlled boxes, EFL’s strong global presence and SpiceXpress’ varied aircraft fleet, I firmly believe that we are all set to give the cold-chain Industry in India the much-needed impetus it has been waiting for,” Gupta added.
Senthil Shanmugam, CEO, EFL Global and Managing Director, EFL India said, “The containers we chose are obviously of the utmost importance for this expansion and operation as we need to know that they are not only reliable but they are robust and reusable. After long consideration and market analysis, we chose TOWER above all others for the flexibility and reliability they bring. To have a partner we can rely on like TOWER allows us to push forward with confidence and ensure we deliver compliant vaccines and save as many people lives as possible.”
EFL is a global supply-chain and freight forwarding company that currently handles over 20 million shipments to 25 countries through over 60 offices worldwide.
