Panalpina opens new office in Nairobi to serve East African region

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International freight forwarding and logistics company, Panalpina, has opened a new office in Nairobi Kenya.

The company says the new office will support Panalpina’s growth strategy for the region and will leverage on opportunities for growth exist predominantly in the energy and infrastructure sectors.

According to Panalpina’s country managing director in Kenya Juergen Paliko the Nairobi office will give customers in these expanding economies a single point of contact, and direct access to the company’s global network and services in air freight, ocean freight and logistics.

“Kenya is East Africa’s largest economy and a gateway to the region, especially Uganda and Rwanda. With the Nairobi office in place, Panalpina is now able to take a more focused approach to cultivating local business and also trade lanes from the Middle East and Asia into Kenya,” says ,” Juergen.

Through its presence in Kenya Panalpina hopes to tap from the young but vibrant oil and gas sector as well as to benefit from growth and investment in the telecommunications, perishables, chemical and healthcare sectors.

Panalpina also hopes to leverage on its international presence and partnerships especially expanding contracts with oil companies in the region many of whom it service contracts with elsewhere by catering to their increasing local requirements.

The construction of a mega-port in the northern coastal city of Lamu the company adds also reinforces the need for on-the-ground support, as the building of roads, a rail link and a pipeline will soon be underway.

Nairobi is also established as the main gateway to the region throughthe Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.

Meanwhile the company has also opened an office in Morocco targeting key industries such as energy, automotive, aerospace and healthcare.

“Morocco has great business potential; in future the country will serve as a gateway to Mauretania on the West African coast, and to the inland African countries of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger,” explains Maxime van Geenberghe, Panalpina’s new managing director in Morocco.

Morocco has many onshore wind farms and has emerged in recent years as a leader in the region’s wind power generation. Investment in solar power technology, such as the Noor-Ouarzazate Solar Complex, is helping Morocco reduce its dependence on fossil fuels and meet its growing energy demand. In addition, hydro and coal fired power plants are being constructed, expanded or modernized.

“Expanding our global presence is part of Panalpina’s overall strategy, especially in growth economies such as Morocco and Kenya,” says Peter Triebel, Panalpina’s regional CEO for the Middle East, Africa and CIS (MEAC). “With strong prospects in the two countries, especially in the energy and infrastructure sectors, establishing a formal presence is an important part of our long-term market growth and customer satisfaction objectives.”
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