The Cool Chain Association (CCA) has welcomed Brussels Airport, Boeing, Singapore Airport Terminal Services (SATS), and Validaide as members and appointed Miguel Rodríguez, Senior Manager Climate Control Products, Qatar Airways, as Treasurer.

The Association, which this year celebrates its 20th anniversary, continues to grow with the vision of facilitating and enabling collaboration, education, and innovation in the temperature-sensitive supply chain amongst its members.

“CCA is focused on finding new ways to collaborate and back initiatives that deliver tangible results,” said Stavros Evangelakakis, Chairman, Cool Chain Association.

“Our ideas are striking a chord with the industry, and we are pleased to welcome our four new members as part of our movement for change.”

Boeing has been working closely with CCA members and recently participated in the CCA’s Pharma Event in Athens, Greece, presenting a case study on the performance of its aircraft’s temperature-controlled capabilities for a consignment of flowers from South America to Europe.

“Boeing is committed to enhancing sustainability in Aviation and is enthusiastic about the opportunity for multiple Boeing organisations, including Boeing Commercial Airplanes - Advanced Concepts, Boeing Research & Technology – Applied Innovation, and Boeing Global Services to work more closely with the CCA and its member companies to achieve their shared goal of making the Cold Chain more sustainable,” said Aaron Black, Strategy Principal, Boeing.

Brussels Airport has re-joined the CCA after a short hiatus to support the organisation’s new drive to deliver programmes with tangible results.

Sam Quintelier, Cargo Business Development Manager at Brussels Airport, attended the CCA’s AGM and Perishables event in Rome, Italy earlier this year to demonstrate the airport’s new Perishable Management App developed to tackle wastage, and increase transparency between airline cargo handlers, freight forwarders and authorities.

“Brussels Airport has decided to re-join the CCA as there is a need for more collaboration between stakeholders within the supply chain, specifically for fresh produce. Fresh produce and flowers do not always get the attention they deserve, and Brussels Airport wants to contribute in a positive way to improve that. We believe that the only way to handle these products more efficiently is by working together, so with the CCA we can make a difference,” said Quintelier.

SATS is the chief ground handling and in-flight catering service provider at Singapore Changi Airport and has developed a Cargo Terminal Network that spans over 10 major locations, such as Hong Kong and Dammam, harnessing innovation, technologies, and talents to feed and connect communities in over 60 locations and 14 countries across the Asia Pacific, UK and the Middle East.

Validaide was founded in 2016 to support the logistics industry with digital solutions for lane risk assessments and supplier qualification.

“The CCA and Validaide share the same vision on the importance of collaboration, education, and innovation in the cold chain industry,” said Eelco De Jong, Co-founder and Managing Director, Validaide.

“It is important for us to remain engaged in data exchange and digital collaboration, having more than 1000 logistics providers on the Validaide platform. The planning of cold chain shipments requires significant information sharing, collaboration, documentation, and decision making across multiple companies. With Validaide we digitise this process for the benefit of all stakeholders, and we look forward to further accelerating this process in partnership with the CCA and its members.”

New treasurer Miguel Rodríguez brings over a decade of experience in air transport including senior roles in the temperature-controlled supply chain at Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways.

“I take on this new challenge to further support the CCA in its mission to continue growing its membership base, attracting talented individuals who want to deliver and contribute to new projects, and providing the industry with solutions and guidance on cool chain transportation,” said Rodríguez.

He replaces Eric Mauroux, Founder and CEO of FreshBizDev, who has served as treasurer since 2018.

“CCA would like to take this opportunity of thanking Eric for his commitment and hard work over the last few years,” said Evangelakakis.

“We wish him the best for his FreshBizDev business and look forward to working with him again soon.”

CCA is currently looking for members to join its Board of Directors.