Panalpina awarded Qualified Envirotainer Provider (QEP) status at 23 global stations

Panalpina has gained Accreditation as a Qualified Envirotainer Provider (QEP) after meeting the strict requirements of Envirotainer’s Training and Quality Program for Good Distribution Practices of temperature sensitive healthcare products.

Envirotainer, pioneers of ‘active’ temperature-controlled air cargo containers, launched its QEP program at the request of shippers of healthcare products and in response to industry guidance. The program acknowledges those service providers that are capable of properly managing shipments using Envirotainer containers. It confirms providers meet their obligations as defined in the current Good Distribution Practices guidance documents, including the requirements of the Parenteral Drug Association (PDA) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

Panalpina and Envirotainer have worked together for more than seven years. In August 2008, the two companies announced a global co-operation that included Panalpina’s participation in the QEP Program.

Thomas Persson, CEO of Envirotainer, said: “Through our close working relationships with the world’s leading healthcare companies, we know they want to work with logistics partners that demonstrate the quality and disciplined processes required to maintain the integrity of their product throughout the cold chain. Panalpina, driven by its dedicated Healthcare team, has delivered its commitment to meet our QEP standards and this will further increase the confidence of its customers in the pharmaceuticals sector and help to attract more business from this growing sector of the air cargo market.”

Peter Claessens, Corporate Head of Industry Vertical Healthcare at Panalpina, was delighted with the accreditation. This is another important step in our strategy to continually improve our service quality on all levels on a global scale, he commented.

Following an extensive QEP audit, Envirotainer has confirmed Panalpina’s Accreditation at 23 stations worldwide; Frankfurt, Santiago, Luxembourg, Prague, Stockholm, Vienna, Bern, Jakarta, Basel, Singapore, Geneva, Sao Paulo, Dublin, Stuttgart, London Heathrow, Huntsville, Hannover, Dusseldorf, Buenos Aires, Miami, Dubai, Zurich and Milan.

Chris Fore, Envirotainer’s Manager, Industry Compliance and Regulatory Affairs, added: “Panalpina has fully developed world class services that comply with the most current Good Distribution Practices. Their training program, procedures and quality management system are at the highest level.”