MALTA\\\


Service is the secret of success, says Staples


Malta is “a phenomenal market” says Simon Staples, of Manchester- based groupage operator Staples International. “Over the past two to three years, our volumes there have gone up 50% and we and our local partners, Attrans International have made sustained progress, despite the competition.” The secret to the companies’


success is service, rather than simply price, Simon Staples believes:


“We depart on Wednesday or Thursday and


deliver on Monday – that’s only four or five days. We feel that we offer one of the best services, one that is replicated by perhaps only one other company in this market.” It’s important, he adds, to


ensure that promises are kept by, for example, ensuring that trailers are available in the UK to load on schedule. Much of what Staples and Attrans move is for island retailers operating on just- in-time margins, so slip-ups are inexcusable. “A lot of the goods


are needed in the shops within a week. “We and Attrans have invested


a lot, in our people and our operation,” Staples points out. Staples has had a depot in Essex


for two years now and it regularly loads trailers for Malta from there as well as its main base in Manchester. As far as groupage from the


UK is concerned, Malta is mainly a trailer market. While shipping services from the UK have lately been improved, Staples feels


that seafreight is unlikely ever to emulate the weekly delivery schedule of the road operator and he has no plans to offer a two- tier sea and road service, as some agents have tried. However, the faster seafreight service could increase competitive pressure for some type of traffic. Traffic to Malta from the UK is


overwhelmingly southbound; there is a little business back from the island to the UK but the vast majority of trailers loaded in the UK originate from Tunisia.


Transpak : comings and goings


Quite a lot of expatriates have moved out of Malta, but then again large numbers have moved in, says William Vella, owner and proprietor of local removal firm Transpak. It’s hard to put a finger on the reason for the outward migration – it could be because of low property prices in the UK, which may have encouraged some Malta expats to sell up and return home – but the inward migration is mostly a result of the Libya situation. The North African country has stabilised to the point where major oil and gas companies are sending their key people there, but not to the point that they are prepared to risk domiciling their wives and families in the country. Malta, with its stable political climate, good schools and healthcare, is the ideal place for the wife and kids.


“So we’re still getting a good


many quotations including quite a few for Gozo (Malta’s smaller and quieter sister-island.” The incoming Labour government garnered a lot of votes from Gozo and has pledged to further develop it. Movement of artworks and


historic artefacts is Transpak’s other main staple. Recently, it sent a collection of prehistoric stones from Malta to New York’s ISAW Museum for an exhibition in partnership with Transpak’s US agent, Heritage International. One wonders how early man managed to shiſt pieces weighing up to 400 kilos; for the modern Maltese freight industry, it was just a matter of putting it on the regular freighter to Brussels and then connecting on by scheduled passenger flight to New York. The shipment was accompanied throughout by a


courier from Heritage Malta. There could be even more


movements in and out of Malta in five years’ time when Valletta becomes European City of Culture in 2018. Already, a French team have been over to Malta to investigate the placing of various installations; is it too much to hope


that some of the Maltese treasures looted by Napoleon’s troops might be returned, temporarily, to the island? There has been talk that the Sword of La Valette might go on display, though possibly in the French embassy for fear that the Maltese might refuse to let it leave the island again.


Training the trainers


The Malta government’s Office of Management of Airport Security has tackled an upsurge in demand for security-trained airfreight and shipper personal by introducing a ‘train the trainer’ scheme. Continued training is one of the requirements for forwarders to become regulated agents and for shippers to become ‘known’ and this has led to unprecedented


demand, says one of the new trainers, Ray Buttigieg at BASMalta. Having completed the course


himself, he has now organised classes of his own and trained a further 100 people in security awareness in a half-day course. Other companies have also appointed trainers, but so far this has been for their own personnel rather than those of third parties.


Issue 4 2013


25


International airport in level flight again


Having taken a slight dip, Malta International Airport’s cargo figures seem to be on the up again, says chief commercial officer, Alan Borg. “Our main markets all more or less increased in summer 2012; winter saw a slight drop of around 2-3% but so far this year we’re only marginally behind and it does look as if it will pick up again later this year.”


While lately many of the


new carriers at Malta airport were passenger-only low-cost carriers, now Turkish Airlines – a carrier which is very keen on cargo - has introduced a thrice- weekly passenger 737 to and from Istanbul Ataturk, while Luſthansa has also extended the operation period of its enhanced


summer service. And there is every prospect of services being added to in the future, particularly Turkish Airlines, one of the world’s fastest-growing carriers. Emirates


is also reporting


increased traffic, by around 15%, while Egyptair Express is also carrying some cargo on the 70-seater plane it operates to Malta – again, this is a service with potential for expansion, Borg feels. The airport shares the


local airfreight community’s enthusiasm for


the idea of a


cargo village, he adds, pointing out that it is still in the master plan – and, for good measure, that chief commercial officer Markus Klaushofer has a background in the freight industry.


>>UK TO MALTA GROUPAGE? WE’VE GOT IT COVERED.


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