IAG Cargo has opened a new pharmaceutical centre at Heathrow airport, as part of the expansion of its temperature controlled services.
The centre supports its Constant Climate precision temperature controlled product which is designed for the transport of temperature-sensitive pharmaceutical material.
The centre handles and stores all passive and active Constant Climate goods in two temperature controlled zones, one maintained at 2-8⁰C, and one at 15-25⁰C.
IAG said the facility can accommodate up to 28 intact pallet positions, or 56 AKE loading units at any one time.
Alan Dorling, global head of pharmaceuticals & life sciences at IAG Cargo, said that when it comes to its Constant Climate goods, the company’s key focuses are to keep products pure, potent and stable.
“Potency is about assuring a customer that a product is going to work,” he said. “Our customers are patients, a patient needs knowledge and control when it comes to self medicating, for example, but we’re here to do the rest.”
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Inside IAG Cargo’s Constant Climate Centre
Created in 2011 as a joint venture between British Airways and Iberia, IAG Cargo brings together the two companies’ global cargo services, employing some 2,700 people, covering 350 destinations around the world. In 2012, the company had a turnover of more than £1bn.
The new Heathrow facility joins a network of 87 Constant Climate stations around the world. The aim is to ensure temperature sensitive shipments maintain a stable internal temperature, “regardless of changes in the ambient temperature”.
“The Heathrow Constant Climate Centre lies at the heart of one of the largest temperature-controlled cargo networks in the world,” said managing director at IAG Cargo, Steve Gunning.
“It underpins just how important the pharmaceutical market is to our growth strategy, and we hope it will be a huge benefit to global pharmaceutical companies looking for efficient routes to market.”
IAG’s two main hubs are located in Heathrow and Madrid, from which it transports a range of products such as general cargo, constant fresh goods, live animals, and pharmaceuticals.
