Ahead of the launch of Covid-19 vaccines, pharma container company Envirotainer has broadened its partnership with ULD management and repair firm Unilode.
Envirotainer has been working with Unilode since 2013 for the repair, maintenance, handling, transportation and storage of its temperature-controlled active airfreight containers.
The update to the companies' partnership is the development of pop-up groundhandling and repair shops.
"These will be implemented at short notice for large volume Covid-19 vaccine distributions, closer to key pharmaceutical production hubs, to ensure the fast and safe delivery of the much needed vaccines across the world," said a spokesperson for Envirotainer.
Envirotainer has also increased its active temperature-controlled container capacity at key global locations to ensure "fast, safe and reliable delivery of vaccines and other healthcare products" for its pharma supply chain customers.
Niklas Adamsson, chief operating officer at Envirotainer, commented: "Unilode has been Envirotainer’s trusted partner for several years, and especially in these times our partnership is very important for our operations as it enables us to support the upcoming unprecedented global demand of vaccine distribution with our cold chain solutions.
"Unilode is increasing its maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) capacity at key locations and will support Envirotainer with maintenance and repair services at our recently started ground operations in Beijing, China.
"Unilode’s expertise in the maintenance and repair of Envirotainer’s active containers will ensure the optimal performance of our containers when time is of the essence and availability of the units is crucial to ensure the success of global vaccine distribution."
Don Jacobs, mnaging director of MRO Solutions at Unilode, added: "As the world prepares for the distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine, stakeholders in the air cargo and pharmaceutical supply chain need to ensure a seamless and efficient end-to-end cold chain that includes the availability of temperature-controlled containers for the quick and efficient transportation of the vaccine.
"The strong partnership between Unilode and Envirotainer has provided a solid foundation to look for additional solutions to support the aviation and pharmaceutical industries and we have developed joint initiatives to meet the anticipated high demand for the distribution of pharmaceuticals around the world.
"Unilode’s global ULD MRO solutions makes it possible to provide additional repair capability to meet its partners’ requirements and we are pleased that Unilode can help support the global distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine by saving time and increasing the availability of active containers for Envirotainer’s pharmaceutical customers."
