Panalpina is to acquire a majority stake in Airflo from the Dutch Flower Group. Airflo is Kenya’s second largest air freight forwarder, specialising in the export of fresh cut flowers, plant cuttings and vegetables, notably to the Netherlands and the UK.
Airflo employs 167 staff in Nairobi and Aalsmeer, and organises up to 1,500 temperature-controlled shipments each week from Kenya, totalling more than 40,000 tons of fresh cut flowers, especially roses, each year.
Peter Ulber, Panalpina’s CEO, said: “The acquisition of Airflo further expands our presence in Africa and makes us an important player in the Kenyan flower market. Kenya, where Panalpina set up its own operations at the beginning of the year, is one of the world’s key export markets for food and floral products. Fresh cut flowers accounted for more than 60 per cent of Kenya’s total air freight exports in 2014.
