Fresh products account for 45% of all goods carried by the airline in a year. In Guarulhos in particular, where the Group’s main hub is stationed, 85% of all connecting cargo is perishable.
The new, US$3.5m facility occupies an area of 1,637 square metres, with 50% equipped with cooling chambers that offer refrigeration ranges of 0 to 2°C and 2 to 12°C for storage and re-palletising. The temperature of any of the chambers can also be increased up to 22°C. With the new perishable hub, the LATAM Group has increased its perishable storage capacity at São Paulo–Guarulhos International airport by 33%.
Says Group CEO Andrés Bianchi, “Our new cooler is a clear example of our commitment to be strategic partners for our customers. We know Latin America is a major producer and exporter of perishables, and that its economic development largely depends on the international recognition of the quality of its products. Faced with this reality, and as the leader in air transportation in the region, we took on the challenge of providing excellence in service and execution, and investing in leading-edge infrastructure to protect the freshness of the products carried, with the high standards our value proposal is well known for.”
He adds that 19% of all the salmon transported by the carrier, 14% of the asparagus produced in Peru and 22% of Peruvian mangoes connect at Guarulhos. Other perishables connecting at this hub include cherries, trout, southern hake and fresh flowers.
“Our perishable hub will help us to reduce the time perishables are exposed to non-controlled temperatures by up to 20%, thanks to its capacity to offer variable temperature ranges and its strategic location closer to the loading areas,” explains Claudio Torres, International Commercial Director – South America.
The hub opened as part of the launching of FRESH, an enhanced version of LATAM Cargo’s perishable care option that provides more robust temperature control across the network, an online storage temperature deviation monitoring system, reduced exposure time while on the tarmac, and a predictive model that identifies the best measures to ensure freshness. The Guarulhos hub is one among several others in the network.
