In April 2012, the Kazakhstan government initiated “State Program for Livestock Development” to boost the dairy and beef exports. US$875 million were allocated for the import of cattle’s and infrastructure improvement for the first five years of the project. Globalink got engaged in this project from the early stages and conceived various feasibilities on live-stock relocation from North America to Kazakhstan. It was indeed an ambitious but daunting task especially considering the geographical location of Kazakhstan and extreme climate conditions. After several months of investigation, budgeting and planning, Globalink proposed air freight as one of the fastest and reliable solutions. Globalink Air Freight Division was very well accustomed with the transportation of high-value, time-sensitive and perishable good but livestock turned out to be totally new area since it required expertize and most importantly, careful and thorough planning.
Globalink Air Freight Division founded “Livestock Logistics Unit” within the existing structure in a short period of time. Globalink organized the first Boeing 747F from Canada to Kazakhstan in Nov 2012 and the rest was history. Till date, Globalink has relocated 5,000 heads of cattle by 25 dedicated Boeing 747 Freighters from various North American origins to Kazakhstan. It was not just an airport-to-airport transfer but a turnkey project. It involved the delivery of cattle’s from farms to the origin airports, arranging special livestock crates/stalls, loading of the cattle’s, preparation and installation of stalls in dedicated Boeing 747-Freighters. Upon arrival at destinations in Kazakhstan, Globalink had to arrange veterinary certificates, import permits, customs formalities, unloading and more. Majority of the flights were late night operation and delivery from the airport to the farms had to be arranged in a matter of hours. Given the logistical success of Kazakhstan program, Globalink “Livestock Logistics Unit” is already serving customers in Russia and eyeing further expansion of service in Central Asian Republics. For cattle’s it was an incredible journey of a lifetime and for Globalink it’s a remarkable experience, unrivaled by any other logistics company in the CIS market.